§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentages the £ sterling has appreciated or depreciated in real terms, after taking account of 234W Government to official holders of sterling; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 6th November 1978; Vol. 957, c. 57], gave the following information
In April 1977 foreign currency bonds amounting to £395 million were issued by Her Majesty's Government to official holders of sterling. The amounts and currencies of the bonds were as follows:
for the index of competitiveness and the terms of trade for manufacturers.
§ Mr. Healey,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7th November 1978; Vol. 957, c. 133], gave the following information
The latest figures for the various indices are as follows:
differential inflation rates, against the dollar, mark, yen, French franc and lira.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report,7th November 1978; Vol. 957, c. 133], gave the following information:
There is no unique way of measuring appreciations or depreciations in real terms. There are a number of different price or cost indices which can be used: examples in use are export prices, wholesale prices, consumer prices, GDP deflators, value added deflators, unit labour costs and normal unit labour costs. The 235W table below shows estimates for changes in exchange rate adjusted for changes in
PERCENTAGE APPRECIATION OF STERLING RELATIVE TO OTHER CURRENCIES (a) ADJUSTED FOR CHANGES IN WHOLESALE PRICES (b) ADJUSTED FOR CHANGES IN NORMAL UNIT LABOUR COSTS. (appreciation (+), depreciation (-)) January 1977–August 1978 January 1978–Auaust 1978 (a) (b) (a) (b) US dollar … … … … +19 +16 +4 +6 Deutschemark … … … … +9 +1 +1 -1 Yen … … … … -13 -22 -14 -15 French franc +10 … … … … 0 -5 -5 Italian lira … … … … +12 +6 0 -1