§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the effective exchange rate for sterling is still calculated on the basis described in the March 1981 issue of Economic Trends; and if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the movement in the rate on the basis of trade in 1982, or the latest year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe effective exchange rate index for sterling continues to be calculated on the basis of weights from the IMF's multilateral exchange rate model as described in the March 1981 issue ofEconomic Trends. The calculation uses the most up-to-date weights available from this complex model, which is based on 1977 trade flows, and figures are regularly published in a number of statistical periodicals which can be obtained from the House of Commons Library. When, in due course, the IMF model is revised to take account of more recent trade flows the effective exchange rate index will be similarly revised, as it was in 1981.