STRIKE RESTRICTS TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17784, 18 May 1921, Page 7

STRIKE RESTRICTS TRADE.

IMPROVEMENT ARRESTED. NO DEMAND FOR BUTTER. STOCKS ACCUMULATING. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. A. and N.Z- LONDON. May 16. Business on the Stock Exchange has been restricted and prices have been irregular, the favourable effect of Germany's acceptance of t£e reparation terms having been counterbalanced by fear of the continuance of the ooal strike and further industrial dislocation. But for these fears probably there would have been considerable activity, for there, is evidence that the investing public is on the lookout for both investment and speculative securities. Despite the anxiety over labour troubles, gilt-edged securities have fairly maintained their prices, aDd foreign bonds have rallied on the improvement of the exchange rates, French and German bonds being noticeably firmer. Home railways I axe dull under the strike menace, while rubber stocks are sluggish, and oils fairly active. Colonial banks are meeting with continued demand. The money market is feeling the effect of the coal strike. With trade stagnant in even,' direction money is becoming idle, and commercial bills scarcer and scarcer, and it is possible to discount them on finer terms than Treasury bills. The foreign exchange market has been feverish, with violent fluctuations. Large purchases of francs and lire were made in the expectation of Germany's acceptance of the reparation terms. Profit-taking sa.'es followed, and the market has now steadied. The rise of the pound sterling in the United States is attributed to a variety of reasons, chiefly heavy import of gold into the United States from Europe, the large American demand for European currencies, principally francs, and the decline of the demand for American products. Following the advance of prices at the London wool sales there has been a general hardening of values of tops in Bradford, and apparently a fair amount of business has been put through, but the improvement has not yet reached the yarn and piece goods sections, in which little new business is being done, though the tone all round is decidedly better than a few weeks ago. The shortage of coal is a serious obstacle, many mills being closed altogether. They cannot resume until the coal is available. Apart from the coal trouble there are signs of better trade ensuing and more stable conditions being established. Confidence beginning to return, and the world's * clothing needs are still far from satisfied. All that is required is a return to political and industrial peace.

The butter outlook is not promising; hardly a box of the Government's huge stocks is being sold, and there is little prospect of doing so while the coal strike and unemployment continue, so that there is every likelihood that there ■will be a large quantity of butter unabsorbed when the new Australian commences to arrive. It appears inevitable that the British Government must make a heavy loss. MEAT GLUT IN PROSPECT. EFFECT OF UNEMPLOYMENT. A. and N.Z. LONDON, May 16. The cold stores throughout Britain are crammed with imported beef and mutton, and the arrival of further shipments will produce a serious glut. Consumption is below normal owing to widespread unemployment and to the fact that despite the sensational fall of wholesale prices retailers are maintaining the high prices which the Food Controller fixed during the scarcity.