BRITISH TRADE

Hokitika Guardian, 30 July 1930, Page 2

BRITISH TRADE

FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW

STOCK EXCHANGE REFLECTS tra.de depression.

LONDON, July 26. With the approach of tlie holiday season, business on tlie Stock Exchange always begins to fall away. This year the slack period commenced earlier than usual, and there is little indication of any public interest either in investment or speculative stocks. Gilt-edgeds have felt the effect of the continuous drain of gold from the Bank of England, chiefly to France and British funds have lost some' of the appreciation in values.which they experienced a fortnight ago. Dominion stocks have also been dull. The French gold withdrawal led to some talk of an increase in the Bank rate, ■but according to the “Financial 'News’’ the balance of opinion is against the likelihood of a change before the end of August.

STATE OF TRADE.

The review of the state of trade in “TII6 Economist” again makes rather dismai 1 reading. It says:• l “The position as revealed bv the Julie statistics is even more discouraging than a mouth ago. It js not surprising that there is, evidence on the one hand of generail loss of confidence, and on» the other the feeling that things will be better in the autumn. To deal with the latter feeling first,'it may be said at once that there is no ground for supposing that there will be any improvement in trade above the normal revival of activity that follows the holiday period in all years, good and bad alike. This year the depression is too general and too deep-seated for its end to be of sudden and definite character. In fact, if the autumn harvests are such as to\ precipitate a further . decline of commodity prices the autumn revival is likely to he less marked than usual. Tlie general, loss of confidence in business circles is only natural, but it is equally a state of mind calculated to prolong trade depression and not : to ■ accelerate its termination.’’ 1

■'■•■■■ APPLES

The Australian apple season is drawing to a 1 close under .depressing' (nnditioiis. ! Importers will not be sorry when the last cargo lias been handled. Recent arrivals have con-.-'sisted'. largely of poor quality. Tasmanians, and as they cam© on a market igjlutted with soft fruits—both English and Continental —it is not surprising that' apples made only low prices. Cooking sorts especially have done badly, for supplies of raspberries and currants have been enormous, Indeed, arrivals of these from the Continent have been so large that English growers have had to take unremunerative prices for crops and some actually; have let their fruit rot rather than pay for its carriage to the markets. The only Australian apples which are doing any good are hard-soft like R.okewoods, Granny Smiths . and, the best Stumers, but many of the. last-named kind are too largo and over-ripe. A considerable quantity of. New Zealand apples lias been placed in cold store, in the hope of better prices after the glut of soft fruits has ended.

TIN PRODUCTION

The Tin Producers’ Association states that as a result of co-operation between the world’s chiet producers it is estimated that an aggregate curtailment of approximately 17,1C0 tons in the output of metallic tin will be effected to December 31, 1930, without reckoning the reductions being made by Chinese producers in Malaya, Siam and China. But even this reduction does not satisfy one leading firm of metal merchants, which in a letter to the newspapers ask whether what is being done is enough to (Save the situation and pointing out that a temporary improvement is not what iis wanted in ‘the mining industry as a whole. Those mines which stop work for two months will not derive any benefit unless any rise in the price is maintained after they have resumed production, Commenting upon this viewpoint, the 'Financial Times” says that unless there is a considerable early improvement, in the consumption, of which there is no real indication as yet, the current restriction scheme cannot do move than keep the present unwieldy stocks from further expanding.