§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Secretary of State for Trade what were the balance of payments figures for each of the last five months, excluding British-produced oil figures and assuming a level of oil imports equivalent to 1976 levels.
§ Mr. Meacher,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7th November 1977; Vol. 938, c. 25], gave the following up-dated information:
ESTIMATES OF "OIL-ADJUSTED" VISIBLE BALANCE (BOP BASIS) 1977 £ million seasonally adjusted May … … —369 June … … —497 July … … —418 August … … —99 September … … —109 NOTE. The estimates have been derived as follows:
Published visible balance for total trade less published exports of crude oil plus published imports of crude oil less estimated imports of crude oil (estimated as average 1976 level at average value in the month in question).