TRADE AND FINANCE

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 123, 28 April 1925, Page 10

TRADE AND FINANCE

STOCK EXCHANGE CHEERFUL. HARDENING OF PRICES. LONDON, April 25. The Slock Exchange closed yesterday in a decidedly cheerful frame of mind, after a week of steady improvement. Members’ views regarding Tuesday’s budget became increasingly optimistic throughout the. week and the anticipation that there will be some relief from taxation is now general. This feeling Jins been reflected by the aprpeciable hardening of prices in most markets and a good professional demand has arisen, especially for gilt edgeds in anticipation of a strong inquiry from the public next week. One week spot has been the Homo railways group, wherein prices declined seriously, owing to fears of labour troubles, but the prevailing optimism spread oven to this market and there was some recovery yesterday. IMPROVEMENT IN STERLING. The outstanding feature of the foreign exchange market has been the steady improvement of sterling in New York, which to-day stands at tho highest point reached since tho war. Tho strength of the market, generally is attributed to anticipations that Mr Winston Churchill (Chancellor of the Exchequer) will announce in the Budget statement that Britain is returning to tho gold standard. There are also reports from New York that a group of American banks are prepared to form a credit of 100,000,000 dollars to insure tho Bank of England’s reserve against any risk which may prove incidental to the free movement of gold on this .side. Jt is pointed out that tho substantial interests of American finance all favour a real monetary working alliance witli this country and the keeping of the sterling at parity when once it reaches there. THE METAL MARKETS.

According to the report of a leading metal broking firm, there is evidence that the wave of depression which passed over the noipferrous metals market following on last December’s exaggerated optimism is losing force, and there is a suggestion that tho bottom has been readied. During the last few days a great change has como over the temper of the markets and signs of returning confidence have been evident. In connection with the metal trade a Berlin correspondent points out that “German trade papers report that English metal firms aro acquiring interests in “old-established German enterprises. It will be remembered what an outcry there was when the outbreak of war revealed that the world’s metal trade was in thb hands of the Germans. It appears that the tables are now being turned.” THE WOOL TRADE. The event of the week was the visit of a deputation from the Wool Textile Association to the committee on Industry and Trade, when important evidence was submitted by influential witnesses. The principal difficulties arising from external Circumstances were said to be the uncertainty of tho raw material position and tho heavy fluctuations in wool values during the last three or lour years; also the competition from countries with depreciated currencies. There was also, it was staled, competition from new countries, Italy, for example, actively competing for the foreign markets, and Japan was bent upon establishing a wool industry of her own. 'I he members of the delegation said that it was evident that the consumption of wool and its substitutes had increased during the past three or four years and thatmachinery activity was gradually recovering from the subnormal position in the great slump of 1921. While the turnover in manufactured goods was greater there was still, however much leeway to mako up before the pre-war volume of trade was reached, but witnesses said that it was true that on tho wliolo the actual improvement in turnover had been as good in England as in any other textile producing country. Our percentage of the total world trade in wool textile was at least equal to the pre-war figures. , , . The Federation of British Indiistrics will publish next week its quarterly forecast. This will point out that while last October's prediction of an improvement in traffe is being fulfilled as regards the world as a. whole, the improvement so far as Britain is concerned has been disappointing. But there is no need to lie pessimistic. Certainly, the position of British constructional trades is serious but this also is true of the same trades throughout Europe, much of the trouble being duo to the existence of a temporary over-expansion of capacity in the case of iron and steel shipbuilding and the substitution of oil for coal in the coal mining industry. But in contrast with these positions tho manufacturing trades, generally, show a substantial improvement both at- Home and abroad. — A. and N.Z. cable.