§ 64. Mr. Shepherdasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to state the estimated cost of interest on Treasury Bills for the year 1959 based upon Bank Rate at 4 per cent. and 6 per cent., respectively.
Mr. AmoryBank Rate stood at 4 per cent. throughout 1959. The cost of interest on the £13,040 million of Treasury Bills issued through the tender during the year was £108 million, giving an average rate of interest of about 3⅜ per cent. per annum. It is impossible to say how many bills would have been issued or what the average rate of interest on them would have been if Bank Rate had stood at 6 per cent. throughout the year.