Monetary policy — Euro area
ECB Key Interest Rate
ECB main refinancing rate
—- Current
- 2.15%
- Previous month
- —
- Last updated
- May 2026
Source: ECB Data Portal (MRO rate, daily, aggregated to monthly last value)
Context
What is the ECB key interest rate?
The main refinancing operations (MRO) rate is the interest rate at which euro area commercial banks can borrow money from the European Central Bank for one week against collateral. It is the primary tool the ECB uses to steer short-term market interest rates and, through them, the broader economy.
The ECB Governing Council meets every six weeks to decide on interest rates. Rate decisions take effect within days and flow through to mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs, and savings deposit yields across the euro area.
The MRO rate shown here is the ECB’s daily fixing, aggregated to a monthly last-observation figure for comparability. Abrupt steps in the chart mark policy decisions; flat stretches mark the periods between meetings.
Trend
Historical trend
Full-history monthly ECB main refinancing rate (MRO). The ECB cut rates to 0% in March 2016 and held them there until the inflation surge of 2022–2023.
Source: ECB Data Portal (MRO rate, daily, aggregated to monthly last value)
Source
Source
Data is the ECB Main Refinancing Operations rate retrieved from the ECB Data Portal at series FM.D.U2.EUR.4F.KR.MRR_FR.LEV (daily fixings), aggregated to monthly by keeping the last observation per month.
The ECB publishes rate decisions on the day of Governing Council meetings. This page refetches the latest data each weekday.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the current ECB interest rate?
The current ECB main refinancing operations (MRO) rate is shown in the stat panel at the top of this page. The rate is set by the ECB Governing Council, which meets every six weeks.
How does the ECB key rate affect me?
The ECB key rate influences the interest rates commercial banks charge on loans and pay on deposits. When the ECB raises rates, mortgages and corporate loans become more expensive and savings accounts pay more. Euribor rates, which underpin most variable-rate mortgages in the euro area, track the ECB rate closely.
How often does the ECB change its key rate?
The ECB Governing Council meets every six weeks and may decide to change, hold, or signal future changes to its key rates. Not every meeting results in a rate change.
Related
Related charts
See Euribor rates — which track the ECB rate — and the full set of euro area indicators on the Econstats.eu home page.