£764,000 Surplus In Year’s Trade By N.Z.

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28256, 18 April 1957, Page 14

£764,000 Surplus In Year’s Trade By N.Z.

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 17. A surplus of £764,000 was recorded in New Zealand’s overseas exchange transactions for the year ended March 31, 1957, compared with a deficit of £16,402,000 in 1955-56, according to a return issued by the Reserve Bank tonight.

Total receipts, £ 321.1 m, showed an increase of £9.9m over the previous year. The rise in export receipts was, however, only £2m. Butter and wool receipts were smaller than in 1955-56, gains being recorded for cheese, meat, and “other” exports. The reduction in butter receipts is understandable in view of the weakness of the London markets, and wool receipts have not as yet! reflected the higher prices now! being received. The increase in! “other” exports is spread over a number of small items, but the! main increases are in wood pro-] ducts, pulp, and paper (£3m),| milk, including milk by-products j (£l.2m), and metal residues! (£l.4m). Greater Capital Inflow “Other” receipts, apart from the usual growth in the “invisible” items, reflect a greater capital inflow during the year. Government borrowing overseas rose from £3.2m in 1955-56 to £9.7m in 1956-57. offset in part by a fall of £3.Bm in private capital receipts, which were £6m for the year. Total payments fell from £ 327.6 m in 1955-56 to £ 320.3 m in 1956-57. Remittances overseas by the Government increased by £3.9m, but this was more than offset by a decline of £7.Bm in payments for private imports. Total import payments, both Government and private, showed little change from last year. Monthly Figures

During March, a surplus of £4.9m was recorded, compared with surpluses of £B.9m in February and £5.5m in March, 1956.

Total receipts have continued to rise, and at £ 36.6 m were greater than both the February

total of £ 33.4 m and the March, 1956, figure of £ 33.3 m. In the export classes, by comparison with February, butter, meat, and “other” export receipts were all greater but there were reductions in receipts for cheese and wool. The increase in butter receipts is attributable to a greater volume of sales: the price has not yet recovered from its current ■low levels. The larger meat rejceipts are not indicative of a I greater sales volume for March, 'but rather the transfers of funds by the various meat companies. ! representing sales for earlier ! periods as well as for March. Wool Loans j “Other” receipts include a part i payment of £l.3m on wool loans I made to France between 1948 and 1950. Total payments, £ 31.7 m, were £7.lm greater than in February and £3.Bm greater than in March, 1956. By comparison with February increases were recorded in all the payment headings.

The net overseas assets of the banking system on March 27, 1957, were £ 89.4 m.