P129 CEEFAX 129  Sun  3 Apr  20:44/34
    
    
    
                EXCHANGES Close         
                                        
 Pre-holiday considerations made for a  
 typically quiet end to the week's      
 trading on the foreign exchanges.      
                                        
 The main interest was provided bz the  
 strength of the pound.                 
                                        
 Sterling met demand throughout the day 
 in the wake of Mr Lawson's defence of  
 the Government's exchange rate policy. 
                                        
 The US made useful progress despite    
 modest intervention bz the Bank of     
 England. Most dealers expect the       
 Chancellor's inflationery pressures    
 will rule out an early base rate cut.  
                                        
   Currency Rates 135