BRITISH TRADE.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 March 1925, Page 4

BRITISH TRADE.

FOR XIG HTLY R EVIEW

THE STOCK EXCHANGE

LONDON, March 14. T The Stock Exchange passed through t a period of nervousness since the bank I rate was raised last week, and a fur- 1 tlier advance in money rates in New .‘1 York made some timorous people talk 1 about the possibility of our rate being d raised to six per cent on Thursday, but t this was unnecessary as money became easier both here and in New York, and 1 a rather more settled feeling lias devel- i oped with a slight all-round rise in c gilt-edgeds. c AUSTRALIAN LOAN ISSUES. c Owing to adverse monetary cotuli- - tions, several investment issues met with very poor response and anxiety t was expressed in some quarters regard- < iug loans which were thought to lie im- i miiient. There is some talk about \ ietoria having to make a new issue to i meet £250,000 4J- per cents maturing in April; but it was apparently forgot- : ten that Victoria had floated a loan of £(5,000,000 in December, and so had plenty of money available here. The anouneement was made last night that maturing stocks would he paid oil on the due date. No mention was made of fresh borrowing, so it is generally thought that Victoria is utilising some of the £6,000,000 and deferring any further issue till money conditions are ; more favourable. New South Wales has £3,000,000 of ■TT per cent treasury bills maturing on , .March 15, lmt nothing has yet been disclosed about how they are to bo j met ! DAIRY PRODUCE. j A feature of the butter market has been that Australian is realising higher prices than New Zealand. As al- j ] ready pointed out. this is due to a j temporary shortage of Australian and | as soon as supplies increase there "ill probably again hr: a margin of a lew j shillings in favour ol the New Zealand product, but the fact tlmt Australian lias for once surpassed New Zealand has given great satisfaction to importers of Australian butter, who have long been contending that the disparity in prices was not justified, especially in view of the excellent quality of Australian butters this season. WOOL. Regarding the wool position as indicated hv the London sales, a Bradford correspondent says:—“The course of trade in Coleman Street lias done something to remove the extreme uneasiness which was so prevalent before tin' opening of Iho auctions. A sale trailing basis seems well within sight, and, if prices remain steady throughout the series, there is every reason to believe that users will regain confidence and resume business in tons and yarns. Buyers in all sections have been holding oil’ as long as possible in the hope of being able to obtain favourable rates. It is manifest that everything now hangs on the course ol raw material. If prices remain firm, there should soon he a distinct ini.proveny'nt right through the industry.” “ HOPEFUL VIEWS.” Discussing the trade position as a whole Barclay’s Bank “Review” says: for some time past still continue and from a purely hanking viewpoint, there are numerous indications ol progress. Documentary credits have increased during the past twelve months, both in number and amouni. and there seems to he no doubt that they represent an appreciable larger volume of trade. Although the increase is ehiellv attributable to the enlarged trad,' between other countries, lor which a settlement "'as made hv means ol sterling credits ' in London, it is partly due to greater activity in British fade, while the expansion ot international trade is an eii-(inn-aging feature because ot its ultimate beneficial effect upon Ihe trade ol the iimnlrv.”