STERLING ASSAILED

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18776, 26 October 1932, Page 8

STERLING ASSAILED

RAPID RISE IN GOLD. < i i.u j * a hint to speculators. .TREASURY MAY INTERVENE. United Press Assn. —Elec. Tel. Copyright. (Received Oct. 26, 9.45 a.m.) LONDON, Oct. 25. Gold rose between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from £6 2s Hid to £6 5s 4}d an ounce. The further sensational fall in sterling is ascribed by the Standard to the reoall of French funds for impending State loans; also to bear attacks in Paris and Amsterdam, which are based on unfounded rumours that the British Exchange Equalisation Fund is exhausted and that the British are short of dollars for the December repayments. The Standard hints that the Treasury and Bank will shortly intervene with disastrous results to speculators.

A new LOW LEVEL. AMERICAN BANKERS’ VIEW. United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright. (Reoeived October 26, 12.1 p.m.) NEW YORK, October 25. A new low level for 1932 w T as touched by sterling on foreign exchanges on Tuesday, the pound closing 12 cents, lower, namely at 3 dollars 301 cents for cables, rallying from the opening quotations of 3 dollars 291 cents. It was believed that official support had been withdrawn again since sterling’s decline last Tuesday when Currency was stabilised close to the 3 dollars 40 cents, level. Bankers here said' that British support would come again when sterling reached a level that could be supported with greater ease, but no indication of that level was forthcoming. The Canadian dollar closed at 9iJ cents after opening at 92.

RECOVERY IN LONDON. CITY CIRCLES’ VIEW. SEASONAL INFLUENCE. (Received Oct. 26, 12.35 p.m.) (Omclal Wireless.) RUGBY, Oct. 25. After a further decline to 3 dollars 28 cents on New York recovered today to 3 dollars 302 cents. The low price of the pound is attributed in city circles to influences of a seasonal character which naturally are more marked (since Britain’s departure from the gold standard), accelerated by selling by foreign speculators, whose operations are considered to be attended by a considerable measure of risk to themselves. On the London Stock Exchange today a feature at the close was the sharp recovery in leading British Government stooks, especially war loan Assented, at £lO2.

QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT. CHANCELLOR'S STATEMENT. AIM OF EQUALISATON ACCOUNT. (Official Wireless.) (Received Oot. 26, 12.15 p.m.) RUGBY, Ootober 25. Answering a question In the House of Commons as to whether the speculators’ attacks on sterling had been checked by the Exchange Equalisation account, Mr Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, replied that ho was unable lo say to what exteait speculation in exchange existed, but he had no doubt the reserves of foreign currency in this account had acted as a deterrent against the activity of speculators. The purpose of the account was to prevent excessive fluctuation in the value of 'currency, and it was never intended to keep the exchange at a fixed price or to keep it within a fixed range of values in opposition to seasonal or other tendencies.

OPINION IN NEW YORK. MANIFESTATION OF POLICY. United Press Assn —Elec. Tel. Copyright. NEW YORK, Oct. 24. Sterling closed in New York to-day at 3.315 dollars, a net loss of 7 5-8. It touched 3.31 3-8 at one stage. Bankers regard the fall as a manifestation of Britain’s fiscal policy rather Ilian an indication that the Bank of England lias exhausted Its means of supporting exchange.