OIL AND ITS RELATION TO CRISIS

Chronicle (Levin), 15 July 1949, Page 5

OIL AND ITS RELATION TO CRISIS

Received Friday, 11.25 a.m. LONDON, July 14. # The Commonweaith economic leaders who are meeting in London to consider the sterling-'dollar crisis today discussed the possibility oi large-scale United States investments in their respective counmies. The delegates had already accepted the decision by Britain, the United States and Canada to carry the sterling-dollar deadlock to the International Monetary Fund in Washington in Septemfcer, bift had vet to decide whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford Cripps, would represent the Commonwea1th as a whole, or whether individual delegates should attend. When the Ministers adjourned after their two-hour meeting today, the New Zealand Finance Minister,

Mr Nash, said they had continued to ' make %ood progress m the general consideration of long-term measures to c.ose the dollar gap. He said that there had been d:scussions on plans to make the Commonwealth se f-sufficient in lts on supplies. j , i When the Mimsters met, Mr. Hugh Gaitskell, British Minister of ;Fuel,' opened the general discussion on oil and its bearing on the sterling-dollar deadlock. | Imports of pe ro eum products land refining machinery into Commonwealth countries from haid currency are believed to have been j included in the discussion The ' delegates were confronted by the' fact that the yearly cost of sterling j area petrol is well in excess of >£100,000,000. 'v