ECB holds rates: deposit rate stays at 2.50%

On 29 October the European Central Bank left rates unchanged: the deposit rate at 2.50% and the main rate at 2.65%, a pause after rises in June and September. Christine Lagarde announced she will leave the ECB in February 2027.

The ECB said it wants to wait for new data on inflation, which has been pushed up by energy prices linked to the Middle East conflict. According to RTVE, analysts see a possible 0.25-point rise at the last meeting of the year in December, but the bank commits to nothing in advance and decides “meeting by meeting”. Lagarde is leaving before her mandate ends (October 2027) and will stay until 7 February; Pablo Hernández de Cos and Klaas Knot are named as possible successors.

For mortgage holders and home buyers on the Costa Blanca, ECB rates matter through Euribor, to which most variable-rate mortgages in Spain are linked. The pause means no new ECB decision until December; check your own mortgage terms with your bank, as analysts’ forecasts are not a promise.