§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the rise or fall in(a)real and (b) nominal terms of the Deutschmark against (i) sterling and (ii) the US dollar for (1) each three month period in the four years up to the end of March 1998 and (2) in total for that period and indicating the balance of trade with Germany for each period. [39351]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe real and nominal movements in the sterling and dollar rates against the Deutschmark from 1994Q2 until 1998Q1 are given in the table alongside the quarterly UK balance of trade in goods with Germany. The effects of exchange rate movements on trade balances are difficult to isolate. However, recently the UK's deficit on trade in goods with Germany has been similar to its level four years earlier.
Percentage change on previous quarter DM/Sterling exchange rate DM/Dollar exchange rate UK balance trade in goods with Germany (£ million)3 Nominal1 Real2 Nominal1 Real2 1994Q2 -2.3 -2.9 -3.5 -3.8 -1,068 1994Q3 -3.2 -3.3 -6.0 -6.3 -1,346 1994Q4 1.2 0.8 -1.1 -0.9 -1,164 1995Q1 -4.4 -3.3 -4.3 -4.2 -1,282 1995Q2 -4.7 -3.0 -5.5 -4.7 -1,631 1995Q3 0.9 2.7 2.5 3.8 -1,447 1995Q4 -1.3 0.0 -0.6 0.3 -1,567 1996Q1 1.3 2.7 3.1 4.0 -1,774 1996Q2 3.1 4.0 3.7 5.1 -1,528 1996Q3 0.4 0.9 -1.6 -0.3 -1,484 1996Q4 7.2 8.7 2.3 3.8 -1,651 1997Q1 8 9.3 8.1 10.0 -1,407 1997Q2 3.7 4.9 3.5 4.8 -1,245 1997Q3 4.6 5.8 5.3 6.1 -1,353 1997Q4 -0.7 1.0 -2.7 -2.5 -1,372 1998Q1 2.7 4.7 3.5 3.6 n/a Total change 16.8 22.5 5.6 8.8 — 1A minus sign denotes sterling/dollar depreciation. 2 Nominal exchange rate changes adjusted for changes in relative consumer prices. 3A minus sign denotes a deficit.