Simple multiplication of 2 cells = wrong product

[chrisp]

All I need is the product of two cells in a third cell. I entered an
equation =B29*D29 in the third cell but the product is wrong. Checked it
with calculator and another application. One of the two cells being
multiplied is formatted for currency, but other instances of the same
calculations are correct. Is there a glitch in excel 2003?

 

[Ed Cones]

Can you give an example of the numbers in B29 and D29?

 

[Ragdyer]

I'll bet that either or both of those 2 cells contain formulas where the
formatting may only display 2 decimals, but the actual cell value is more
then what's being displayed.

When dealing in currency, it's always best to ROUND() your returns, *don't*
just format them.

 

[chrisp]

Yes, the value of B29 is 0.55 and D29 is $32.33 the result is a value in E29
of $17.68

 

[Ed Cones]

Can I get in on that bet? ;o)
..55*32.33 returns 17.7815 in my Excel 2003.

 

[David Biddulph]

If D29 is exactly 32.33, then you'd get a product of 17.68 if B29 is
0.546860501082586, but if you've formatted the cell to display as 2 decimal
places it would look like 0.55. If you get unexpected results it's always
worth displaying more decimal places.

 

[chrisp]

Double checked and both values are manually entered and formatted for only
two places after the decimal. Could it truely result in $0.10 difference?

 

[Ed Cones]

What do they look like if you format them with 4 decimal places? Or try
another cell with D29*100 and B29*100.

 

[chrisp]

Problem solved. Thanks for all your help!