asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the overall balance of payments position for 1973; and how much of this he attributes to the higher cost of imports resulting from the devaluation of the £ sterling against a weighted average of foreign currencies.

The total currency flow, which is the best single measure of the overall balance of payments, shows a net inflow of £188 million in the first nine months of 1973; published figures for the fourth quarter are not yet available.Imports increased in value by about £4,000 million in 1973. Full figures for the year are not yet available but probably about £3,000 million of this increase was because of higher import prices. The depreciation of sterling accounted for under half of the price increase while the remainder, some £1,700 million, was because of rises in world market prices. The provisional current account deficit for the full 12 months of 1973 is £1,520 million.