Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Peston (Labour). It was answered on Monday, 19 January 2009.

Economy: Exchange Rate

Question: My Lords, is my noble friend aware that in economics we rarely have a laboratory experiment with respect to the exchange rate? The exchange rate plunged in 1992 when we left the ERM. For four years from then our share of world exports rose continuously. Therefore the answer to my noble friend’s Question is very simple and straightforward: it is good and it is not bad. The more interesting question is: what is the likely path of the exchange rate this year? If noble Lords opposite want some free financial advice and fancy a punt, my guess is that the forward purchase of sterling over the coming year will be highly profitable.

Answer: My Lords, I am not sure there was a question there. We are all reassured, however, that we can rely upon the Peston family for advice.

Secondary information