HC Deb 21 July 1994 vol 247 cc429-30W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing his current estimate of the effect on the retail prices index of(a) a reduction of three percentage points on mortgage interest rates and (b) on the nominal exchange rate of 10 per cent. on a trade-weighted basis.

Mr. Nelson

A reduction in mortgage interest rates of three percentage points would contribute about -1.8 percentage points to the all items retail prices index.

The effect on the RPI of a change in the exchange rate depends on the circumstances in which it occurs. It is not possible to give a single estimate.