THE MONEY MARKET.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 76, 30 March 1928, Page 4

THE MONEY MARKET.

LONDON'S STRONG POSITION. YEAR'S BIG IMPROVEMENT. LONDON, March 29. The Bank of England returns for the week ended March 29, as compared with those for the week ended March 22, are as follow;— March 22. £ £ Note circulation 135,400.000 134,392,000 loin 158,130,000 157,643,000 Notes in reserve 41,595,000 42,152,000 Govt. deposits . . 13,835,000 14,141,000 Other deposits . . 98,248,000 101,574,000 Govt, securities . 30,824,000 32,879,000 Other securities 56,878,000 58,130,000 Proportion of reserve to liabilities 37.90 37.10 Short Loans and Bills. Short loans, 3per cent, same as last week, and three months' bills, 4 per cent, compare with 4 3.32 per cent last week. The Bank rate still stands at 4V& per cent.

The financial position at Home, as disclosed in the Bank of England returns, shows a marked improvement, as compared | with the conditions ruling a year ago. To- , day the Bank's holding of metal exceeds £ 158,000,000; a year ago it was £ 150,725,000. The proportion of reserves to liabilities was then 28.10, compared with 37.90 to-day. Allied to these conditions is the foreign exchange market. A year ago the New \ ork dollar stood at 4.85% to the pound sterling; on Wednesday of this week it was 4.88%, and gold from U.S.A. has been shipped to London. 1 At the end of March, 1927, short loans stood at 4Vt per cent and three months' bills at 4%. To-day the rate is 3M per cent for short loans, while the cost of three months' bills has come down to 4 per cent. All this makes for easier trading conditions, and on top of this has come the welcome news that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been able to produce a surplus, and this may be followed by remissions in some form or another that may j give a further filip to trade.