TRADE PROSPECTS

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 13 December 1920, Page 5

TRADE PROSPECTS

INTERESTING REVIEW

j BY CABLE-PBESS ASSOOIATin^-coPYEIGHI , (Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn ) LOAIDOK, Dec. 11. iiie trade summary states: After dismal week the Stock Exchange im proved somewhat .yesterday. There ha< been considerable forced s?eilin°- eh'eiil i ™ industrial oils, but this abated durini i the fe W . days, and the offering. were fairly well absorbed, particularly m the investment sections. The newl j that the coal miners were increasing the output had a good effect in giving -i more hopeful tone, but there is still i tear that further pressure to- sell ma* be exerted beiore positions are entirely 'eliminated. Foreign exchange movements have been mostly adverse to Britain, especi. ally Scandinavian, owing to the slackening of imports trom the United Kingdom. ■•■.;*.• ' , The severe.'decline in Eastern currencies is decidedly unfavourable to development, preventing purchases on our markets, which'-are desirable to relieve our trade depression. Depression is still the outstanding ieature of the wool and textile industries. Now orders will barely isufnce to keep the machinery running even for a. short-time.' ..The operations of the piece trade shows no improvement.' stocks continue to accumulate in spite of the drastic reduction in prices Business in wheat is very quiet, supphes exceeding the requirements of the millers, who are holding off, expecting a further reduction. There were & few sales in Australian parcel^, but the Australian Committee is not offering much . ihe freight markets generally'are depressed, owing- to over-supply in Australia,, wherefor the prices asked for January-May charters range from 105s to 110s. though prompt steamers are obtainable at 100s. The Statist's monthly index numbers of wholesale prices of,commodities show a steady 'decline.since April amdn^ti^ to 15.9 per cent., but they are still 163' per cent, above the average of 1913. The Statist points out that since Aprii the> cost to the consumer hns been lowered on some- lines?- notably 'textiles, but in many cases the retail prices have actually increased, while th e gen- j eral retail level shows no fall parallel with the. whole°al« fall. The present decline is due to restriction; of banking-credits, greatly, helped by the marked abstention of consumers. ■-. This may;be regarded ps a natural reaction, and is abnormal. The largely artificial enhancement "of money vale's wh^ch began soon after the armistice, ! will ,'conti.rmo .till prices are reduced to j a level which will make banking re- j sources again sufficient for- the requirements- of trade. The cheese market is dull, and supplies very large. It is estimated that J the Government, holds twelve thousand tons,'while stocks of Canadian here an>.l afloat amount to ten thousand tons. There are also Jarge stocks of homemade; conseqxientlv retailers are reusing Government-cheese and selling the home-made cheaper. It is stated'"th"t retailers..refused eighty ncr cent, of the last jailotment. ;., Mr F. G. Kellaway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Department of Overseas JTrade), in the course of an inter- ' view, with the Australian Press'" Asso-j ciation-. said .that. Imperial, trade was ! none too bright, notably in India and ! Australia. The former was suffering from the reduced - exportation of 100^--000,000 pounds weight of tea to Russia yearly. ■ There is a good demand for British goods in Canada and New Zealand. Both these countries are able to Jniy, and both able to'pay, but both are holding back in anticipation of prices breaking. Australia was suffering from financial reaction, but he was confident that when the wheels of commence are run- j mng smoothly, Britain will recover | most, if not all, her lost trade; also her ! undisputed supremacy as the source of ! supply; Australia had been importing'!■ goods much exceeding the value of her exports to Britain; consequently there was p. pronounced shortage. Keferring to the wool position, Mr Kellawav sa;id that a fairly even flow of credit for Australia had been preserved for the past few years by the British Government's promptness in paying for produce purchased from the Commonwealth. On wool appraised in Australia payments were made in London within a fortnight of the appraisement, and the long wat which would otherwise have intervened pending the arrival of documents against shipment was thereby avoided. Wood was nowbeing released from control, but the proceeds of the first three shipments in transit from Australia would* not become available at the banks in London unt\l the maturity of the drafts drawn against them. Furthermore, the British Government paid in advance for tho wheat and woo,! exported last July and August. Mr Kellawav concluded: "From the statements made by the Commonwealth Treasury officials it appears that the position created by the above-mentioned" economic factors is only temporary, and that the position w?ll right itself when the present wool clip and coming harvest are realised. The present stoppage of - credit, with the eon««equeht heavy restriction on export business, is likely to endure unt-'l March. unless the Commonwealth takes actwn in the meantime."