Financial report context:
goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge during the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 , we determined that the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets ( primarily acquired trade names ) associated with our latin america reporting unit of our industrial gases 2013 americas segment were impaired . we recorded a noncash impairment charge of $ 162.1 ( $ 154.1 attributable to air products , after-tax , or $ .70 per share ) , which was driven by lower economic growth and profitability in the region . this impairment charge has been excluded from segment results . refer to note 10 , goodwill , and note 11 , intangible assets , to the consolidated financial statements for additional information . other income ( expense ) , net items recorded to "other income ( expense ) , net" arise from transactions and events not directly related to our principal income earning activities . the detail of "other income ( expense ) , net" is presented in note 23 , supplemental information , to the consolidated financial statements . 2018 vs . 2017 other income ( expense ) , net of $ 50.2 decreased $ 70.8 , primarily due to lower income from the transition services agreements with versum and evonik , lower income from the sale of assets and investments , lower favorable contract settlements , and an unfavorable foreign exchange impact . 2017 vs . 2016 other income ( expense ) , net of $ 121.0 increased $ 71.6 , primarily due to income from transition services agreements with versum and evonik , income from the sale of assets and investments , including a gain of $ 12.2 ( $ 7.6 after-tax , or $ .03 per share ) resulting from the sale of a parcel of land , and a favorable foreign exchange impact . interest expense .

Financial table:
2018: interest incurred; 2017: $ 150.0; 2016: $ 139.6; column_4: $ 147.9
2018: less : capitalized interest; 2017: 19.5; 2016: 19.0; column_4: 32.7
2018: interest expense; 2017: $ 130.5; 2016: $ 120.6; column_4: $ 115.2

Additional report context:
2018 vs . 2017 interest incurred increased $ 10.4 as project financing associated with the lu'an joint venture and a higher average interest rate on the debt portfolio were partially offset by the impact from a lower average debt balance . the change in capitalized interest was driven by an increase in the carrying value of projects under construction . 2017 vs . 2016 interest incurred decreased $ 8.3 as the impact from a lower average debt balance of $ 26 was partially offset by the impact from a higher average interest rate on the debt portfolio of $ 19 . the change in capitalized interest was driven by a decrease in the carrying value of projects under construction , primarily as a result of our decision to exit from the efw business . other non-operating income ( expense ) , net 2018 vs . 2017 other non-operating income ( expense ) , net of $ 5.1 decreased $ 11.5 . during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018 , we recognized a pension settlement loss of $ 43.7 ( $ 33.2 after-tax , or $ .15 per share ) that primarily resulted from the transfer of certain pension payment obligations to an insurer for our u.s . salaried and hourly plans through the purchase of an irrevocable , nonparticipating group annuity contract with plan assets . for additional information , refer to note 16 , retirement benefits , to the consolidated financial statements . this loss was partially offset by higher interest income on cash and cash items and short-term investments and lower other non-service pension expense . the prior year pension expense included a settlement loss of $ 10.5 ( $ 6.6 after-tax , or $ .03 per share ) associated with the u.s . supplementary pension plan and a settlement benefit of $ 2.3 related to the disposition of emd and pmd. .

Question: what was the increase in the interest expenses during 2017 and 2018?
Answer: 8.21%