LONDON MARKETS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 19056, 8 July 1924, Page 2

LONDON MARKETS

THE WEEKLY REVIEW. LONDON, July 7. Fears that a rise in the bank rate is imminent caused some uneasiness on the Stock Exchange, and there has been some selling of gift-edgeds with tho result that prices eased all round. The decision to leave the rate unchanged last Thursday led to a somewhat better feeling, and a slight recovery in prices, but the general impression seems to be that the bank rate will be raised before long unless the American exchange is more favourable, and the international financial situation improves. The most interesting event of the week has been the flotation of portion of the Hungarian reconstruction loan, amounting to nearly eight millions sterling at seven and a half per cent at eightyeight. As including redemption the loan yields over £S 16s per cent, it is not surprising that it was rapidly ovei> subscribed, the lists being closed a few hours after the opening. The position in THE SHIPPING TRADE shows no improvement and the views of a number of leading shipowners, published in the newspaper Fairplay, are extremely pessimistic, as regards both the present and future. For instance the managing director of a great shipping company points out that though there has been a small but very welcom« improvement in general trading conditions in the past few months it is due to two outstanding factors, firstly, the earthquake in Japan, which led to a quite abnormal demand for tonnage to carry building materials, etc., to the devastated areas; secondly, exceptionally heavy crops of Argentina, causing a large demand for tonnage. Both these factors are now in operation to a much lesser extent. The director continues that with the great uncertainty in the general financial international situation that still exists, resulting in the continued icstrieted purchasing power of Europe the outlook for the immediate future is far from reassuring. “I cannot sec any likelihood of the improvement experienced during the early period of the year being maintained in the next half year. On the contrary, the present sagging tendency of freights, which is apparent in most quarters is likely to continue, perhaps in an accentuated form, with probably many steamers which arc at present with difficulty being maintained in commission having to be again laid up. In this connection it is interesting to note that Germany's shipping activities arc being restricted by lack of money. The Dutch banks, which in pre-war days used to advance money to German shipowners on first mortgages on their ships arc now refusing this assistance. A German businessman who recently went to Holland to try to obtain loans for German shipping gives in the newspaper Borscnhallc a glowing account of his reception, and describes his complete failure to raise first mortgages on freight steamers, which he considers due to unjustifiable pessimism on the part of Dutch banks regarding the financial reliability of German shipping firms.” BUTTER MARKET FIRM. The firmness of the butter market continues, and, notwithstanding the further advance in prices, the demand shows no diminution. According to one of the leading importing firms, the satisfactory consumptive demand is largely attributed to the effects of the Wembley Exhibition, where upwards of five million visitors have had the merits of Australian and New Zealand butters brought prominently before them. Another suggested reason for the firmness of the market is the shortness of Eng-lish-make owing to many dairy farmers selling cream at high prices to hotels and restaurants, instead of making butter. HIGH PRICES FOR APPLES. The Australian-New Zealand apple season is rapidly drawing to a close and it appears likely that the final results will prove satisfactory. The demand continues good, and high prices are being pair, especially for Sturmers, some of which realised 25/- per case. Even blemished Tasmanian Sturmers have made 13/-. Importers continue to complain about the unsatisfactory marking of cases, and in many instanced eases marked “blemished” contained better fruit than those marked “standard.” There are also complaints about the bad grading of some cases marked 2| inches containing apples under two inches in diameter.