AMERICA OFF GOLD. LONDON COMMENT.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20836, 21 April 1933, Page 9

AMERICA OFF GOLD.

LONDON COMMENT.

gIJK PB!SE DECISION. 1 jjIESIPT TO RAISE PRICES. DISCISSIONS. ■JiUi iS»OCT.'.Tio.\~J.I- H.JXTJUC iv: r '' J ittWßil-H-COn-iUWIT.) WASHINGTON, April 19. • rrßoosevelt announced to-day ."restoration of the embargo on llesport of gold as a move to im- ., domestic commodity prices. Z restoration is effective immediJ ;l .jiiis is the first step in the -'paigii the President has under!STto establish a controlled price v.'l 'juid controlled credit, to j£ ,!.'.<*ract deflation. Mr W. 11. of the Treasury) ,rd"'hat this meant that the United J 3 . £ "s\ras off the gold standard. "viditional steps are in prospect, v : ;/*i tf ir extent will not be doter--1&A until the effect of to-day's :„', n ." e is known. j tojtoosevelt has apparently won i - from the leaders in Con- | have been hammering for I currency inflation. He ! r-Hj the price level raised in such 1%-per that it will be under contriiataH times, and not permitted t,Vp> too high. f e forthcoming international c&x discussions are part of manoeuvre to restore .T» United States to a normal basis ! ? available cash, work, and credit. ! f e President hopes to get the "j-irj back on the gold standard. "V;'standard may be on a different I 'J^ g between currency units and Zv from that of the past, but he i-" 2 *»amant for the stabilisation of it wrid monetary situation. Giving up the attempt further to opert the American dollar in exchange is regarded as jrrisg the dual purpose of mcreasjm toerican commodity prices and raning the President in a strategical potion for the pending economic fcargainings. Just how the gold embargo' may be expected to react to r« American commodity prices is swaevrhat involved. It was explained that cotton, for instance, is snld on a gold basis. On the present fesis the rate is about six cents a pound. Should the price of gold fall 13 per cent, a resultant increase in fee price of cotton of 10 per cent, is regarded as inevitable. literaiJioytaent Programme. A public works programme is to contemplated by the President to stimulate employment, but it is likely that the plan will not be \nywfeere near the four or five * 'An dollars advocated in some t'uarto".

JEASOX FOR MOVE. EFFORT TO REGAIN MARKETS. FIGHTING OTHER DEPRECIATED CURRENCIES. fceived April 20, 8.40 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April" 20. I'm official dropping of the gold Eisdaord is viewed in informed rate as the prelude to extraordinary measures to regain America's '« foreign markets, to effect reJJJMtnant of debts, and to raise oamodity prices. tt this a accomplished it will inffilaMjr be at least at the partial ttpense of countries with so-called Mjweiated currencies. ar Roosevelt formerly opposed .inkering with the currency," but « fte opinion of his friends the j»ats of his domestic relief legissm, including farm relief and Mia works, have been disappointJ* Furthermore, deflation has «« place in the last month, and "wen assets in the closed banks, S?! fk, S to from 6,000,000,000 to WMdOO ddlars, have prodi»ced »ambtion which, added to the 2jjp*tipn of foreign countries off p™. makes it appear necessary to aw the situation with a modified rorency, J. a believed that powerful barwav material exists for conferO* with England and other £«tatt but the immediate Ss7 A lO halve the ruinous doff«*it deflation. tfPHOVAL OF BANKER. NEW YORK, April 19. *'• P. Morgan, the banking tto^J 31 one of his rar e public J*Wt, endorsed Mr Roosevelt's Ci re f ori^ g the embargo on * wpot o! gold. ; iSK IN STERLING. % YORK EXCHANGE MOVEMENTS.

Macular variations. f JTOW YORK, April 19. ! to?f exchan ges shot up in C? hr fashion in ter ms of *?* dollars to-day- Sterling ti in the mid-afternoon fr * hi v oUars f or cable transfer, Igj'Wst quotation since April, & X l h v ar dealings rigidly s«ak fl°" W the I'ederal Reserve **to* . lnarket was described as Star u, ? cert ain. W- osed at 3.73 dollars, and dollar at 86} (21 cents ?!&!, aid *e sterling rate was SSfe 1 ' the wild est ftuctuagaftcr the London

! MOVE CONDEMNED STRONGLY. j LIKELY TO AGGRAVATE CRISIS. j a.VIT/:D CiiE.S.S AfiSOCIATION-ny ELBCTJIIC I TKLEORAI'H—COI'YItIOHT.) j (Received April 20, 10.55 p.m.) j LONDON, April 20. j The "Financial News" says that ; the news of the developments in the j currency policy of the United States j will produce full effects on the marI kets, but it came as a great shock in j banking circles, where it had been i hoped that America would not deliberately wreck her currency The move is generally condemned as an act calculated to aggravate the crisis and throw the world back into chaos at a moment when it was hoped that because of the World Economic Conference, stability was in sight. Great Britain went off gold after having spent every penny of her gold reserve to enable her to secure further credits. America had gone off while still in possession of gold with which she could easily have maintained the stability of her currency. She was not driven by necessity, but had taken the step in cold blood. FRUIT EXPORTERS ! PLEASED. RISE IN BRITISH BUYING POWER. (Received April 20, 11.56 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, April 20. Fruit exporters here were elated as sterling rose and with it the ability of British buyers to purchase California's dried, canned, and fresh orchard product*:. The United Kingdom is California's best foreign customer, but California of late has found Australian competition in British markets a restricting factor. The rise in the pound tended to cut down the advantage Australia gained when Great Britain dropped the gold standard. LONDON EXCHANGE FLUCTUATIONS. (URITISJi OFFICIAL WIUELEJS ) (Received April 20, 7.5 p.m.) RUGBY, April 19. Messages from Washington to the affect that the Administration would not support the dollar abroad by means of shipments of gold created considerable excitement this evening in foreign exchange circles in London. The sterling-dollar rate fluctuated freely and at one time touched 3.62. It finished at 3.6 H, compared with 3.49, the closing quotation on Tuesday.