SILVER DOLLAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 259, 3 November 1933, Page 7

SILVER DOLLAR.

AMERICAN MOVE. CERTIFICATE ISSUE. Last War Loan Payment Used As Backing. INFLATION DENIED. t (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright)

(Received 10 a.m.) WASHINGTON, November 2.

The United States Treasury may soon issue 11,000,000 dollars in silver certificates backed by the silver received last June in war debt payments. An amendment to the farm loan law authorising the acceptance of debt payments in this medium required that the silver thus received should be made the backing for the certificate issue.

The process of assaying the metal received lias just been completed, and the next step would be the engraving of the certificates. Treasury officials today denied that this could be consideied inflationary as the certificates would be used in the normal course of business, replacing other forms of currency as they were turned in at the Treasury for redemption. No statement is issued as to what the denominations of the certificates will be.

The price of gold to-day was 32 dollars 30 cents, or 2o cents above the world market level.

The chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Mr. Jesse Jones, announced yesterday that the corporation will begin to purchase gold in foreign markets to-day on behalf of the Government.

President Roosevelt, in the midst of the developing criticism of the national recovery programme, has made it clear that lie feels it is progressing in its price-raising and its re-employment phases. The Secretary of Labour, Miss Frances Perkins, has reported to the President that average hourly wages have risen from 43 cents to 51 and the average hourly working week has declined from 42 hours to 30. Latest charts indicate that the prices farmers have received for their products had increased from the index figure of 40 in the spring to 52 on October 11. Prices paid by farmers increased from 08 to 77. The index figures are based on the level of 1926 with 100 as parity.

GOLD AND TRADING. WEAKENING OF THE DOLLAR. (Received 1.30 p.m.) WASHINGTON, November 2. With the gold price set at 32 dollars 30 cents per ounce here, and the London bullion quotation rising to 31.52, the dollar was weak, declining to 4.85 as against sterling in late trading, and also weakening against the franc so that the dollar was worth only 64.23 cents in gold. On that basis stocks on New York Stock Exchange moved forward slowly but persistently to-day, leading issues finishing fractionally to two points higher. Further depreciation of the dollar against foreign exchanges encouraged the transfer of funds into commodities and equities which would benefit directly from the rising commodity prices, particularly petroleum, rubber, sugar and mining shares. Gold and silver mining stocks, however, suffered from late sales for profit taking. Despite the rising prices for both metals, spot silver advanced _ to 401 cents an ounce, the highest since April, 1930. Wheat finished two cents higher. Plans for the purchasing of imported gold by the Government were to-day understood to be in preparation, to supplement the purchases of domestic newly-mined metal. The Government hopes thus to avoid the necessity of direct dealings in foreign gold and exchange markets, leaving such to individuals choosing to ship gold here. It is understood that this will also he paid by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation on 90-day notes.