DOLLAR FIRMER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18263, 5 December 1933, Page 9

DOLLAR FIRMER

GOLD PRICE UNCHANGED CAPITAL RETURNING (Klee. Tel, Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Received December 5, 3 p.m.) NEW YORK, Dec. 4. Foreign exchanges were subjected to a sharp break to-day, following the unchanged nrice of gold. The iranc lull to the lowest since the beginning of the month, and tho dollar set a new high level since October 31. Sterling also lost heavily. This was followed around noon by a moderate rally, which, however, was far from sufficient to recover all losses. Dealers attributed the break (o foreign currencies, and the rise in tho dollar to the return flow of capital to the t riited (States. Reconstruction Finance Corporation figures published in Washington gave its advances to the nation’s industries in the form of credit to date at £708,800,000. The dollar closed at 64.55 in terms of the franc, after touching 65.74. It opened at 63.77. Sterling broke 14 j cents to ■SO3J, tho lowest since November 11. The franc, at 596. was off 18 points. CURRENCY WAR CONTROL OF EMPIRE GOLD LONDON, Nov. 11. A conference of Canadian, British, South African and Australian bankers and statesmen, to devise a scheme for control of Empire gold production and prevention of its extensive sale to United States, a consequence of President Roosevelt’s policy of buying in the world’s market, is suggested in British financial journals to-day.

Concentration of gold by France and United States has been the main reason why international trade has not flourished for the past four years and if the United States is now permitted to further drain .away Britain’s supplies, return to world prosperity must be indefinitely prolonged. “Our Empire is bound to suffer if its gold production is taken by other nations without any attempt to prevent it,” it is declared. “The Government should take quick action to make the United States’ further menace to world trade abortive.”

Present dollar depreciation by means of gold buying lias set Europe a difficult problem. France has an ever-growing anxiety of being forced off the gold standard or alternatively finding world trade declining. Britain has the dilemma of whether to buy dollars so that though the dollar limy fall in terms of francs, it will not fall in terms of the pound, or alternatively compete with President .Roosevelt in buying gold internationally, in which event currencies would fall in terms of gold, but remain fairly stable in terms of each other. What the Bank of England will do no one knows, but the next few weeks should disclose its policy. The bank’s main difficulty s if it lets the dollar fall without the pound, British export trade must suffer.