Summer rate hikes to add €80 to Irish monthly mortgage payments

European Central Bank meeting tomorrow will set the stage for the first rate hike in a decade

Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank. Traders have steadily ramped up their bets on ECB hikes following a higher-than-expected eurozone inflation report last week.

A momentous gathering of the European Central Bank tomorrow will set the scene for the first of a set of interest rate hikes this summer that will add to the financial headache for as many as 740,000 Irish households already battling soaring inflation.

The ECB at the Frankfurt meeting is expected to roll back much of its huge bond-buying supports and pave the way to the first of two summer rate hikes, in July and September, moves that will likely add significantly to the costs of Irish mortgage borrowers.