The Board of Trade Journal of November Sth carried an article on trade in the Overseas Sterling area, Tho Overseas Sterling countries consist, in the main, of the Commonwealth countries with the exception of Canada which is in the dollar area, For the 2nd quarter of this year there had b3en an increase of 11% in both the exports and imports of those countries as compared “with the 2nd quarter of 1962, However the increase of exports to the U.K. only rose by 2 as compared with an increase af 19% to North America (the B. of T. lump the . U.5S.1. and Canada together as "North imerica", but the U.5. share is fer the biggest) and 1% to Common Market countriss. On the import side, overseas Iter ling countries took 6% more from Britain as against 24% moro from North America and &% from the Common Market countries.
The increase in imports from North America was by no means uniform, ranging from a 96% increase in Pakistan's figure to a 2% decrease in that of Nigeria (on the other hand the Common Markot had a 557% increase in its oxports to Nigoria), After Pakistan, ‘ustralia had the biggest increase in imports from North America, taking an additional £12 million more during the quarter than the same quarter last years
The fipures are a continuation of a trénd, In 1958 tha quarterly avorave of imports into the overseas sterling countries from North America was £161 million, the figure from the U.K. was more than twice as great at £353 Million, By 1962, whilst the figure for U.K. exports had remained stagnant at £352 million, that of North imerica had increased over 50% to £248 million, In the 2nd quarter of this year the gap had narrowed to about £73 million, S3xports from the overseas Sterling countries follow very mich the same pattern, “hile tis to the U.K. increased by a mere 8% between 1958 and 1962, those to North Jmerica increased by 57%. Ry the 2nd quarter of this year sxports to North America had almost doubled ac compared to 1958, the quarterly average rising from £111 Million to £203 million,
It this trand continues -— and it may actually intensify as tha U.S. stops up its exports drives — the U.K. will be supplanted as the most important trading partnor of the overseas “Sterling countrics. ‘uch a development could not fail to have important political rapercussionss AUSTRIAN GOVGRNMENT TO RAISS LOAN IN LONDON INSTEAD OF Wiy YORK
The Tory Government plan. to reestablish London as ones of the main world money markets hes had a major success, The Austrian Government is to borrow £6 millions for 25 years to help to finance a tudget deficit of £47 wihillions, They are expected to borrow a further £8 million in the new year — tho loan was to have originally been raised in New York. The loan haa ~ been negotiated by a syndicate of 3 London merchant banks.
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