TRADE IN BRITAIN

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 30 August 1926, Page 5

TRADE IN BRITAIN

DURING STRIKE PERIOD STOCK EXCHANGE STEADY WOOL MARKET GOOD. BY CABLE —PRESS association copy eight. Received 10 a.m. to-day. LONDON, Aug. 28. Although the holiday season isnow at its height and a, settlement of the coal dispute has still to .be reached, the Stock Exchange remains steady and business in many markets is rather better than usual for this time of the year, though gilt-ed'ge has showur a" somewhat easier ten den c> . partly owing to the monetary stniio'encv and the weakness o'! the sitei mg exchange on New - York. How* the general position is may be gathered from the fact that in the monthly valuation of 365 representative .securities by the Bankers’ INI a gamine there was aii appreciation in capital values in the month ending August 19 or about £52,000.000, or 0.7, per cent. Therefore it is not surprising that quiet optimism is the prevailing note on the Stock Exchange. The general view is that when the coal dispute is ended there will be a burst of activity. Already there is talk of numerous new capital issues when the holidays are over, and 1 New* South Males is mentioned a.s likely to he an, early borrower. _ DRIED FRUITS. Trade in dried fruits, _ ’both Australian and Continental, is very dull, largely owing *to ihe coin mini <lecreased spending power, but traders anticipate a better inquiry next month, when grocers ought to commence laying in supplies for the Christmas trade. An advertising campaign/ for Australian fruits is now 7 in full swung, and is already bringing inquiries. An advertisement appears in the grocery newspapers' from a large firm of cake manufacturers at Nottingham, dealing with “a new line of Australian) fruit cake,” offering grocers cakes in the manufacture of which all the fruit used 1 is Australian, the other ingredients being mainly of Empire origin. FROZEN MEAT TRADE. The chairman of the Union Cold Storage Company does not hold optimistic views regarding the Australian frozen beef trade. Addressing the annual meeting of the company he said: “There has been considerable talk in Australia regarding trying to develop the sale, of frozen beef in England. There is just as much hope of developing the use of horse-drawn four-wheel-ed cabs in Sydney. There is ia limited outlet in Britain for frozen beef for the Armv and for public institution's, also for the Continent, but the British working man has been educated to want chilled, not frozen beef. There is something -wrong when South American .growers can make fortunes out of cattle grown on land which sells for 10 times as much as Australian Cattle lands. On our cattle ranches 1 in the Northern Territory it ,is more profitable to let, the cattle die than to operate the nearby Port Darwin works. What is wanted to end this state of affairs is the quickest Possible completion of the railway through to Port Darwin.” WOOL TRADE.

The business in wool at Bradford has been surprisingly active', with _'a considerable turnover at prices distinctly favouring the sellers. Lond'on selling brokers have also experienced a good demand foi* lots withdrawn out of recent sales, and in many cases have made the reserve prices. There have also been some sales to France. The opening of the Australian season is therefore aiwa.ited with more than usu al interest.

According; to a Bradford correspondent, the big baying movement that has- lately been in. progress there indicates Bradford’s impression of the outlook. The consensus of opinion appears to he that hri.sk competition' is likelv, especially for all fine "wools. REVIEW OF TRADE. The Economist’s survey of trade says: “Although the coal, dispute has reached the seventeenth week, the industrial situation shows no signs of further deterioration; in fact, numerous indications point to a slight amelioration of the position. The number of registered unemployed! has decreased by 60,000 in the last six weeks, but the total is .still 600,000 greater than the week preceding the strike. Increasing coal imports have been an important factor in the partial improvement, but the week’s consumption. of coal in Great Britain is about 1,500,000 tons, as compared' with 3,500,000 tons in normal times. The -'shutting down of the heavy iron and steel trades and the use of oil fuel in the railways' may account, for this deficiency, but it is clear that other industries are unable, to obtain the fuel they would' normally consume. The railway gross receipts have shown a noteworthy recovery as a result- of the resumption of normal passenger services and the increased holiday traffic, y hut they are still much below last year’s level. Outdoor relief payments are still over 60 per cent above the level of July, 1925. Against these disquieting phenomena may be set the facts that Stock Exchange values on the whole are well maintained and respond 1 quickly to any hopeful development -in the coal .situation, while hank deposits and advances are well above last year’s level.—A. and N.Z. Assn.