Report to May 2001

Deutsche Equity Income Trust PLC
12 June 2001


                                      
                                       
                       REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2001
                                       
                                                                           
                                                                            
MARKET BACKGROUND

Following  a  modest bounce in equity markets in April, the UK  equity  market
gave  up  some of those gains in May with the FTSE All-Share index falling  by
2.0%.   The  NAV  of  the  trust fell by 0.3% over the  month  to  268.2p,  an
outperformance  of  1.7%.   The share price rose by  2.5%  to  266.5p  as  the
discount to NAV narrowed to 0.6%.

Major  purchases during the month included an increase in holdings in Legal  &
General, British Telecom, 3i Group and Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets.  Sales over
the  same  period included holdings in Bass, Whitbread, Aga Foodservice  Group
and Northern Rock.

OUTLOOK

We  continue  to  have a positive outlook for the UK equity  market  over  the
remainder  of  the year as the monetary authorities attempt to  stimulate  the
economy  through aggressive reductions in interest rates.  However,  corporate
newsflow  continues  to remain poor and we expect intra-market  volatility  to
remain high as investors shift in and out of defensive sectors of the market.



NET ASSET VALUE                      31/05/01   30/04/01
                                       268.2p     269.1p

MID-MARKET SHARE PRICE               31/05/01    30/04/01
Ordinary Shares                       266.5p     260.0p
Dividend Yield (%)                      2.8        2.8

LARGEST  HOLDINGS  (market value £67.4 million  equal  to 63.0% of total
portfolio)
                                               
                                                  % of
                                     £'000's   portfolio
GlaxoSmithKline                       9,141       8.5
BP Amoco                              6,798       6.4
HSBC Holdings                         4,533       4.2
Shell Transport & Trading             3,921       3.7
Vodafone Group                        3,594       3.4
AstraZeneca                           3,046       2.8
Royal Bank of Scotland                2,871       2.7
Lloyds TSB                            2,802       2.6
British Telecom                       2,390       2.2
Legal & General                       2,263       2.1
Cookson Group                         2,220       2.1
CGNU                                  2,219       2.1
EMAP                                  2,210       2.1
Allied Domecq                         2,189       2.0
Bunzl                                 1,808       1.7
Centrica                              1,765       1.6
Diageo                                1,701       1.6
Carlton Communications                1,694       1.6
Barclays                              1,656       1.5
BG Group                              1,622       1.5
Britannic                             1,609       1.5
Lonmin                                1,376       1.3
Singer & Friedlander Group            1,356       1.3
United Utilities                      1,346       1.3
Powergen                              1,315       1.2
                                                         
FINANCIAL CALENDAR                                       
Pay interim dividend                                             26 June 2001

For further information, contact Graham Ashby at Deutsche Asset Management on
020-7545-6000.

For additional copies, changes of address or details of our Private Investors'
Plan,  low  cost ISA and Dividend Reinvestment Scheme (a recently  established
scheme through which shareholders, who hold their shares on the Company's main
register,  can  use their dividends to purchase further shares)  contact  Mark
Pope on 020-7545-0520,  e-mail  address: [e-mail].  Further details of
Deutsche Equity  Income Trust including the latest annual, interim and monthly
reports  can  be found  on  the  Deutsche Asset  Management website located at
www.deam-uk.com/uk/invest/.

Issued by Deutsche Equity Income Trust PLC and approved by Deutsche Investment
Trust  Managers  Limited,  regulated by the Investment  Management  Regulatory
Organisation  and  manager  of Deutsche Equity Income  Trust  PLC.   Investors
should  be  aware that past performance is not necessarily a guide  to  future
returns,  values can fall as well as rise and investors may not get  back  the
amount they invested.