Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Balance of Payments – 7 July 1988

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Balance of Payments on 7th July 1988.

Ms. Quin To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give, for each year since 1983, the annual balance of payments figure; and if he will indicate what his estimate is now for the current year.

Mr. Major I give the historical figures as follows:

Year | Current account balances (in £ billion)
1983 | 3.7
1984 | 2.0
1985 | 3.3
1986 | 0.1
1987 | -1.6

Source: DTI Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics.

As my right hon. Friend has already said, recent figures suggest that the current account deficit in 1988 will be larger than the £4 billion forecast at the time of the Budget.