HOLIDAY SPENDING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 309, 31 December 1938, Page 4

HOLIDAY SPENDING.

RECORD NOTE ISSUE. TOTAL REACHES £16,642,000. OVER £ I.10!».o0o 1N( REASE. Retold spending for thiistmas and thv holidays ha.- lesulted in an iiicre.i-c in tiie Reserve Rank's note i-.-'ie. wlirh t! i i.— wfrk has 1 eai lied C l«i.<j42.«NH>. the highest : in the ill ~t o: > ot the bulk. Las'. I week's total was the plevioli- leiotd. but J : lit* lilt, -t ti-.'Uie-. issued in Wel!i!mlo:i i '■ c-:et day. show a finthct 1 Is-e ot L'o l.'hO'Ki. At 111 i lime list \ea: the note i—i i« ■ uas L' 1.4u!/.<nhi iowel . Eve: > rear till- note :~«ne i:n l ea-is-i.ipidl.v w hen the I hri-tluas lioaia'. peiiod ri.mes on and !•«-.>!•'..• spend ino;ie> moie • .-•■!> than at any othei time, (iutand holiday expen.-i sac. ouut foi a lai gr -null annually. and tnt.i::>.itoi ietniii> show tii.it the holiday lacing i iiiii\a|s .•lay a pait. The i i.-e in the note issue ovei the ;.,ist live yeai# shows strikingi.v how the ciiciiiation of money h;is* aid eased, nn-ie than trebling itself in the period. Follow ne the tiguies at the end of I )eeeinbei :- Year. ls~iie. I 1!<34 e 000 l 7 o-j'.i 000 in:;'; i:;,i;t 1.000 f!».'!7 1 a.23.",.000 f.i.ts f it.642.000 t In l!l.->4 and 1 000 notis of the tiadnr.- | banks which had not been lctiuned Met" 'shown as still beiinr iu eireiilation. tile lespective tiguies £ 1,48ti.23."> and £•>84.068. The issue figure ot t lie Resen .' Rank does not reveal the value oi notes actually in the hands of the public as it includes the storks held by banks. Rise in Sterling Funds. Another impoitant change shown by this week's return of the bank is the sharp inn ease in London funds. Thy holding of sterling, whti h had ]ueviouslv declinetl rapidly and given sei ious c oncein. rose this week by L' 310.1.35. The previous week it had fallen by £203.030. The total of the bank's London funds is still vol v low. of course. actually € 12.310.000 below what it was at this time las»t year. As exports increase with the advance of the production season, however. it should improve rapidly. The falling trend of imports which was shewn in the November overseas trade ficuies should al?o help the position if it continues. as is likely with overseas trade under Government regulation. One icason why the seisonat im reasc in production hn« so far shown little effect in increasing the Reserve Rank's hoi,hugs of funds- overseas is the late spring, which j retarded the season. Weather conditions in December have been much more favourable for farmers and from now on j exports should show a sharp improvement, i