International Monetary Fund

The Tenth Annual Report on Exchange Restrictions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), covering the period from May 1958 to April 1959, was transmitted to members and governors of the Fund on June 3, 1959.1 In Part I of the report the establishment of external convertibility of the major European currencies was described as the most important single achievement of the postwar period in the field of exchange restriction. This event took place at the end of 1958, while in early 1959 other countries adjusted their exchange control regulations to the new conditions. A major factor behind the move was pinpointed as the general gain in strength, both economic and financial, of the industrialized countries and, with the exception of the United States, their substantial addition to their gold and dollar reserves. Most of the less developed countries continued to experience difficulties, according to the report, but several were putting into effect comprehensive stabilization programs which included the simplification of their exchange systems. The report considered the immediate effects of this concerted move and the impact it might be expected to have on the restrictions that still remained. It also pointed out that during the period under review appreciable further progress was made in the substitution of unitary exchange rates for multiple currency practices, and that there was a general decline in the number of bilateral payments arrangements between member countries of the Fund.