Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Real vs. Nominal

"What is the real price (for example of oil)? What is the difference between the real and nominal price? Do real prices change over time?" - Phillip

A nominal price is measured in terms of units of money- for example, oil is currently $88USD per barrel. A real price is adjusted for changes in the value of a unit of money- for example, if prices had risen by 20% since 2000, we'd say that the real price of a barrel of oil is (88 x 0.8) USD per barrel in year 2000 USD. Real prices changes over time, but generally by smaller magnitudes than nominal prices.

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