diff --git a/base/complex.jl b/base/complex.jl
index 07e004b3519cf..afd39316cad6f 100644
--- a/base/complex.jl
+++ b/base/complex.jl
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ function ^{T<:AbstractFloat}(z::Complex{T}, p::Complex{T})
     if p==2 #square
         zr, zi = reim(z)
         x = (zr-zi)*(zr+zi)
-        y = T(2)*zr*zi
+        y = T(2*zr*zi)
         if isnan(x)
             if isinf(y)
                 x = copysign(zero(T),zr)