THE BENZINE MARKET.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 February 1920, Page 4

THE BENZINE MARKET.

RISE IN PRICE PROPHESIED. . A commercial man who is keenly iflf terested in the benzine supply, infante ed a New Zealand Times reporter thlf there was every prospect Of an immedtj ate rise in the local price of the oil. Sq far as quantity was concerned, he saWL the position was much easier than Ml had been for some time, as there WM ' enough in the local market to ffuppljr immediate requirements, while Aefll were large shipments approaching. WhiM the vexatious complications of exchange had, however, made merchants chary of committing themselves to any evtent IB American purchases, the benzine had to be got, and merchants would almost cer* tainly guard against losing their profits' by the uncertainties of the rates, as had happened so frequently oi late, when American goods were handled/ by fixing a price which would leave then a safe margin. There was, ho pointed out, plenty of British oil purchasable across the sea (without any exchange complexities), but the difficulty was in', getting the ships for transport to thia market. Of the few such ships on th# water some were now about due with large cargoes of oil, hut he doubted if that oil would go on the local market at the price now ruling. r