Leitzins

German

Etymology

leiten (“to lead”) +‎ Zins (“interest rate”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈlaɪ̯tˌt͡sɪns]
Hyphenation: Leit‧zins

Noun

Leitzins m (strong, genitive Leitzinses, plural Leitzinse)

(finance, banking) key interest rate, benchmark interest rate (the rate set by a central bank to influence monetary policy)
Um die Inflation zu bekämpfen, hat die Zentralbank den Leitzins erneut angehoben.
To combat inflation, the central bank has raised the key interest rate once again.

Declension

Declension of Leitzins [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Leitzins	die	Leitzinse
genitive	eines	des	Leitzinses	der	Leitzinse
dative	einem	dem	Leitzins, Leitzinse¹	den	Leitzinsen
accusative	einen	den	Leitzins	die	Leitzinse

¹Now rare, see notes.

Synonyms

Referenzzinssatz (reference interest rate)
Zentralbankzins (central bank rate)

Antonyms

Marktzins (market interest rate; influenced by but not identical to the Leitzins)

Coordinate terms

Inflation (the primary target variable for rate changes)
Geldpolitik (monetary policy)
Einlagefazilität (the rate at which banks park money at the central bank)
Hauptrefinanzierungsinstrument (the main tool for providing liquidity)

Related terms

Zinspolitik (interest rate policy)
Niedrigzinsphase (low-interest period)