Today’s changes have brought the three-month Euribor rate to 2.252%, placing it above the six-month rate at 2.212% and the 12-month rate at 2.126%.
The six-month Euribor rate, which became the most commonly used benchmark for variable-rate housing loans in Portugal as of January 2024, decreased today to 2.212%, a drop of 0.032 points.
According to data from the Bank of Portugal for February, the six-month Euribor accounted for 37.52% of the stock of loans for owner-occupied permanent housing with a variable rate. The same data indicates that the 12-month and three-month Euribor represented 32.50% and 25.72%, respectively.
The 12-month Euribor rate also fell to 2.126%, a decrease of 0.041 points.
Similarly, the three-month Euribor, which has remained below 2.5% since March 14, dropped today to 2.252%, a reduction of 0.027 points, marking a new low since January 5, 2023.
The next European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting is scheduled for this week, on April 16 and 17, in Frankfurt.
ECB President Christine Lagarde hinted that the institution is prepared to pause interest rate cuts in April.
As anticipated by the markets, the ECB decided at its March meeting to reduce its key interest rates for the fifth consecutive time over six months, cutting them by a quarter-point to 2.5%.
On a monthly basis, the average Euribor in March continued to decrease for three, six, and 12-month terms, albeit less sharply than in previous months.
The average for March saw the three-month Euribor fall by 0.083 points to 2.442%, the six-month by 0.075 points to 2.385%, and the 12-month by 0.009 points to 2.398%.
The Euribor rates are established by the average at which a panel of 19 eurozone banks are willing to lend money to one another in the interbank market.
