FOREX THEORY

Why Interest Rates Matter for Forex Traders (Part 6)

Nominal vs. Real Interest Rates

When people talk about interest rates, they are either referring to the nominal interest rate or the real interest rate.

What’s the difference?

The nominal interest rate doesn’t always tell the entire story. The nominal interest rate is the rate of interest before adjustments for inflation.

real interest rate = nominal interest rate – expected inflation

The nominal rate is usually the stated or base rate that you see (e.g., the yield on a bond).

Markets, on the other hand, don’t focus on this rate, but rather on the real interest rate.

If you had a bond that carried a nominal yield of 6%, but inflation was at an annual rate of 5%, the bond’s real yield would be 1%.

Boohoo!

That’s a huge difference so always remember to distinguish between the two.

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