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Fri 03 Mar 2007ECB raises lending rate by 0.25%The cost of servicing a mortgage rose again yesterday following the decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to increase its key lending rate by one-quarter of a percentage point. The latest increase, the seventh since December 2005, brings the ECB's key "main refinancing rate" to 3.75 per cent, writes Marc Coleman, Economics EditorAnalysts said yesterday that rates could rise again this year, possibly to more than 4 per cent. Opposition parties said the rise would put a severe burden on families.