RESERVE BANK RETURN

Southland Times, Issue 23769, 17 March 1939, Page 3

RESERVE BANK RETURN

ANOTHER REDUCTION IN EXCHANGE STATE DEPOSITS SHOW DECLINE (Special to The Times) WELLINGTON, March 16. A drop of £114,211 in the amount of sterling exchange held by the Reserve Bank is shown in the return for the week ended March 13. The previous week there was a reduction of £133,658, making a decline of £247,869 this month. State deposits are down by £510,360, but those of the trading banks show a slight rise. An increase of £17,610 is shown in advances to the Primary Products Marketing Department and a reduction of £60,000 in advances to the State for other purposes. The statement, with variations com-, pared with the previous week, is as follows:— LIABILITIES Variation £ £ General reserve 1,500,000 same Bank notes 14,799,266 —10,815 Demand liabilities — state 5,494,360 —510,360 Banks 8,569,406 +9,058 Other 611.816 +127,542 Other currencies 17,128 —20,750 Other liabilities 334,973 +48,578 TOTAL 31,326,950 —356,846 ASSETS Variation £ £ ReserveGold 2,801,791 same Sterling exchange 4,591,686 —114,211 Subsidiary coin 204,410 +154 Advances— Marketing Dept 7,317,326 +17,610 Other 12,665.000 —60,000 Investments 3,651,028 same Other assets 95,709 —50,299 TOTAL 31,326,950 —356,846 Proportion of reserve to notes and other demand liabilities, 25.026 per cent. (25.017 per cent. last week). Sterling exchange is expressed in New Zealand currency. _ t The principal items in this week’s return are compared with those at the corresponding date last year in the following table:— (000’s omitted) Varia--1939 1938 tlon. £ £ £ Notes 14,799 13,567 +1,232 Deposits— . State 5,494 7,859 —2,365 Banks 8,569 5,263 +3,306 Exchange 4,592 16,622 -—12,030 Advances— Marketing 7,317 5,675 +1,642 Other 12,665 — +12,665 Investments 3,651 2,972 +679 Ratio (per cent.) 25.026 72.04 —47.014 Sterling exchange held by the Reserve Bank for the past 12 months as at the first week of the month showed the following variations:— 1938 £(N.Z.) March 7 15,617,116 April 4 16,169,496 May 2 17,627,443 June. 6 17,801,586 July 4 15,941,567 August 1 15,322,308 September 5 12,638.656 October 3 10,594,978 November 7 6,633.031 December 5 4,200,856 1939 January 2 4,017,232 February 6 4,074,954 March 6 4,705,897 March 13 4,591,686 The proportion of reserve (less reserve liabilities in currencies other than New Zealand currency) as at the beginning of each month for the last year has been as follows:— 1938 ?er cent. March 7 66.019 April 4 75.542 May 2 79.569 June 6 77.906 July 4 76.181 August 1 69.249 September 5 65.847 October 3 57.259 November 7 39.733 December 5 29.834 1939 January 2 26.13 February 6 25.047 March 6 25.017 March 13 25.026 THE PRICE OF GOLD LONDON, March 15. The price of gold is £7 8/5i an ounce.