|July | 279½ | - 1½ „ | - 6·45 | |August | 286 | - 1 „ | - 4·2 | |September | 347½ | - 1½ „ | - 5·1 | |October | 471 | - 5 „ | -12·7 | |November | 764½ | - 2¼ „ | - 3·5 | |December | 855 | - 1½ „ | - 2·1 | | 1922 | | | | |January | 777½ | - 3½ „ | - 5·4 | |February | 872 | - 2½ „ | - 3·4 | |March | 1117 | - 1½ „ | - 1·6 | |April | 1440 | - 8 „ | - 6·6 | |May | 1270 | - ½ „ | - ·47 | |June | 1222 | par | ... | |July | 2320 | + 5 marks | + 2·59 | |August | 3175 | +20 „ | + 7·56 | |September | 5700 | nominal | ... | |October | 9900 | + 450 mks | + 54·54 | |November | 26,250 | + 6,000 „ | +274·3 | |December | 35,000 | + 5,500 „ | +188·58 | | 1923 | | | | |January | 39,500 | + 1,750 „ | + 53·16 | |February | 190,000 | + 27,000 „ | +170·53 | |March | 105,000 | + 10,000 „ | +114·28 | |April | 97,500 | + 20,000 „ | +141·18 | |June | 350,000 | + 40,000 „ | +137·14 | |July | 900,000 | + 30,000[38] „ | + 40·00 | |August | 5,500,000 | +1,500,000[38] „ | +327·27 | +----------+------------+------------------+------------+ [38] Nominal. Forward purchases of francs, after being dearer than spot transactions by 2½ per cent per annum or more from the middle of 1920 to the middle of 1921, were nearly level in price from the middle of 1921 to the middle of 1922, whilst since that time they have been ½ to 2½ per cent per annum cheaper. In the case of lire there have been much wider gaps, forward purchases being frequently 3 per cent or more dearer than spot. In the case of German marks, the forward rate, after ranging round about 5 per cent per annum dearer than spot, has reached, since the autumn of 1922 and the complete collapse of the mark, a figure fantastically cheaper, thus reflecting the sensational rate of interest for short loans current inside Germany. But in all these cases (except in Germany since the complete collapse of the mark), whether forward exchange is at a discount or at a premium on spot, the expense, if any, of dealing forward has been small in relation to the risks that are avoided.