§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyneasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the movement in the import prices of wheat, copper, zinc, tin and wool between June 1972 and December 1973; and also what movement would have occurred if over that period the £ sterling had maintained a fixed parity relationship to a weighted average of international currencies.
§ Sir G. HoweWholesale price increases in imported commodities between June 1972 and December 1973 were as follows:—
Percent. Wheat 155 Copper 132 Zinc 100 Tin 92 Wool 150 It is not possible to say what would have occurred if the £ had not been allowed to float. However, these increases are very much greater than the fall in the effective exchange rate of the £ in the same period.