BETTER BRITISH TRADE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22350, 22 February 1936, Page 12

BETTER BRITISH TRADE

Any lingering doubts as to completeness and soundness of Britain's recovery should be banished by the estimate of the Board of Trade, published this morning, showing the balance in Britain's favour in all overseas transactions last year to have been £37,000,000. This is the first time since 1928 that Britain has been able to show a margin of credits over debits, although the adverse balance was very small in 1934, while in 1933 incomings were estimated as just sufficient to pay outgoings. Last year's substantial credit balance, taken in conjunction with the large increase in visible imports and exports, should reassure those who doubted whether Britain's recovery was on a sufficiently broad basis. These doubters could not deny that there had been a remarkable expansion in domestic or internal trade, but feared that these gains could not be held unless business overseas improved. Visible and invisible exports have now increased sufficiently to extinguish the adverse balance that gave rise to uneasiness in 1929 and 1930 and so contributed to the crisis in August, 1931. In the rise of £10,000,000 in Britain's receipts from overseas investments is offered trustworthy evidence of recovery in many other countries. Conversion operations have reduced the interest on a number of loans, particularly Australian, so that the increase is more impressive than the actual figure might suggest. A good many foreign countries and companies must last year have found themselves in a position to resume debt services or dividends. Another index of reviving world trade is to be found in the higher earnings of British shipping. A cheerful pendant to the brighter world economic outlook is added by the remarkable figures published this morning of industrial production in Britain. So healthy an internal as well as external aspect should have favourable reactions on New Zealand's market in Britain. Normally we may expect to share in the prosperity of our chief customer.