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Long-term interest rates refer to government bonds maturing in ten years. Rates are mainly determined by the price charged by the lender, the risk from the borrower and the fall in the capital value. Long-term interest rates are generally averages of daily rates, measured as a percentage. These interest rates are implied by the prices at which the government bonds are traded on financial markets, not the interest rates at which the loans were issued. In all cases, they refer to bonds whose capital repayment is guaranteed by governments. Long-term interest rates are one of the determinants of business investment. Low long-term interest rates encourage investment in new equipment and high interest rates discourage it. Investment is, in turn, a major source of economic growth.
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Long-term interest rates forecast refers to projected values of government bonds maturing in ten years. It is measured as a percentage. Forecast data are calculated by making an overall assessment of the economic climate in individual countries and the world economy as a whole, using a combination of model-based analyses and statistical indicator models.
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Short-term interest rates are the rates at which short-term borrowings are effected between financial institutions or the rate at which short-term government paper is issued or traded in the market. Short-term interest rates are generally averages of daily rates, measured as a percentage. Short-term interest rates are based on three-month money market rates where available. Typical standardised names are "money market rate" and "treasury bill rate".
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Short-term interest rates forecast refers to projected values of three-month money market rates. It is measured as a percentage. Forecast data are calculated by making an overall assessment of the economic climate in individual countries and the world economy as a whole, using a combination of model-based analyses and statistical indicator models.
Interest rates
Interest can be defined as the price paid by the borrower for the use of funds saved by the lender and the compensation to the lender for deferring expenditures. This compensation comprises two elements, namely a payment equal to the loss of purchasing power of the principal during the term of the loan and a balance that represents the real interest accruing to the lender. However this simplicity does not extend into the area of rate determination since rates vary not only because of inflation, as implied above, but also because of a number of other influences, including: the amount, purpose and period of the transaction; the credit-worthiness of the borrower; the collateral offered and/or other guarantees/guarantors available; the competition for the transaction; government policy. Interest rates are shown as short-term, generally 3 months, and long-term, generally 10 years, with forecast data available for both. For short and long term interest rates, annual and quarterly data are normally averages of monthly figures.
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