NEW ZEALAND EXCHANGE.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1921, Page 12

NEW ZEALAND EXCHANGE.

STILL AFFECTS U.S. MARKET. EXPORTERS UNABLE TO FINANCE. Difficulty of negotiating exchange on New Zealand and Australia continues to have an adverse influence on trade with the United States. According to the trade circular of Messrs. Maillej- and Quereau, of New York, the London banks, which have been accustomed to buy bills oi exchange against shipments to Australia and New Zealand, advised American houses during December and January that they were without funds, and therefore unable to make purchases. They have consequently declined to accept or pay for these bills. The result, has been that the shippers of the goods and the sellers of the bills asking for reimbursements of the.amounts paid to the shipper. The extent of this has been so vefy great that it was necessary to take prompt and severe action to change these conditions. The exporters, both the manufacturers and the export houses, finding they could not sell their bills after shipmentg were made, have sent out notices throughout the entire country cancelling orders wherever it was possible to do. so, and where not possible to cancel, then asking suspensions for as long a period as possible. “These requests,” say Messrs. Mailler and Quereau, “have been very generally met, and the natural result is that shipments must fall off very sharply in the near future. It is only goods that are manufactured or on the way to the seaboard that will be taken and paid for. The exporters could riot carry the burden of all this business, paying manufacturers and dealers for their goods, then not being able to reimburse themselves by selling their bills of exchange against shipments. It will, no doubt”: result in hardship in many cases, and probably disappointment to those whb have sent forward their orders expecting them to be executed in the usual manner. Cables, however, dispatched to Australia requesting remittances or credits to be used against shipments have not met with any favorable response, the i/eplies stating that the Australian banks could not cable credits nor remittances, and the merchants were not in a position to do so.”