In the main, this Commentary reviews developments in the three months from May to July. Up to the middle of the year, the economy seems to have been growing only slowly, while industrial costs and prices were increasing very fast; consumers' expenditure began to rise appreciably in the June quarter, however. There was an appreciable increase in domestic credit and in the money supply in those three months; but industrial and commercial companies again raised very little capital by way of new issues, and in July redemptions outweighed new issues. The balance of payments surplus on current account was rather modest in the June quarter, but there were further repayments of overseas debt; and sterling stood up reasonably well to the dock strike in July.
Published on
01 September 1970
Commentary