1FEDERAL RESERVE STATISTICAL RELEASE                           December 31, 1996



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

 THE TABLE BELOW SHOWS THE AVERAGE RATES OF EXCHANGE IN DECEMBER 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       December     November      October     December

 *AUSTRALIA        DOLLAR          0.7966       0.7968       0.7918       0.7405
  AUSTRIA          SCHILLING      10.923       10.640       10.748       10.142
  BELGIUM          FRANC          31.944       31.172       31.470       29.615
  CANADA           DOLLAR          1.3622       1.3381       1.3508       1.3693
  CHINA,P.R.       YUAN            8.3290       8.3294       8.3299       8.3350
  DENMARK          KRONE           5.9428       5.8053       5.8576       5.5791
 *EURO COMMUNITY   ECU             1.2425       1.2700       1.2537       1.2755
  FINLAND          MARKKA          4.6388       4.5512       4.5694       4.3361
  FRANCE           FRANC           5.2427       5.1156       5.1652       4.9565
  GERMANY          D. MARK         1.5524       1.5118       1.5277       1.4406
  GREECE           DRACHMA       245.70       238.38       239.76       238.06
  HONG KONG        DOLLAR          7.7355       7.7323       7.7322       7.7345
  INDIA            RUPEE          35.882       35.892       35.804       34.966
 *IRELAND          POUND           1.6593       1.6645       1.6083       1.5918
  ITALY            LIRA         1528.44      1513.66      1523.82      1593.88
  JAPAN            YEN           113.98       112.30       112.41       101.85
  MALAYSIA         RINGGIT         2.5251       2.5234       2.5074       2.5399
  MEXICO           PESO            7.8769       7.9119       7.7345       7.6870
  NETHERLANDS      GUILDER         1.7420       1.6958       1.7141       1.6127
 *NEW ZEALAND      DOLLAR          0.7050       0.7098       0.7007       0.6500
  NORWAY           KRONE           6.4716       6.3554       6.4810       6.3579
  PORTUGAL         ESCUDO        156.54       152.83       154.28       151.03
  SINGAPORE        DOLLAR          1.3999       1.4025       1.4124       1.4148
  SOUTH AFRICA     RAND            4.6873       4.6577       4.5799       3.6632
  SOUTH KOREA      WON           841.92       830.56       828.24       771.31
  SPAIN            PESETA        130.69       127.28       128.60       122.53
  SRI LANKA        RUPEE          56.730       56.987       57.015       53.808
  SWEDEN           KRONA           6.8283       6.6269       6.6006       6.6393
  SWITZERLAND      FRANC           1.3290       1.2752       1.2586       1.1631
  TAIWAN           DOLLAR         27.516       27.522       27.532       27.315
  THAILAND         BAHT           25.600       25.459       25.474       25.164
 *UNITED KINGDOM   POUND           1.6639       1.6623       1.5863       1.5405

  MEMO:
**UNITED STATES    DOLLAR         88.70        86.98        87.98        85.07
 *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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