§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conclusions he reached about the decline in the value of the £ sterling in the light of his comparison of United Kingdom and United States consumer prices or wages in 1976 which suggests that the decline in the £ sterling has been about right, even a bit low.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonA comparison of United Kingdom and United States consumer prices and of the dollar/sterling exchange rate for October 1976 against October 1975 shows:
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United Kingdom consumer prices (£ terms) +14.8 per cent. United States consumer prices ($ terms) + 5.3 per cent. $/£ spot rate (monthly average) -20.3 per cent. While the factors mentioned are important, they are by no means the only ones involved in the determination of the exchange rate at any particular time.