Interest rates set to hit 3.75%

THE European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to raise interest rates for the seventh time in just over a year at its monthly meeting today.

That will put pressure on mortgage holders who will have to spend an extra €45 per month in repayments on a typical €300,000 loan.

Interest rates have climbed steadily from December 2005, when the ECB began its tightening of the base rate from 2%, to stand at 3.5%.