HC Deb 21 February 1991 vol 186 cc216-7W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in tabular form the real interest rate for each month for the last year; and if he will make a statement on the apparent trend.

Mr. Maples

There is no agreed definition of the real interest rate. The table shows the average three-month inter-bank rate, for each month for the last year, deflated by the 12-month all-items RPI inflation rate for that month. In the three months to end January, the average real interest rate was 4.1 per cent. compared with an average of 7.0 per cent. for the same three months a year earlier.

'Real' three-month inter-bank rate
per cent.
1990
January 6.9
February 7.1

per cent.
March 6.7
April 5.3
May 5.0
June 4.7
July 4.7
August 4.0
September 3.6
October 2.8
November 3.6
December 4.1
1991
January 4.6