More spending in U.K.

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 38183, 24 March 1973, Page 15

More spending in U.K.

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) l : LONDON, March 2:’.. British spending on consumer goods rose 25 per cent in 1972. accord-, ing to the preliminary; estimates of national in-1 come and balance of payments. Over all, spending in-l creased by 7 per cent on 1971, | but spending on many con- '

sumer goods — cars, motorcycles, radios, and washing machines — rose by about 25 per cent. Real disposable incomes also rose 7 per cent, twice the increase in the previous year. This was caused by an 11 per cent increase in wages and income-tax cuts. The spending spree brought an inevitable rise in imports, which rose 9 per cent. Exports rose by only 2 per cent, compared with 5 per cent in 1971. Beer and food took less of the weekly budget than before. Spending on food actually fell, while the annual increase in money spent on beer decreased in favour of

other forms of drink. Spending on tobacco recovered and more than made up the 1971 fall. ; Industrial production went

hip by only 2). per cent, but put another way — taking the increase between the sei ond half of the two years — it rose by nearly 5 per cent. The Treasury sees this as support for its contention that Britain’s economy is growing about 5 per cent a year — its target. Total company income in 1972 increased by about ]£ 1400 m or 13 per cent, the same increase as in 1971 Dividends and other interest payments by companies ros< by £l9om and nationalised industries increased their trading surplus by 11 per cent. However, investment bv manufacturing industry in

plant and machinery, on which future growth is based, continued to drop by 10 per cent, 3 per cent more than the year before.