§ Mr. GillTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 17 February 1998,Official Report, column 528, for what reasons he has decided not to commission research on the effect of the sale of excess reserves of (a) gold and (b) foreign currency by central banks participating in the euro on (i) world gold prices and (ii) international exchanges; what assessments have already been made in respect of that issue; and what departmental studies will be made of this matter prior to introduction of the single currency. [32796]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 3 March 1998]: Developments in the world gold and foreign exchange markets are kept under continuous review as part of the normal process of managing the official reserves.