Table:
| Years ended August 31, | 2019 | 2018 (1) | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (in thousands of dollars, except percentages) | $ | $ | % |
| Interest on long-term debt | 176,798 | 179,680 | (1.6) |
| Net foreign exchange gains | (2,744) | (2,134) | 28.6 |
| Amortization of deferred transaction costs | 1,836 | 1,884 | (2.5) |
| Capitalized borrowing costs | (690) | (2,074) | (66.7) |
| Other | 302 | 8,100 | (96.3) |
|  | 175,502 | 185,456 | (5.4) |
Paragraphs:
3.4 FINANCIAL EXPENSE
(1) Fiscal 2018 was restated to reclassify results from Cogeco Peer 1 as discontinued operations. For further details, please consult the "Discontinued operations" section.
Fiscal 2019 financial expense decreased by 5.4% mainly due to:
• the reimbursement at maturity of the Senior Secured Notes Series B on October 1, 2018; • the reimbursements of $65 million and US$35 million under the Canadian Revolving Facility during the second quarter of fiscal 2019 and of US$328 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2019 following the sale of Cogeco Peer 1; and
• early reimbursement of the US$400 million Senior Unsecured Notes during the third quarter of fiscal 2018 which resulted in a $6.2 million redemption premium and the write-off of the unamortized deferred transaction costs of $2.5 million; partly offset by • higher interest cost on the First Lien Credit Facilities resulting from the full year impact of the financing of the MetroCast acquisition; and • the appreciation of the US dollar against the Canadian dollar compared to the prior year.
Question:
What was the increase / (decrease) in the interest on long-term debt from 2018 to 2019?
Answer: 176798 - 179680 = -2882