COMMERCIAL

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27441, 30 August 1954, Page 15

COMMERCIAL

STOCK EXCHANGES

WEEK’S TRANSACTIONS REVIEWED (By Our Commercial Fditor.J The week on the Christchurch Stock i Exchange started quietly, but finished very firmly in fairly active trading. Markets in Australia showed definite signs of : improvement. Turnover for the week, with the pre- . vious week’s figures in parenthesis, was as follows: —Government stock, £2630 (£2625); bank shares, 242 (1085); breweries, 1761 (50); frozen meat, 200 (nil); gas, 200 (2300); loan and agency, 850 (1000); shipping, nil (500); timber, nil (750); woollens, 1529 (1712); miscellaneous, 12,025 (11,704); mining, nil (100); unlisted 1413 (568); total, 18,220 (19,970). Government securities had a firm market throughout the week. Buyers predominated and -turnover was small. In the banking section New South Wales changed hands ex dividend 5s down at £33 ss. Elsewhere these shares sold at £33 10s. National Banks showed a further rise of 3s 6d in sales at the record price of £5 0s 3d. New Zealand Breweries were active and sold unchanged at 495, with more wanted at the close. New Zealand Refrigerating contributings sold at 23s 3d. Canterbury ordinaries and S references had firming buyers throughout le week. Christchurch Gas rose further to business at 20s Id. All gas shares were in keen demand throughout the week. A shortage of scrip continued in the loan and agency section, and sales Were few. Dalgety’s r, A” and “B” shares both sold unchanged at 12s 9d. A small parcel of Wright, Stephenson bonus issue was traded at 40s 6d. Several woollen stocks were active throughout the week. A small, odd parcel of Bruce Woollens sold early in the week at 435, but later sales were recorded at 43s 6d. Korma ordinaries were unchanged in business at 18s, and the preferences sold at the steady rate of 20s. More than 12,000 shares changed hands in the miscellaneous section. Both Coles and Woolworths, Ltd. sold unchanged at 15s 6d. Woolworths, N.Z., too, were unchanged to sell at 23s 3d. New Zealand Forest Products showed a firming tendrising 2d early in the week to sell at 15s, with later sales at 15s 4d, and the I company’s preferences were traded unchanged at 19s 6d. B.H. Prop, had sev- , eral sales at 35s 9d. A.C.I. rose 6d to business at 41s 6d, and later buyers im- [ proved on this figure. . Wilson’s Cement sold at 15s 3d and 15s 9d. J. J. Nivens i had cum bonus business at 77s 6d. New Zealand Paper Mills changed hands at 355. , Ross and Glendining had several cum , bonus dealings at 57s 6d. Skellerup pre- : ferences were unchanged at 225. Mc- ■ Caskey preferences were traded at 18s. H. 8., Ltd., sold unchanged at 345. McKenzies lost 3d to sell at 20s 6d. : Morris Hedstrom sold at 475. William : Cable Holdings sold 6d down at 335, and i Fletchers dropped 9d to sell at 42s 6d, and , at the close of the week had unsupported sellers at 435. Reid Rubber ordinaries changed hands at 20s, and the preferences I gained 3d in a sale at 20s 3d. Booth Mac- > donalds lost further ground in business at ! 5s 9d, and at the close of the week had . unsupported sellers at 6s.

Among the unlisted stocks Scales “C" ©references rose 3d to sell at 8s 3d. Vibrapac Blocks had several sales at 17s 6d. Lane. Walker, Rudkin Industries rose sharply to sell at 40s.

AUSTRALIA’S EXPORT PROBLEM

INCIDENCE OF HIGH COSTS

Few countries have experienced such frequent changes in their economic fortunes in the postwar period as Australia, says the “Financial Times.” Now, just when the country seemed to have completed its recovery from the Internal and external financial difficulties of 195152, and to have come within sight of economic stability, its external reserves have turned sharply downward. Latest reports put the gold and foreign exchange stock of the Commonwealth Bank at £A466,000,000, which is more than £70,000,000 below the level at which they were standing when the present move began last March. They also represent a decline of £30,000,000 on the figure ruling a year ago. It would be wrong to take an unduly gloomy view of this development, says the Financial Times,” for there are reasons for supposing that it has been attributable in part to special or seasonal factors. In the first place, the Commonwealth Government appears to have converted a small portion of its foreign exchange balances into foreign Investments giving a rather better return. In the second place, sales of wool, which normally produce a substantial portion of the country’s earnings abroad, are usually running at a very low level at this time of the year. Then again talk within Australia of the possibility of the deterioration in the external payments position leading to the tightening of Import restrictions may well have given rise to a tendency for Australian merchants to stock up In imported goods. Although, therefore, there is no need to fear that the drain on reserves will continue for much longer at the pace it has attained in recent weeks, there is one development which must be taken into account on the other side. This is the increasing resistance to the country’s exports on price grounds. Now that the more popular “hard" wheat is available at reduced prices, many former customers of Australia 1 are no longer willing to purchase her “soft” wheat at the price at which it is being offered. And the recent decision of shippers to cut transport costs for Australian goods to enable producers in that country to overcome marketing difficulties abroad shows that wheat is not the only Australian export that is now tending to look, too dear in relation to the comparable products of other countries. It would seem, therefore, that the tendency for Australian costs to rise at a faster pace than costs in other countries is at last beginning to do what economists have feared it might do—adversely affect the country’s export effort. It is to be hoped that remedial action can be taken in time by the Australian Gevernment and Australian Industry. Australia is currently absorbing about a tenth of Britain’s total exports. Any reversal of the import relaxations which the Commonwealth Government has been making over the last year or two could not fail to have sharp repercussions on Britsh producers.

GRAIN AND PRODUCE MARKETS

ORDERS FROM OVERSEAS (By Our Commercial Editor.) Bad weather in Britain and Europe has caused buying inquiries on the New Zealand market. High prices notwithstanding, orders have been flowing in for white clover and rye grasses. Partridge peas should also profit by the poor harvests overseas. America, however, is now off the market. Today white clover is worth all of 5s per lb to the New Zealand grower, and permanent pasture ryegrass 33s to 345. The residue of clover and ryegrasses remaining in New Zealand merchants’ hands cannot be very large. Consequently prices for the next autumn’s harvest promise to open at a Very high rate and remain so until a sufficiency of dressed seed reaches merchants to fill urgent requirements.