The Toriss hope to reverse their disastrous electoral position by trying to stimlatse tha country's sconomy in time to reestablish the myth of Tory prospsority by the General <lsction. Howevar thoy are going to find it vory difficult, to achisve the success that they had in 1959, A major economic indicator is the stste of the steel industry. The followins material on the stats of the Dritish steel industry is extractzd from ths Financial Times of Hay 9th:
"\fter rising for 4 months without pause, stesl output fell back slightly lact month to an average of 426,000 tons a week. The industry is estim-ted to hevs boen using about 75 per cent of its available capacity, Fart of the drop of nearly 7,000 tons a wesk from ths Ifarch level was due to the Baster holidays, ~mit thers also appears to hava baen some marginal easing in demand,
"Although production is ipril was still 4 per cent up on a year earlier, todeys!s statement from the Iron and Steel Beard gipardy indicatss that talk of a Taal recovery remains premeture at this stage. Consumers’ and Merchants! stocks. continued to fall in the fir st quarter of the year =< a process that has been going on for about 21 months =~ and there is still no aign of a major overai) Pick-up in the actual usage of oteel secscace
"In these circumstances, the industry is at the momsnt disinclined to chang; tha estimate it publi:hed towarda the ond of last year - that production in 1963 is likely to fall between 20.5 million and 22 million tons....‘%asatonelly adjusted, the actual weekly averages ipril output of 426,400 tons comes dow to 408,900 tons, which is 3,300 tons below the correcisd foanh figure and gives some idea of the possible easing in domandsesaees
"\ preliminary estimates for steal _cunsumption in tha first quarter is that it totalled 3.24 million tons, after seasonal allowances are made, This ie: the lowest quartarly figure for nearly four years, although the fall must ~ havs been dus in part to the abnormal weather in Jamiary and February."
The editorial on the subject added more facts:
“",eeeeeeis before, the sectors of the industry supplying the motor industry were fully oceupiod: output of sheat steal in the first quarter of 1963 was 25 per cont up on a year ago, that of strip was 10 per cant up, and tinplate also held firm. Tut the heavy section of the industry ramained in the doldiums, Lower domand from the railways, from shipbuilders and from snginer= ing gonerally cut back heavy stesl output across the boerd. Output of rails, plates, heavy beams and tubes was lowsr in svory case than in a similar period _ of 1962,"