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ECB refi rate - European Central Bank’s interest rate
Charts - historic ECB interest rates
Graph European interest rate ECB - interest rates last year |
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Graph European interest rate ECB - long-term graph |
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European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the eurozone (euro area, the countries which have adopted the euro). One of the ECB’s important tasks is to set and implement European monetary policy. This includes the use of the interest rate tool. The main objective of the ECB is price stability, or an inflation level of maximum 2% for the Eurozone (inflation based upon the HICP, harmonised index of consumer prices). For an overview of current inflation in Europe, click here or here for current inflation by country. The ECB offers banks the facility to borrow money from it. Banks make use of the lending facility when they are short of funds. The banks pay interest on the loan, which is called the refi rate or refinancing rate.
Refi rate
When reference is made to the European interest rate this often refers to the ECB refi rate. The level of this refi rate is therefore really the price that banks pay to borrow funds from the European Central Bank. This ‘purchase price’ is an important factor for banks when setting the interest rates that they charge when they lend money. By raising or lowering interest rates the ECB can exercise indirect influence over the interest levels that the banks apply to interbank transactions, business loans, consumer loans, mortgages and savings accounts, amongst other things.
This page shows the current and historic values of the refi rate (refinancing rate) as set by the ECB.
For a summary of the current interest rates of a large number of central banks please click here.
Tables - current and historic European central bank interest rates
ECB latest interest rate changes
| may 04 2023 |
3.750 % |
| march 16 2023 |
3.500 % |
| february 02 2023 |
3.000 % |
| december 15 2022 |
2.500 % |
| october 27 2022 |
2.000 % |
| september 08 2022 |
1.250 % |
| july 21 2022 |
0.500 % |
| march 10 2016 |
0.000 % |
| september 04 2014 |
0.050 % |
| june 05 2014 |
0.150 % |
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Summary of other central banks’ interest rates
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