FINANCE AND TRADE

Southland Times, Issue 19250, 14 June 1921, Page 5

FINANCE AND TRADE

CONDITIONS IN BRITAIN STOCK EXCHANGE DULL OPTIMISM IN THE WOOL TRADE. I : (Ry Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright). I (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, June 11. I Business on the Stock Exchange remains . dull and uninteresting. The public are • apathetic despite the prospects of settle- ; ment of the coal strike. Industrial stocks j are particularly flat, and are feeling the : competition of the new issues. The announcement of the South Australian and i Tasmanian loan had a depressing effect on the gilt-edged market, which is carrying a considerable amount of unaccumulated stock from the recent flood of issues. Some resentment is expressed at the particularly generous terms of the Australian loan, which is likely to prejudice many gilt-edged 1 stocks. The immediate effect of its under- • writing has been a set-back to war loan i stocks. 1 The money market has been abundantly I supplied owing to Government disburse- ' ments, but business is restricted owing to ' the shortage of bills. An outstanding fea- ' fure of the foreign exchange market has been the fall in New York exchange at- , tributed to the influence of speculators who j are anxious to take advantage of the cus- ■ tomary autumn fall in the dollar rate. Now i that the recent improvement appears de- ■ finitely ended those who have to import : from the United States later on are already ■ covering themselves. | A good result of the London wool sales I was expected owing to the strength or ; primary products markets and the improved Japanese and Continental demand. The feature so far has been the activity of the Germans, who are taking average faulty Merinos of all grades, crossbreds and even old poor-conditioned B.A.W.R.A. wools. The appreciation of the franc enabled France and Belgium to operate with higher sterling limits, and though their demand depends largely upon exchange their business outlook is rather brighter. Yorkshire buyers are reserved but are taking a fair share of crossbreds. The general impression is that the stagnation in the Bradford market is almost entirely due to the industrial position and that there will be an all-round improvement as soon as the coal crisis is settled and a new wages agreement in the wool and textile industry is established. Meanwhile some spinners, tired of waiting for a coal settlement, are adopting oil fuel. The piece goods trade is stagnant. New orders are small and spasmodic, but the position is sounder financially and the prospects hopeful when the industrial. outlook improves. Metal quotations have been favourably influenced by the more hopeful labour outlook and the depreciation of sterling exchange. The latter is mainly responsible for the advance in electrolytic and copper. Heavy offerings of tin caused a relapse. ; The week’s turnover, 3400 tons, is the largest for many months. There was some surprise that values did not decline further. The freight market is depressed and only hand to mouth chartering is recorded, even the present low freights failing to stimulate charterers into activity. Australian wheat rates are unchanged. -June, 52s 6d, later loading 50s.