TRADE BALANCE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22350, 22 February 1936, Page 13

TRADE BALANCE

BRITISH FIGURES IMPROVEMENT IN 1935 A SUBSTANTIAL CEEDIT INDUSTRIAL REVIVAL By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received February 21, 7.45 p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY. Feb. 20 Although there was a further increase last year in the imports of merchandise, Britain's payments abroad show a substantial credit balance. The annual estimate has been issued by the Board of Trade of the net balance on all transactions of a revenue character between Britain and all other countries, including transactions originated by Governments as well as those arising from dealings between individuals, but j excluding lending and repayment of capital. This report shows a credit balance for 1935 of £37,000,000, compared with a debit balance of £2.000,000 in 1934, whereas in 1933, credits and debits exactly balanced. The last previous year which showed a favourable balance of payments was 1928, when the credit balance was stated at £122,000,000. Receipts from overseas investments show an increase of £10,000,000 to a total of £185,000,000, and the advance in income from shipping amounts to £5.000,000, the year's total being £75.000.000. It is to be noted that the higher income from overseas investments was ! obtained in spite of conversion operaI tions having reduced the interest on a | number of loans. Or the other hand j there was a partial resumption of pay- < ments of loans which had been in default or in partial default. ' The return shows that net payments abroad in respect of film royalties are : estimated to have amounted in 1934 to | between £5,000,000 to £6,000,000. The Board of Trade index of industrial production in the United Kingdom in 1935 was 7 per cent greater than in 1934. The improvement was distributed throughout the four quarters. The advance in the second half of the year was slightly greater tharf in the first six months. Activity in the manufacturing industries was 7.7 per cent greater last year than in 1934 and represents the highest recorded production in those groups since the calculation was first made in respect of 1927. The index numbers for the December quarter, both for the manufacturing industries and for all the groups, represents the greatest volume of production in any quarter since "the information was first obtained.