HC Deb 06 August 1980 vol 990 cc149-50W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, further to the article on monetary policy in the Economic Progress Report for July, he will circulate in the Official Report a table showing the change in the velocity of money each year since 1948 and the ratio of the change in velocity to (a) the change in prices and (b) the change in the money supply.

Mr. Lawson

Detailed money stock figures have been collected on a consistent basis only since 1963. Reliable velocity figures are, therefore, only available since then. These are published in the table on pages 138 and 139 of the CSO's Economic Trends annual Supplement 1980 Edition. Figures for recent periods are available in Financial Statistics, table 7.1; these include some revisions to earlier figures. Figures for changes in prices and the money supply are published in the same document at pages 112–115 and 138–142 respectively.

As was explained in the chart in the Economic Progress Report article, estimates of velocity of £M3 from 1956–62 were constructed on the assumption that sterling M3 showed the same rate of growth in these years as M3. The table below gives the estimates of velocity and £M3 constructed in this way.

Velocity of circulation £M3 £ million Money StockM3) average during the year
1956 2.432 8,624
1957 2.528 7,875
1958 2.564 9,022
1959 2.575 9,441
1960 2.622 9,815
1961 2.740 10,033
1962 2.803 10,296

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the trend level of the velocity of circulation referred to in Economic Progress Report No. 123.

Mr. Lawson

An annual increase of some 1 to 1½ per cent.—as is indicated by the chart in theEconomic Progress Report article to which the hon. Member refers.