Table:
| Years ended August 31, | 2019 (1) | 2018 (2) | Change | Change in constant currency (3) | Foreign exchange impact (3) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (in thousands of dollars, except percentages) | $ | $ | % | % | $ |
| Canadian broadband services | 606,286 | 618,886 | (2.0) | (2.2) | 1,102 |
| American broadband services | 571,208 | 478,172 | 19.5 | 15.2 | 20,522 |
| Inter-segment eliminations and other | 26,486 | 24,567 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 12 |
|  | 1,203,980 | 1,121,625 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 21,636 |
Paragraphs:
OPERATING EXPENSES
(1) Fiscal 2019 average foreign exchange rate used for translation was 1.3255 USD/CDN.
(2) Fiscal 2018 was restated to comply with IFRS 15 and to reflect a change in accounting policy as well as to reclassify results from Cogeco Peer 1 as discontinued
operations. For further details, please consult the "Accounting policies" and "Discontinued operations" sections.
(3) Fiscal 2019 actuals are translated at the average foreign exchange rate of fiscal 2018 which was 1.2773 USD/CDN.
Fiscal 2019 operating expenses increased by 7.3% (5.4% in constant currency) mainly from:
• growth in the American broadband services segment mainly due to the impact of the MetroCast acquisition which was included in operating expenses for only an eight-month period in the prior year combined with higher programming costs, additional headcount to support growth, higher marketing initiatives to drive primary service units growth and the FiberLight acquisition; and
• additional costs in Inter-segment eliminations and other resulting from the timing of corporate projects and initiatives; partly offset by
• lower operating expenses in the Canadian broadband services segment mainly attributable to lower programming costs resulting from a lower level of primary service units and lower compensation expenses resulting from an operational optimization program implemented in the first half of fiscal 2019, partly offset by higher marketing initiatives, additional headcount costs in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 to support the stabilization phase of the new customer management system as well as retroactive costs related to higher rates than expected established by the Copyright Board of Canada.
For further details on the Corporation’s operating expenses, please refer to the "Segmented operating and financial results" section.
Question:
What was the increase in 2019 operating expenses?
Answer: 7.3%