Lisbon, Oct. 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Interest rates on new fixed-term deposits rose in August for the seventh consecutive month to 1.63%, up from 1.59% in July and 1.34% in the same month last year, while remaining below the euro area average, the Bank of Portugal (BdP) announced on Thursday.

According to the central bank's data, with a rise of 0.04 percentage points between July and August, the average interest rate on new fixed-term deposits from households reached its highest level since April 2025 (1.64%) Meanwhile, new term deposits from private individuals totalled €12.727 billion in August, €977 million lower than in July, when it reached a new all-time high.

The interest rate on new fixed-term deposits fell consecutively from 1 January 2024 (2.91%) to August 2025 (1.39%), then fluctuated slightly in the following months before rising consecutively since last January.

In August, new deposits with maturity of up to one year accounted for 94% of total new deposits made by households.

In the euro area, the average interest rate on new deposits rose by 0.04 percentage points to 2.18%, with Portugal moving up one place among euro area countries to have the sixth-lowest average interest rate.

The average interest rate on new term deposits from businesses stood at 1.97% in August, down 0.01 percentage points from the previous month.

The total value of new deposit transactions amounted to €9.239 billion, €2.194 billion less than in July, with term deposits of up to one year accounting for 99.5% of new corporate term deposits.

PD/ADB // ADB.

Lusa