§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list real and actual interest rates in each European Community country on 25 July.
§ Mr. Lilley[holding answer 28 July 1988]: The table gives nominal interest rates on 25 July for the 12 member countries of the European Community. There is no unique measure of "real" interest rates. Indices of consumer and producer prices, which are sometimes used to deflate nominal interest rates, are given in "OECD Main Economic Indicators", monthly.
Interest rates in EC countries1 Country Rate Germany 4.9 France 7.4 Italy 11.5 Netherlands 5.1 Belgium 7.1 Luxembourg 7.1 United Kingdom 10.8 Republic of Ireland 7.9 Denmark2 7.0 Spain 10.2 Portugal2 13.5 Greece2 19.0 Source: Bank of England.
1 Rates are usually for instruments of three-months maturity, but the type of instrument differs from country to country. Rates are for 25 July.
2 Discount rate.