§ Mr. Shoreasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the figures for the money stock, both M1 and M3, at the time when these categories were introduced; what were the figures in January of each succeeding year; and what is the latest figure.
477W
§ Mr. NottFigures for M1 and M3 were first published, on a quarterly basis, in September 1970. The information requested is as follows:
Monthly figures were first published in March 1972 on a banking month basis. The latest figure available is for October 1973; figures for preceding months are published in Financial Statistics.
Amount Outstanding (seasonally adjusted) £ million M1 M3 1970— 30th September 9,060 17,390 31st December 9,380 17,840 1971— 31st December 10,820 20,240 1972— 31st December 12,380 25,930 1973— 30th June 13,190 28,690 17th October 12,380 30,870
§ Mr. Bodyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rate of increase in the money supply (M2 definition) in the latest 12-months' period and in the previous corresponding 12-months' period.
§ Mr. Nott, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 21st November 1973, Vol. 864, c. 445], gave the following information:
The M2 series, which included 7-day deposit accounts at the clearing banks, is no longer compiled since as banks now offer a much wider range of term deposits this earlier distinction has ceased to be appropriate. The increases in the two definitions now used, M1 and M3, are as follows:
478W
October 1971-October 1972 October 1972-October 1973 M1 (% increase) 15.1 7.4 M3 (% increase) 23.7 29.1 Part of the increase in M3 reflects structural changes in the banking system since September 1971. The increase shown for M3 between October 1972 and October 1973 also reflects the arbitraging activities of some of the banks' large customers and the changed pattern of Government receipts during the transition from purchase tax to VAT.