Can interest be awarded as damages for breach of contract?

The question of whether interest as damages, upon a breach of contract, should be awarded has been a vexing one for a very long time. Lord Ellenborough in De Havilland v. Bowerbank (1807), 1 Comp. 50, listed a number of cases where interest might be awarded. He stated. "Interest ought to be allowed by law only in cases where there is a contract for the payment of money on a certain day, as on bills of exchange, promissory notes, etc.; where there has been an express promise to pay interest; or where, from the course of dealing between the parties, it may be inferred that this was their intention; or where it can be proved that the money has been used, and interest has been actually made."