What is the €STR?

The Euro Short-Term Rate (€STR) is the overnight interest rate for the euro area, published by the European Central Bank each TARGET business day at 08:00 CET. It reflects the wholesale euro unsecured overnight borrowing costs of banks located in the euro area.

Unlike its predecessor EONIA — which was based on a panel of contributing banks — the €STR is computed from actual transactions reported under the Money Market Statistical Reporting (MMSR) regulation. This transaction-based methodology makes it resistant to the manipulation risks that plagued LIBOR-type benchmarks.

The €STR serves as the foundation of the entire euro interest rate structure. It is the reference rate for overnight index swaps (OIS), the fallback for EURIBOR contracts, and the discount curve used by clearing houses. When the ECB changes its Deposit Facility Rate, the €STR moves in lockstep within one business day.

€STR vs EONIA vs EURIBOR

The €STR replaced EONIA on 3 January 2022 (EONIA was redefined as €STR + 8.5 bps during the transition period from October 2019). EURIBOR, the term rate for maturities from 1 week to 12 months, continues to exist alongside the €STR but uses a hybrid methodology that blends transaction data with expert judgment.

For macro analysis, the €STR is the purest signal of ECB policy stance: it moves the day after a rate decision and reflects the actual cost of overnight liquidity in the banking system. The spread between €STR and the Deposit Facility Rate (typically 0–3 bps) measures excess liquidity conditions.

Key statistics

Since its inception in October 2019, the €STR has ranged from −0.582% (June 2022, just before the first ECB rate hike) to approximately 3.66% (October 2023, peak of the tightening cycle). As of March 2026, the rate stands near 1.93%, reflecting cumulative ECB easing since June 2024.

CSV Data Dictionary

Python & R Code Examples

Python — Direct from ECB API (no key needed)

import pandas as pd
from io import StringIO
import requests

url = "https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EST/B.EU000A2X2A25.WT"
resp = requests.get(url, params={"format": "csvdata"})
df = pd.read_csv(StringIO(resp.text))

estr = df[["TIME_PERIOD", "OBS_VALUE"]].copy()
estr.columns = ["date", "estr_rate"]
estr["date"] = pd.to_datetime(estr["date"])
estr = estr.sort_values("date").set_index("date")

print(estr.tail())
estr.plot(title="€STR — Euro Short-Term Rate", figsize=(12, 5))

R

library(readr)
library(ggplot2)

# From Eco3min pre-cleaned CSV
estr <- read_csv("https://eco3min.fr/dataset/ecb/ecb-euro-short-term-rate.csv")
estr$date <- as.Date(estr$date)

ggplot(estr, aes(date, estr_rate)) +
  geom_line(color = "#0f204b") +
  labs(title = "€STR — Euro Short-Term Rate",
       y = "Rate (%)", x = NULL) +
  theme_minimal()

Related ECB Datasets

Source & Methodology

Source: European Central Bank — ECB Data Portal (SDMX 2.1 API)

Series key: EST/B.EU000A2X2A25.WT

Methodology: Volume-weighted trimmed mean (25% trim on each side) of eligible unsecured overnight deposit transactions >€1 million, reported under MMSR.

Publication: Each TARGET business day at 08:00 CET (T+1).

License: ECB open data — free reuse with attribution. ECB copyright notice.

Cite This Dataset

Eco3min Research. (2026). €STR — Euro Short-Term Rate Dataset (2019–2026). Source: ECB. https://eco3min.fr/en/euro-short-term-rate-dataset/

CC BY 4.0 — free to use with attribution.