Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator Instructions). And our first question comes from Jeff Zekauskas.
Jeffrey Zekauskas - J.P. Morgan
Hi, good morning.
Paul Huck
Hi Jeff.
Nelson Squires
Good morning Jeff.
Jeffrey Zekauskas - J.P. Morgan
I've got a couple of questions. The first is that your interest expense in the second quarter was 30 million, in the first it was 36.5. I know your rates are down, so is 30 a good number to use going forward? And secondly, you talked about Equipment and Energy having good cost cutting and on a sequential basis that also was an improvement where you went from seven million to 16.3. So basically, my question is, is the 16.3 quarterly number sustainable and is the 30 million quarterly number sustainable?
Paul Huck
Okay. On the interest Jeff, I think the...on the $30 million going forward, I think that's a god number. Regarding Equipment and Energy, I would not sustain that as the forecast some of that also comes through the profit coming through the projects here and workload continues to decline in those areas.
Jeffrey Zekauskas - J.P. Morgan
Okay. And then lastly, across your businesses, which are the areas where you feel that there is the most risk of price going down?
Nelson Squires
Well, certainly there is most risk which we have demonstrated consistently is Electronics. And that's the area in which I feel the most risk.
Jeffrey Zekauskas - J.P. Morgan
Is there a lot there or a little or sort of how do you see pricing in Electronics over the next several quarters?
Paul Huck
I think with the volumes coming down, there has been, as we've seen a price pressure, across Electronics and Performance Materials, Performance Materials prices have gone up, so we are roughly about have maintained ourselves about flat in that. I would not think that price at this point in time Jeff, for us as we look at that is a huge down factor for us. I think we...the thing which we have seen, which has driven our earnings down has been really two basic factors, one has been the currency declines, the strength of the U.S. dollar and the second has been the contraction in volumes.
And those are probably the risks for us.
Jeffrey Zekauskas - J.P. Morgan
Okay, thank you very much.
Nelson Squires
You're welcome.
Operator
And our next question comes from P.J. Juvekar with Citi.
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