INCREASE IN COAL PRICES

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27074, 24 June 1953, Page 11

INCREASE IN COAL PRICES

WESTPORT NOW 9/6 A BAG

Prices of Westport, Reef ton, and Rapahoe coal increased by 4d to 5d a bag as from Tuesday. The new prices for bags of coal, with the old ones in parenthesis, are: Westport, 9s 6d (9s Id); Reefton. 8s lOd (8s 6d); Rapahoe, 8s lid (8s 7d). The rise was due to the increased rail Charges effective as from Sunday, and did not benefit coal merchants, said the president of the Canterbury Coal Merchants’ Association (Mr A. Still). The highest increase was 7s 5d a ton for Southland coal, dropping to 4s 9d for Rapahoe. The increased railage ranged from 5s to 7s 5d a ton. Orders taken yesterday would be at the increased price, although undelivered orders which had already been contracted for would be at the old price, Mr Still said. “Stocks held in the merchants’ yards are already sold. Coal is just dribbling in from the West Coast,” Mr Still said. “It is practically sold up in advance.” The output of coal would be fairly heavy until August, and merchants were hard pressed to cope with their orders.