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The real interest rate is the rate of interest an investor, saver or lender receives (or expects to receive) after allowing for inflation. It can be described more formally by the Fisher equation, which states that the real interest rate is approximately the nominal interest rate minus the inflation rate.
The Fisher equation can be used in the analysis of bonds.The real return on a bond is roughly equivalent to the nominal interest rate minus the expected inflation rate. But if actual inflation exceeds expected inflation during the life of the bond, the bondholder's real return will suffer.
For example, if the inflation rate is 5%, on a one-year loan of $1,000 with an 8% nominal interest rate the real interest rate would be 8% minus 5% or 3%. The real interest rate will usually be ...
The equation states that the real interest rate (), is equal to the nominal interest rate minus the expected inflation rate (). The equation is an approximation; however, the difference with the correct value is small as long as the interest rate and the inflation rate is low.
In this analysis, the nominal rate is the stated rate, and the real interest rate is the interest after the expected losses due to inflation. Since the future inflation rate can only be estimated, the ex ante and ex post (before and after the fact) real interest rates may be different; the premium paid to actual inflation (higher or lower).
Comparison of real and nominal gas prices 1996 to 2016, illustrating the formula for conversion. Here the base year is 2016. The price index is applied to adjust the nominal value Q {\displaystyle Q} of a quantity, such as wages or total production, to obtain its real value.
The effect estimates future exchange rates based on the relationship between nominal interest rates. Multiplying the current spot exchange rate by the nominal annual U.S. interest rate and dividing by the nominal annual U.K. interest rate yields the estimate of the spot exchange rate 12 months from now:
If inflation is 10%, then the $110 in the account at the end of the year has the same purchasing power (that is, buys the same amount) as the $100 had a year ago. The real interest rate is zero in this case. The real interest rate is given by the Fisher equation: = + + where p is the inflation rate.