ECB holds deposit rate at 2.5%. Next decision on 17 December; analysts do not rule out a rise
On 29 October the European Central Bank left all three key interest rates unchanged: the deposit rate at 2.50%, the main refinancing rate at 2.65% and the overnight lending rate at 2.90% (ECB decision). Rates were last raised on 10 September, by 0.25 percentage points.
In its statement the ECB says energy prices keep rising, which threatens to push inflation up, and that lending conditions have tightened since the last meeting. The bank is not committing in advance to its next decision. Analysts quoted by Portuguese newspapers think a rise is possible at the next meeting, on 16–17 December (Observador).
In Portugal, repayments on a variable-rate mortgage are linked not to the ECB rate but to Euribor, and Euribor is already rising. On 29 October six-month Euribor, the most common benchmark for Portuguese mortgages, stood at 2.973% and twelve-month Euribor at 3.308%, both slightly higher than the day before (Jornal Económico). On 23 October we wrote about how much this will add to repayments in November: €17–88 a month on a €150,000 loan.
