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DIVelOH OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

-3

1561

eOANO OF e 0 V E * N 0 * »
OF T H E

1

September 1 5 , 1961

CAPITAL MARKET DEVELOPMENTS ABROAD
I . United Kingdom
I I . Nine Charts on F i n a n c i a l Markets Abroad
I . United Kingdom:

Money and Capital Markets during August

Y i e l d s i n B r i t i s h money and c a p i t a l markets were maintained i n August
a t around the h i g h l e v e l s , reached a f t e r t h e r i s e i n Bank r a t e from 5 t o 7
per c e n t on July 23>. There was some tendency f o r r a t e s t o e a s e s l i g h t l y
i n e a r l y September, Since y i e l d s of undated B r i t i s h Government s e c u r i t i e s
turned down i n e a r l y August, the y i e l d curve has remained p r a c t i c a l l y f l a t ,
with Treasury b i l l s a t 6 , 6 5 per cent and War Loan a t 6„68 per cent on
September 8 . D e s p i t e the h i g h p r e v a i l i n g r a t e s , the v a l u e of new c a p i t a l
i s s u e s was s h a r p l y i n c r e a s e d i n July* The d e s i r e of B r i t i s h i n d u s t r y t o
meet i t s c a p i t a l needs without being s u b j e c t t o the i n c r e a s i n g c r e d i t
r e s t r a i n t s on the banking s e c t o r c o n t r i b u t e d t o new i s s u e a c t i v i t y .
Evidence of the July 25» c r e d i t r e s t r a i n t can be seen i n the
g r e a t e r than s e a s o n a l d e c l i n e i n outstanding l o a n s t o the p r i v a t e s e c t o r
of the London c l e a r i n g banks between mid-July and mid-August» However,
i n s t a l l m e n t c r e d i t outstanding continued i t s s t e a d y r i s e f o r the f i f t h
month i n s u c c e s s i o n and reached i t s a l l - t i m e high i n J u l y ,
The former
peak was i n July I960*
During August, the spot pound rose n e a r l y 2 U,S, c e n t s and
o f f i c i a l r e s e r v e s i n c r e a s e d e The improved tone i n the f o r e i g n exchange
market probably r e f l e c t e d the covering of s h o r t p o s i t i o n s by t r a d e r s and
perhaps a l i m i t e d i n f l o w of investment funds from c o n t i n e n t a l Europe<»
The July 2£ a u s t e r i t y program seems t o have h a l t e d the o u t f l o w of funds
from London but no appreciable r e t u r n f l o w i s y e t e v i d e n t , d e s p i t e record
London y i e l d s e Even though London b i l l r a t e s have been s u b s t a n t i a l l y
above t h o s e i n New York, t h e r e has been l i t t l e i n c e n t i v e t o move funds
from New York t o London because of the wide d i s c o u n t on 3-month forward
pounds o
Greater i n t e r e s t developed i n the London b u l l i o n market during
August as the p r i c e of gold r o s e from $35>»lU t o j u s t over $35>.20 per
f i n e ounce on September 3li. The demand f o r gold i s reported t o be mainly
from t h e Far East and t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t from the Middle East and Western
Europe.
Money market. Y i e l d s i n the London money market receded s l i g h t l y
a f t e r mid-August» The y i e l d on the B r i t i s h 3-month Treasury b i l l eased
from a high p o i n t of 6.7U per c e nt on August 11 t o 6»65 per c e n t on




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DECONTROLLED AFTER SIX MONTHS

r

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-

2

-

September 8 ( s e e Table and Chart 2)» A s i m i l a r d e c l i n e i n the U.S. b i l l
y i e l d kept London r a t e s about L«30 per c e n t above those i n New York,
However, the i n c e n t i v e t o move funds t o London on a covered b a s i s remained
small (below o n e - h a l f per c e n t ) because of the s u b s t a n t i a l d i s c o u n t on
forward s t e r l i n g .
Government s e c u r i t i e s market 0 A f t e r reaching record peaks i n
e a r l y August, y i e l d s on undated B r i t i s h Government s e c u r i t i e s f e l l sharply
( s e e Table and Chart 6)» They r o s e s l i g h t l y l a t e i n the month but turned
down a g a i n i n t h e f i r s t h a l f of September, I n i n t e r m e d i a t e m a t u r i t i e s ,
y i e l d s were steady through l a t e August and e a r l y September„ In shorter
m a t u r i t i e s , y i e l d s r o s e throughout August but then tended t o ease i n
September„
General r i s e i n money r a t e s „ The g e n e r a l l e v e l of money r a t e s
continued t o a d j u s t t o the high Bank Rate, The i n t e r e s t on Tax Reserve
C e r t i f i c a t e s subscribed a f t e r August 12 w i l l be 3 . 5 per cen t compared w i t h
3 per c e n t p r e v i o u s l y * On the same day, t h e r a t e of i n t e r e s t f o r new
l o a n s t o farmers was i n c r e a s e d by the A g r i c u l t u r a l Mortgage Corporation
t o 7 , 5 per cent from 7 per c e n t . The r a t e was formerly r a i s e d t o 7 per
cent from 6 , 5 per c e n t on July 20„
Building s o c i e t y r a t e s were maintained i n August a t t h e higher
l e v e l announced i n June. Second-quarter f i g u r e s f o r a l l b u i l d i n g s o c i e t i e s
show t h a t new s a v i n g s d e c l i n e d by £ 1 , 7 m i l l i o n and withdrawals i n c r e a s e d
by £ l o 3 m i l l i o n over f i r s t - q u a r t e r returns» As a r e s u l t , n e t r e c e i p t s
t o t a l e d £35 m i l l i o n compared w i t h £38 m i l l i o n i n the f i r s t q u a r t e r . Further
p r e s s u r e s on the resources of building s o c i e t i e s are l i k e l y t o develop as
competing r a t e s f o r small s a v i n g s respond t o the J u l y 25 r i s e i n Bank R a t e ,
Evidence of the i n c r e a s e d competition f o r small s a v i n g s i s r e f l e c t e d i n the sharp d e c l i n e i n August and e a r l y September i n n e t r e c e i p t s
of t h e Government's N a t i o n a l Savings Movement as r a t e s on competing media
have proved more a t t r a c t i v e » While n e t saving between A p r i l 1 and July 28
was £1*1.7 m i l l i o n , i n the f o l l o w i n g s i x weeks t o September 8 n e t saving
f e l l by £ 1 7 . 5 m i l l i o n . In c o n t r a s t , between l a t e July and e a r l y September
l a s t year n e t savings r o s e s l i g h t l y by £8 m i l l i o n ,
Insurance companies, In response t o a r e q u e s t from the Bank of
England, B r i t i s h insurance companies are to reduce t h e i r advances, p a r t i c u l a r l y
f o r property developments Other o u t l e t s f o r insurance company c a p i t a l w i l l ,
however, be r e s t r i c t e d o n l y by market forces,, These i n c l u d e underwriting
of new c a p i t a l i s s u e s , p e r s o n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l l o a n s and long-term
f i n a n c e t o enable repayment of short-term loans t o a bank*
New c a p i t a l i s s u e s . New c a p i t a l i s s u e s (excluding Treasury
o p e r a t i o n s ) during the f i r s t seven months of 1961 t o t a l e d £UU8a7 m i l l i o n ,
by f a r the l a r g e s t t o t a l of r e c e n t y e a r s . Nearly a quarter of t h i s was




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- 3 -

i n July i n -which new c a p i t a l i s s u e s of £108.9 m i l l i o n were f l o a t e d . Much
of t h i s y e a r ' s increase, concentrated mainly i n the May-July p e r i o d ,
r e f l e c t s the e f f o r t s of B r i t i s h industry to obtain financing outside the
banks which are under an i n c r e a s i n g l y t i g h t c r e d i t r e i n . Total new i s s u e s
were broken down as f o l l o w s ( i n m i l l i o n s of pounds)
F i r s t seven
months
1958
1959
I960
1961

U.K.

Overseas

Total

199.2
268.9
296.0
1(13.6

39.5
32.lt
31.7
35.1

238.8
301.3
327.7
Ui8.7

London c l e a r i n g banks. Advances of the London clearing banks
t o the private s e c t o r f e l l sharply i n the month to mid-August by £108
m i l l i o n , the l a r g e s t drop since September 195#, While the f a l l was
influenced by seasonal f a c t o r s , i t r e f l e c t s e f f o r t s by the banks e a r l i e r
i n the year t o reduce t h e i r present and future commitments. A further
c a l l - u p of £38 m i l l i o n was made t o Special D e p o s i t s . Sales of B r i t i s h
Government s e c u r i t i e s were n e g l i g i b l e a t £2 m i l l i o n . Liquid a s s e t s f e l l by
£23 m i l l i o n but the l i q u i d i t y r a t i o remained unchanged a t 32.9 per cent
because of the f a l l i n gross d e p o s i t s .
Installment c r e d i t . Installment c r e d i t rose sharply i n July,
apparently i n the expectation of a general increase i n i n d i r e c t taxes or
i n installment c r e d i t controls as part of the Government's a u s t e r i t y
measures expected i n July. The increase i n installment c r e d i t outstanding
by £11 m i l l i o n t o £968 m i l l i o n again was wholly accounted for by the debt
owing d i r e c t l y to finance houses (mainly for motor v e h i c l e f i n a n c e ) .
Recent f i g u r e s of installment c r e d i t outstanding are ( i n m i l l i o n s of pounds)
Household
goods s t o r e s
1959 - July
I960 - July
December
1961 - May
June
July

273
332
325
306
306
306

Finance
houses

Total

1x69

7k2

639
610
6U3
651
662

961
935
9U9
957
968

Change
+ 219
- 26
+ lU
+
8
+ 11

Exchequer r e c e i p t s arid payments. The Exchequer's d e f i c i t above
the l i n e f o r the f i r s t f i v e months of f i s c a l 1961-62 was £212 m i l l i o n compared with £282 m i l l i o n a year ago. Revenue increased by £271 m i l l i o n and
Expenditure by £201 m i l l i o n from the previous year. Below-the-line d e f i c i t ,
a t £231 m i l l i o n , was £39 m i l l i o n larger than during the corresponding
period l a s t year. The o v e r - a l l d e f i c i t was thus £UU3 m i l l i o n , £31 m i l l i o n
smaller than a year ago*




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- U-

Foreign trade, B r i t i s h exports i n J u 1 y seasonally adjusted
continued at about the June l e v e l . In the 3-month period May-July 9 .
s e a s o n a l l y adjusted exports were only 0»5 per cent higher than in the
preceeding three months„ However, s e a s o n a l l y adjusted imports declined
2 , 5 per cent between May-July and February-April. Lower imports sharply
reduced the trade d e f i c i t below the f i r s t - q u a r t e r l e v e l o Recent monthly
averages of seasonally adjusted trade f i g u r e s ( i n m i l l i o n s of pounds) are:
Exports

Reexports

Imports

Trade
balance

i960
296
12
380
- 72
1961 - I
12
- 6k
309
385
II
- h2
307
362
13
May
28)
12
- 70
365
June
- 21
15
367
331
July
16
307
- 31
35U
Aug* (prem„)
32U
- 22
15
361
Foreign exchange reserves* Foreign exchange reserves rose
sharply i n August» After excluding s p e c i a l c a p i t a l payments and r e c e i p t s
and the I.M.F. drawing^"'the press estimate an i n f l o w of between £3U and
£61 m i l l i o n . This i n f l o w appears t o r e f l e c t the covering of short
p o s i t i o n s by traders following the July 25 measures to support s t e r l i n g
-and some i n t e r e s t i n B r i t i s h bonds» The t o t a l r i s e i n reserves of £369
m i l l i o n included the £518 m i l l i o n drawing from the International Monetary
Fund and an unknown i n f l o w from a transaction i n which France purchased
s t e r l i n g to repay some part of her £27 m i l l i o n f i n a l payment to the nowdefunct European Payments Union, O f f s e t t i n g these two inflows was a £200
m i l l i o n payment to several major European central banks f o r their a s s i s t a n c e
in-supporting s t e r l i n g e a r l i e r i n the y e a r , and a £10 m i l l i o n payment to
Germany f o r debts incurred under the EPU.
Overseas s t e r l i n g h o l d i n g s . Overseas s t e r l i n g holdings declined
again i n the second quarter to £Lj^257 m i l l i o n from £US2?2 m i l l i o n i n the
f i r s t quarter and the high of fil4.jl4.36 m i l l i o n i n the fourth quarter of 1960«
A l l regions of the nonsterling area reduced t h e i r s t e r l i n g holdings i n the
second quarter. This f a l l has been i n progress since the fourth quarter
of i960 i n a l l regions except Western Europe, which reached i t s peak i n
the f i r s t quarter of 1961 and r e f l e c t s the increase i n , . o f f i c i a l holdings
under the Basle agreement« After declining since the second quarter of
I960, s t e r l i n g holdings of the Overseas S t e r l i n g Area rose sharply i n the
second quarter of 1961. Part of t h i s r i s e may be seasonal <> Recent movements i n overseas holdings of s t e r l i n g are as f o l l o w s (in m i l l i o n s of pounds)1




NOT FOR PUBLICATION

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

End of
period

Total

March" I960

U,180

June I960
Sept. I960
Dec. I960
March 1961
June 1961

+
+
+
-

Nonsterling area
Other Western
North
countries
Europe
America

Rest of
sterling
area

Nonterritorial
organizations

U08

2,670

688

58

356

Change
295
72
89
16U
15

+

33

+

h2

+ 170
- 160
- 29

+
+
+
+
-

81
1U3
67
U8
85

+

h

+ Ui
+
ii
- 19
- 61

+

k

- 97
- 97
- 37
+ 161

+
-

27
57
5
U
1

Foreign exchange r a t e s . The s t e r l i n g spot r a t e f l u c t u a t e d
narrowly about 280*50 U.S. cents during most of August but by e a r l y
September i t strengthened to about 2 8 l c 2 0 U.S. c e n t s , This strengthening
i s reported to r e f l e c t commercial i n t e r e s t rather than a movement of
c a p i t a l f o r investment purposes. A s u b s t a n t i a l inflow of funds to London
on a covered b a s i s seems u n l i k e l y as long as the per annum discount on
3-months forward s t e r l i n g holds at about the h per cent l e v e l which has
prevailed since l a t e July.
Bullion market. After remaining about steady i n l a t e Julye a r l y August, the d o l l a r equivalent of the f i x i n g price of gold increased
f u r t h e r through September 111, t h e r e a f t e r d e c l i n i n g s l i g h t l y ,
•
April 7
May 5
June 2
July 7
August 11
September Ik

Fixing p r i c e
(in dollars)
35,0779
35,0673
35.0739
35.0951
35,1517
35.2019

Stock market. A f t e r r i s i n g sharply i n e a r l y August, i n d u s t r i a l
p r i c e s on the London stock market f e l l back i n the second week of the month
to the July l e v e l s (see Table and Chart 7 ) . The market d r i f t e d s l i g h t l y
lower l a t e r i n the month but by e a r l y September p r i c e s strengthened somewhat.
B r i t i s h Commonwealth S e c t i o n .
I I . Nine Charts on F i n a n c i a l Markets Abroad
I n t e r e s t Arbitrage U.S./Canada
I n t e r e s t Arbitrage New .York/London
• I n t e r e s t Arbitrage New York/Frankfurt •
I n t e r e s t Arbitrage Frankfurt/London
Short-term I n t e r e s t Rates
Long-term Bond Yields
Industrial St?ck Indices
Major Currencies i n Terms of
Spot United S t a t e s Dollar
Chart 9 - 3-month Forward Rate—London Quotations

Chart
Chart
Chart
Chart
Chart
Chart 6




United Kingdoms

3-mOo Treasury b i l l
, DifferU o K j / UoSoS/
ence

ill

Date
I 9 6 0 - High
Low
1961 - High
Low

5.68
2.13
6o?U
k.17

k.95
2.08
2.52
2.16

3 063
•=0 .8k
k.k2
1.88

(p).6k
2.33
L.36
0.79

J u l y 1k
21
28
Aug. h
1118
25
Sept. 1
8

Uo57
k.63
6,69
6.71
6.7%
6.71
6.70
6.70
6o65

2.20
2ol6
2.2k
2.29
2.kk
2.17
2.3k
2,32
2.31

2.37
2.U7
k.k2
U.U2
a.30
k.2k
a.36
k.32
k.3k

3.82
2.99
k.07
k.00
ko07
#.11
3.82
3.93
k.01

a/
b/
c/
d/
e/
f/

-

Treasury B i l l Y i e l d s and Exchange Rates

6 -

Exchange r a t e
Net
Spot
Discount
incentive
on 3-mo.
t o hold
. . sterling
®Z
sterling*/
U.K. b i l l * /
1.92
- .23
1.13
-2.12
-1.U8
-0.22
0,38
0.U2.
0.23
0,13
0.21
' 0.k2
0.33

281.28
279.83
281.07
278.47

1.6k
(P).U7
3.0U
0.55

278.17
278.17
279.28
280.18
280.3k
280.30
280.29
280.28
281.07

2.68
2.08
2.8k
2.80
2.85
2.88
2.70
2.76
2.82

Average y i e l d a t Friday weekly tender*.
Closing market y i e l d f o r Friday i n New York,
Spread between spot and forward r a t e i n per c e n t per annum0
Net of d i f f e r e n c e i n b i l l y i e l d l e s s d i s c o u n t on 3-month s t e r l i n g 0
Spot r a t e i n New York market i n U„So c e n t s .
Spread between spot and forward r a t e s i n U . S . c e n t s „ -

United Kingdoms

S e l e c t e d C a p i t a l Market Y i e l d s
Share
yield®/

6-year
bond5/

12-year
bond®/

War
loan®/

I960 - H i g h
Low
1 9 6 K - High
Low

6 oil
a,93
6,68
2.92

6.00
2.33
6.76
2.97

2,9k
2„33
6.92
2.92

2.70
2.02
6,78
2*70

k.96
3.7k
2.1k
k.22

l.k9
0.63
1.90
0.97

J u l y lit
21
" 28
Aug. k
11
18
22
Sept. 1
8

6.37
6.31
6,22
6,65
6.62
6.63
6.68
6.61
6.60

6elt8
6.k7
6.52
6.62
6.736.73
6,76
6.7k
6.75

6.71
6.62
6.72
6.92
6.72
6.71
6.77
6.66
6.68

6.23
6 .kk
6.27
6.78
6.26
6.21
6.60
6,kk
6.L2

2.13
2.01
2.1k
k.88
2.ok
2.08
2.11
5-10
2.03

l.ko
i.k3
l.k3
1.90
1.22
l.k3
i.k9
1.3k
l.k2

Consols

a / 5 - 1 / 2 per cent Exchequer, 1966.
1>/ 3 per cent Savings Bond 1962-72 <»
"c/ 3 - 1 / 2 per c e n t War Loan (undated) .
d / 2 - 1 / 2 per c e n t Consol (undated)
e / F i n a n c i a l Times.
T / JJirrerence between y i e l d on 2 - 1 / 2 per c e n t Consols and share y i e l d ,
g / F i n a n c i a l Times.




Share
pricesjg/

S g

-

228.6
29k.6
362.3
306,2
306.2
313.8
307.3
328.6
313.3
311.0
308.7
309.2
313.7

INTEREST A R B I T R A G E , UNITED S T A T E S / C A N A D A
Thursday f i g u r e i
THREE-MONTH

TREASURY

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L A N D

BILL R A T E S

FORWARD

CANADIAN

DOLLAR

S H t A O IN FAVOR OF CANADA +

RATE DIFFERENTIAL W I T H




F O R W A R D EXCHANGE COVER
M i l INCENTIVE IN f A V O I OF CANADA " f

M

S

D

M

$

1

INTEREST A R B I T R A G E ,

NEW

YORK

/

LONDON

Fridoyfigurai
3-MONTH

TREASURY BILL RATES

w

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L A N D
3-MONTH

FORWARD

STERLING

S P R E A D IN F A V O R Of L O N D O N

roeVtARD RAII
Dlnoeet —

..

1

I

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L
FORWARD

WITH

EXCHANGE

2

IN F A V O R OF I O N D O N

COVER

IN FAVOR OF N E W Y O R K

1959




1961

INTEREST A R B I T R A G E ,
Friday figure*
3-MONTH
GERMAN

NEW

YORK/FRANKFURT ,

T R E A S U R Y ~BILL R A T T s " T N ^
3-MONTH

INTERBANK

LOAN

RATES

' P»r t e n l p e r

INTERBANK I O A N R A T E — l / ~ V

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L A N D

FORWARD DEUTSCHE MARK
\ INTERBANK
1 L O A N RATE

Ll^-xl a

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L W I T H

FORWARD EXCHANGE COVER

IN F A V O R OF F R A N K F U R T ( + )

M 1
*

J

p

1960.

Note: Special forward dollar rale available



'Hi

IP.
1961

lo German commercial banks. j

$

p

I N T E R EST A R B I T R A G E , F R A N K F U R T / L O N D O N

3 - M O N T H T R E A S U R Y BILLS
-— A N D L E N D I N G R A T E S — :

TREASURY BILLS

UNITED KINGDOM
~ TREASURY RILLS

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L A N D

FORWARD

STERLING

SPREAD IN FAVOR OF UNITED KINGDOM BILLS OVER:

GERMAN
\
INTERBANK \
L O A N RATE

3 - M O N T H FORWARD STERLING
PREMIUM+ OR D I S C O U N T -

RATE D I F F E R E N T I A L W I T H
-

FORWARD

NET INCENTIVE OF UNITED KINGDOM BILLS OVER:

GERMAN

I960




EXCHANGE

COVER

SHORT-TERM

INTEREST

RATES*

*

GtRKANY

.CANADA J _

1958
^

1959

1960

1961

3-monlh Ireoiury bill ralei for all couniriei ekcepl Japan (3-monih interbank deposit role) ond Switzerland (3-month depoiil role)

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INDUSTRIAL

STOCK

INDICES

*
1958 = 100

350

SWITZERLAND /
200

150

1958




1960

MAJOR

CURRENCIES IN

T E R M S O F THE S P O T U .

S. DOLLAR]

-'VI

GERMAN HARK

Below

A




par

\ < f

3-MONTH

F O R W A R D RATES - L O N D O N

QUOTATIONS, /

PREMIUM +

S W I S S FRANC

l

V

\

PREMIUM +

FRENCH FRANC /

v-\

I960




1961

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