Interest rate slightly up

The Dutch long-term interest rate, based on the return of the most recent ten-year government loan, averaged 3.8 percent in January 2009.This is 0.1 percentage points up on December. In the preceding six months the long-term interest rate dropped continually.  

In January 2009, the European Central Bank (ECB) lowered its interest rates. Since 21 January 2009, the ECB deposit rate has stood at 1.0 percent. The deposit rate is often considered as the bottom rate on the interest market. Since 21 January 2009, the most important ECB interest rate, the repo rate, has stood at 2.0 percent.

One of the main guidelines for the ECB’s decision to change or refrain from changing the interest rate is the inflation level in the eurozone. According to the ECB, prices are stable in the eurozone, if the inflation rate is close to 2 percent. For January 2009 Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, calculated an average inflation rate of 1.1 percent, the lowest rate in nearly a decade. With 4 percent, the eurozone inflation rate reached its highest level in mid-2008. Subsequently, the rate has dropped considerably.

Capital market interest rate (latest ten-year government bond)