The external monetary situation has been broadly satisfactory during 1962, and the rate for sterling against the U.S. dollar has remained almost continuously above parity. At home, output has risen, though from a low starting point. In the financial sphere, an outstanding feature has been the strength of the gilt-edged market, and with it the market for other fixed interest securities: the yield on a twenty-year government stock fell from about 6¼% in June to below 5½% at the end of November, and on an industrial debenture of the same maturity from about 7% to about 6%.
Published on
01 December 1962
Commentary