HOLIDAY NOTE ISSUE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22917, 21 December 1937, Page 12

HOLIDAY NOTE ISSUE

The Rank of England is reported by the Times to have issued £25.(XX),000 worth of extra notes to meet the enormous demands of Christmas trade for cash currency. Assuming that each note will pass through several hands, the Times •suggests that £100,000,000 will be spent on the festivities. A rise in the circulation is a normal feature of any season of rejoicing, and by its dimensions the general state of well-being is gauged. At the last August bank holiday period the note circulation reached the record height of £503,900,000. It was then estimated that the Christmas figure would be £20,000,000 higher than the August record. The latest return, published in Saturday's Herald, showed a circulation of £501,900,000. If the whole £25,000.000 the Times mentions i' 3 additional to this, the answer to the sum is a note circulation of £528,900.000. The Christmas spending shows that Stock Exchange nervousness and the forebodings of some public men do not represent the general feeling of the people. The British community approaches Christmas well provided with money, and prepared to spend it. In its own small way New Zealand, judged by the level of the note issue, is also to have a Christmas of heavy spending. In the last Reserve Bank return available, that showing the position on Monday of last week, the value of the note issue was £14,374,000, having increased by £1.054.000 in a fortnight. On the corresponding date last year the figure was £12,907,382, increasing by £734,000 to £13,641,000 on December 28. This was a record level at the time. If a similar increase takes place this year, the issue on December 27 will be over £15,000.000, indicating that the public has prepared to spend with unequalled lavishness this Christmas.