asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional annual burden will fall on the United Kingdom balance of payments as a result of the diversion elsewhere of over £7,000,000 of gold mined in Rhodesia.

The United Kingdom's balance of payments will not be affected, although the supplies of gold available on the London market may be.

Does the right hon. Gentleman's statement mean that the gold will be available for the sterling area if it goes to South Africa?

The movements of the gold market are extremely mysterious, but it is true to say that gold which starts in one place sometimes ends up in another.