HC Deb 22 June 1948 vol 452 cc1134-5
67. Mr. Shepherd

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish an index in simple form showing the fluctuations in the terms of trade between 1913 and 1947.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Belcher)

With the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate the desired information in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The figures are as follow:

— Index Numbers, 1938 = 100
Average values of imports. Average values of United Kingdom exports. Terms of Trade.
1913 97 68 142
1919 233 189 123
1920 277 245 113
1921 185 184 101
1922 148 136 109
1923 145 130 112
1924 150 129 116
1925 151 126 120
1926 138 118 116
1927 132 112 118
1928 133 111 120
1929 130 109 119
1930 114 104 110
1931 92 93 98
1932 86 87 98
1933 83 87 95
1934 86 88 98
1935 89 89 100
1936 93 91 103
1937 107 98 109
1938 100 100 100
1946 211 196 108
1947 258 222 116

NOTE.—The figures under the heading "Terms of Trade" above show the changes in the volume of exports required to pay for a fixed volume of imports, i.e., a rise in the index indicates an adverse movement in the terms of trade. These figures can only give an approximate measure of the fluctations in the terms of trade, owing mainly to variations in the make-up of imports and exports and to uneven fluctations in the pricey of particular commodities.

Forward to