§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will account for the unusually large balancing item of £1,265 million in the balance of payments for 1977.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe preliminary balance of payments accounts for 1977 published in the March issue ofEconomic Trends contain a balancing item of +£2,596 million. This is unusually large even for the preliminary accounts and is thought to result at least in part from changes in the timing of payments as confidence in sterling developed during the year.