HC Deb 21 February 1985 vol 73 cc559-60W
27. Mr. Robert Hughes

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the present level of sterling exchange rates.

Mr. Ian Stewart

I have nothing to add to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statements to the House on 14 and 29 January and his evidence to the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee on 28 January.

31. Mr. Wainwright

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Her Majesty's Treasury uses any index of the effective sterling exchange rate separate from that published daily by the Bank of England.

Mr. Ian Stewart

No. The sterling exchange rate index, formerly known as sterling's effective exchange rate, is published by the Bank of England at 8.30 am and thereafter hourly from 9 am to 4 pm inclusive. Monthly averages for sterling's trade-weighted index against currencies in the EMS exchange rate mechanism are published in the CSO's "Financial Statistics."

Mr. Gould

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the change in the nominal and real exchange rates for the pound sterling compared with the deutschmark since March 1983; and what is the corresponding increase or decrease in base rates.

Mr. Ian Stewart

The information requested is as follows:

Percentage changes since March 1983
per cent.
Nominal DM/£ exchange rate* - ½
Real DM/£ exchange rate† +7½
United Kingdom base rates‡ +3

* Up to January 1985.

† ie. the nominal rate adjusted for movements in producer prices in the two countries up to November 1984 (latest available data).

‡ Percentage point change since 1 March 1983.

Such comparisons can be misleading, as they are highly sensitive to the particular time period chosen.