BRITAIN'S TRADE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 155, 5 July 1933, Page 7

BRITAIN'S TRADE.

IMPROVEMENT SHOWN.

Optimistic Report of Board of

Trade Official.

DECREASED UNEMPLOYMENT. (British Official Wireless.) (Received 1 p.m.) RUGBY, July 4. Dr. E. L. Burgin, Under-Secretary, speaking on the Board of Trade vote in the House of Commons, said that the trade position and prospects in the country could be summarised in the phrase that there was a "general improvement, definite and marked, in conditions of restrained but increasing confidence."

The tendency of international trade to decline had not yet been arrested, but the position of Britain's export trade certainly was not unsatisfactory in the light of world trade as a whole. The improvement had been widespread, covering 00 of the 100 industrial groups, and COO of the whole 700 areas for which statistics were available.

There had been a notable improvement in the building, cotton, wool, engineering, boots and shoes, motor and ship building industries, and there was further substantial improvement in employment during May, this being the fourth successive monthly improvement. At the end of May 9,057,000 insured persons were employed, or 120,000 more than in the preceding month and 372,000 more than in January. This was the highest volume of employment among insured persons at any time since September, 1930.

All British industry was healthier than for some time, and industrial and commercial activity would respond very quickly to successful results in the international field. The total volume of world trade was continuing to shrink, hut Britain's share was maintained, though it was a somewhat melancholy satisfaction when they thought of the tremendous interest they had in maintenance of world trade.

Dr. Burpin, referring to trade agreements, said that their result had been to give help in the balance of trade, and for the first live months of the present year that balance shoved an improvement of £30,000,000 over last vcar.