During the first three months of 1955 imports exceeded exports by an average of £77 millions. In March the Trade gap was £92 millions. There was a slight improvement in April and May; but in June exports were £128 millions less than imports and in July they were still £107 millions short. And exports in June were £90 millions less than they were in June 1954.

Gold and dollar reserves at the end of July were £48 millions lower than they had been at the end of June. At the end of August they were a further £31 millions lower still. The country’s balance of payments situation was clearly deteriorating in the summer sunshine of 1955. And although Mr Butler said that there was no crisis in a speech at the end of July, a month later Sir Anthony Eden warned the country that the balance of payments situation was getting worse and that rising prices were tending to lead to loss of export markets. He declared that the Government were determined to enforce all necessary measures to ensure the health and stability of the economy.

The balance of payments difficulties with which the country was faced in 1949 were to some extent due to the recession in America in the summer of that year and to excessive dollar spending by Australia. The crisis of 1951 was mainly due to the 16 per cent increase in import prices in that year. But today there is no recession in America: there is a boom.