HC Deb 03 February 1977 vol 925 c309W
Mr. Atkinson

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates the effect of high interest rates to have been on industrial investment during the fourth quarter of 1976.

Mr. Joel Barnett

Estimates of manufacturing and distributive and service investment are not yet available for the fourth quarter of 1976. It is in any case difficult to disentangle the effects of high interest rates over a short period. However, a downward trend in interest rates now seems to be established, and this is expected to have an encouraging effect on investment during the course of the next year.