1FEDERAL RESERVE STATISTICAL RELEASE                             October 1, 1996



 G.5(405)            FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES FOR THE MONTH ENDING  SEPTEMBER 1996

 THE TABLE BELOW SHOWS THE AVERAGE RATES OF EXCHANGE IN SEPTEMBER 1996 TOGETHER
 WITH COMPARABLE FIGURES FOR OTHER MONTHS. AVERAGES ARE BASED ON DAILY NOON BUYING
 RATES FOR CABLE TRANSFERS IN NEW YORK CITY CERTIFIED FOR CUSTOMS PURPOSES BY
 THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK.


                                      (RATES IN CURRENCY UNITS PER DOLLAR)


                   MONETARY       1996         1996         1996         1995
    COUNTRY          UNIT       September     August        July       September

 *AUSTRALIA        DOLLAR          0.7928       0.7830       0.7897       0.7537
  AUSTRIA          SCHILLING      10.610       10.435       10.576       10.270
  BELGIUM          FRANC          31.056       30.553       30.947       30.044
  CANADA           DOLLAR          1.3694       1.3722       1.3697       1.3509
  CHINA,P.R.       YUAN            8.3341       8.3379       8.3409       8.3374
  DENMARK          KRONE           5.8057       5.7327       5.8014       5.6587
 *EURO COMMUNITY   ECU             1.2576       1.2685       1.2570       1.2783
  FINLAND          MARKKA          4.5421       4.4793       4.5812       4.3754
  FRANCE           FRANC           5.1307       5.0636       5.0881       5.0352
  GERMANY          D. MARK         1.5080       1.4826       1.5025       1.4601
  GREECE           DRACHMA       239.67       237.00       237.65       235.65
  HONG KONG        DOLLAR          7.7328       7.7345       7.7379       7.7368
  INDIA            RUPEE          35.870       35.800       35.667       33.310
 *IRELAND          POUND           1.6096       1.6108       1.6031       1.5905
  ITALY            LIRA         1520.48      1516.62      1526.82      1613.41
  JAPAN            YEN           109.93       107.87       109.19       100.55
  MALAYSIA         RINGGIT         2.5009       2.4933       2.4915       2.5124
  MEXICO           PESO            7.5441       7.5143       7.6179       6.3167
  NETHERLANDS      GUILDER         1.6905       1.6633       1.6862       1.6354
 *NEW ZEALAND      DOLLAR          0.6964       0.6886       0.6900       0.6561
  NORWAY           KRONE           6.4613       6.4153       6.4465       6.3943
  PORTUGAL         ESCUDO        153.99       152.27       154.56       152.11
  SINGAPORE        DOLLAR          1.4086       1.4124       1.4160       1.4331
  SOUTH AFRICA     RAND            4.5489       4.5289       4.3963       3.6616
  SOUTH KOREA      WON           822.40       817.52       813.03       772.04
  SPAIN            PESETA        127.11       125.72       126.96       125.41
  SRI LANKA        RUPEE          56.050       55.603       55.293       52.547
  SWEDEN           KRONA           6.6427       6.6211       6.6394       7.1227
  SWITZERLAND      FRANC           1.2343       1.2029       1.2320       1.1868
  TAIWAN           DOLLAR         27.500       27.496       27.573       27.432
  THAILAND         BAHT           25.407       25.289       25.355       25.129
 *UNITED KINGDOM   POUND           1.5593       1.5499       1.5530       1.5590

  MEMO:
**UNITED STATES    DOLLAR         87.46        86.54        87.25        85.69
 *VALUE IS U.S. DOLLARS
 **INDEX OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE EXCHANGE VALUE OF U.S. DOLLAR AGAINST CURRENCIES OF OTHER
 G-10 COUNTRIES.  MARCH 1973 = 100.  WEIGHTS ARE 1972-76 GLOBAL TRADE OF EACH OF THE
 10 COUNTRIES.  SERIES REVISED AS OF AUGUST 1978.  FOR  DESCRIPTION AND BACK DATA, SEE
 "INDEX OF THE WEIGHTED-AVERAGE EXCHANGE VALUE OF THE U.S. DOLLAR: REVISION" ON PAGE
 700 OF THE AUGUST 1978 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN.

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