CONTINENTAL CHAOS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 161, 10 July 1922, Page 5

CONTINENTAL CHAOS.

EFFECT ON BRITISH TRADE. NEW ZEALAND WOOL. : WITHDRAWN FROM LIVERPOOL . SALE. i (By C'^ibie.—Press Association.—Copyright.) iKeeeived 0.30 a.m.) LONDON, July i>. The slump in (icrmaii mark.-, which ' caused smaller declines of French and '< Belgian franc?, coupled with events in < Ireland, has checked the general acti- t Vity on the Stock Exchange, but prices i of high-class investment securities have | been wonderfully maintained, the chief t explanation being the idea that the 1 chaotic conditions may prolong the stag- < nation of trade and the cheapness of . money. The money market is already s freely discussing the prospects of :i fur- \ ther reduction in the bank rate, but it is I suggested that such ;i reduction is likely 11 to have a less pronounced ell'ect upon securities than the previous declines. | The present state of the Berlin Xx- , change has virtually brought to a standStill any attempt* ill derma ny to meet h the cash payments on account of repani- , tions, and is affecting her similarly re- , garding external payment* which must j hp made for raw materials. , An encouraging feature of the ex- ] change position lies in the fail that the . .Vow York values have strengthened (luring the week, probably due to the \ renewed expectation of developments re- j j garding the Uritish loan raised in I America. In this regard the city j evinced the greatest interest in I the withdrawal of half a million of gold from the Hank of England. A similar decline occurred in the ! holding of gold by the Currency Depart- [ ment against the issue of currency notes, j Thus a million lias been withdrawn. The money market concludes that this was done for shipment to the I'nited States i for payment of interest on the loan, the i first instalment of which i> due in I October. The "Spectator" points out that j among the influences which produced the recent improvement in gilt-edged securities insufficient attention ha* been I paid to the national accounts, which are i regarded a* encouraging both owing to I the unexpectedly large revenue and the j shrinkage in expenditure. ' Yorkshire paper.- strongly protested lagainst B.A.W.R.A.'h last-minute decision to withdraw all New Zealand wool from the Liverpool sales, describing tin , ) i action us an expedient to prevent a fall I liv prices. On the contrary, it is recog- | i nised that without the withdrawal of I the July programme the London and Liverpool sales would have totalled a j quarter of a milllion hales. The block i caused by the impossibility of the Vorkj shire combers to handle the increased ' quantities of wool is still a vital factor. t>eeause it leaves heavy accumulations, making it difficult to finance further supplies. The l>est features of the situnI tion are the well maintained consumption of tops and yarn:- and the gradual improvement of the manufacturing branches, tliough buying lias not reached anything like the pre-war volume. ; The Australian apple season i* Hearing | ite clos4>. The high prices experienced in | 10-21 were never anticipated, but better figures would have been obtained if several earlier consismuients had not arrived in bad condition. These had the I effect of making buyers light flly "f Australian apples, for the saleable portions of the damaged shipments were deceptive. They looked well, but weir 'bad inside. It was only due to the filet that the English strawberry season has ' been short and unsatisfactory, due to ! the early summer drought, followed by 1 over-heavy rains, that the market for : later shipments hold firm. (A. and ' X.Z. CableJ