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The nominal interest rate is a simple way of expressing the cost of a loan or the return on a deposit. The real interest rate accounts for the effect of inflation on the purchasing power of ...
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).
Any investment with a nominal annual return (i.e., unadjusted annual return) less than the annual inflation rate represents a loss of value in real terms, even when the nominal annual return is greater than 0%, and the purchasing power at the end of the period is less than the purchasing power at the beginning.
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 instance, if a loan offers a 4% nominal interest rate and inflation is 2%, the real interest rate is approximately 2%. The world of finance has a somewhat different definition.
Further, there is a concept called the "equilibrium real federal funds rate" (r*, or "r-star"), alternatively called the "natural rate of interest" or the "neutral real rate", which is the "level of the real federal funds rate, if allowed to prevail for several years, [that] would place economic activity at its potential and keep inflation low ...
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The nominal interest rate, which refers to the price before adjustment to inflation, is the one visible to the consumer (that is, the interest tagged in a loan contract, credit card statement, etc.). Nominal interest is composed of the real interest rate plus inflation, among other factors. An approximate formula for the nominal interest is: