Ordinarily a depreciation in the exchange rate ought to provide a welcome boost to the competitiveness of UK industries exposed to international trade - providing a useful cushion of extra demand at a time of economic weakness. But Roger Bootle’s analysis in his latest Deloitte Economic Review provides a timely and really useful piece of work for A2 students wanting to deepen their understanding of the impact of a lower exchange rate on output, trade, inflationary pressures, profits and jobs.

Bootle argues the the lower pound will help to re-balance the economy - but depreciation has come at an earlier stage of the economic slowdown than that seen in 1992, which came after a major recession. Accordingly, the inflationary dangers of a weaker exchange rate might appear to be greater this time - one of the reasons why the Monetary Policy Committee appears reluctant to cut interest rates.

Download the excellent Deloitte Review here.