BRITISH TRADE SURPLUS

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26856, 8 October 1952, Page 9

BRITISH TRADE SURPLUS

Mr Butler Achieves Target

rm, Auociation—Copyright) (Rec 10 p.m.) LONDON, October 7. • j Bl "i tai ? morning is standing proud and independent on her own two feet,” savs the “Daßv Express” in a lading article today’ comment on the announcement that Britain has a balance of payments surplus with the world of £82,000,000 to June, 195? ene ’ „ Whit ® Paper - means’that ,H. Without .H, th. fl!U „ w.^7K“ b ™? U Sr, o *s™” It is a dramatic improvement on the last «i v m,.ntk« „r WclVng e def B e r nl a e n a id had *" CXternal deficit of £394,000,000, The “Daily Express” comments: “Mr Butler’s arhic,m m „„t ” did ' He has Btopped Britain from p,= -

was attributed to a £4oRoonnm sterling liabilities by a reduction m travel expenditure abroad and reduced imports. , wa s stated at a press conference taat a. decision on foreign he^n I .^°S anCes J or next year (which begins in November. 1952) will be announced in a week or so ne „i uter ’, s , financial editor says that nearly all the improvement was on I m Po rt s were cut by £248,000.000. while exports went up by £111,000.000. Excluding defence aid, Britain’s deficit with the dollar area fell only from £334.000.000 to £205.000.000. Including aid, it fell from £334,000,000 to £147,000,000. Britain’s deficit with the Organisation for European Economic Co-opera-tion countries fell from £162,000,000 to £68,000,000. She had a surplus of £29,000.000 with all other non-sterling countries and a surplus of £268,000,000 with the sterling area. Most of the improvement \vith the dollar area came from cuts in imports. Exports to that area fell slightly. Britain’s liabilities to various countries on sterling balances were cut by £361,000.000 in the second half of 1951, and by a further £410,000,000 in the first half of 1952, This reduced them from the record high level of £4,168.000,000 in June, 1951, to the postwar record low level of ’£3,397,000,000 in June. 1952. Maintaining the Surplus Financial correspondents warn .that it will be harder to maintain the surplus in the current half-year. Exports will be lower because of import cuts in overseas countries. Some of the fall in exports during the first half year has still to show up in payments. The second half of the calendar year takes the brunt of payments for travel and for interest on North American and other loans. This last item is big. It amounts to £44,000,000. Obligatory reoayments of capital bring it up to £73.000,000. On the other side of the account, imports are being cut further. An improvement is also expected on oil and shipping as the effects of the loss of Abadan wear off further.