Copra

The Relapse of the Market

THE copra market during recent weeks has been uncertain and unreliable.

The figures quoted in our market sum mary show that since mid-January the price has fallen by about £8 per ton. The fall since early April has been between £4 and £5 per ton.

At first sight, this seems mysterious and calamitous, as there apparently is no outstanding cause for this sagging of the market. The real explanation, however, probably is that the prices that ruled between January and March, owing to a peculiar set of circumstances, were far higher than were warranted, and the latest figures represent a settling down to established conditions.

Figures published elsewhere indicate the extent to which United States pur chases affect the market; and it is quite clear that economic conditions generally in U.S.A. —especially in relation to vege table and mineral oils —have been very much disturbed.

When it was announced recently that U.S.A. would not accept further gold consignments, the prices on the world’s commodities markets fell alarmingly.

They have not recovered —although the U.S. banks have emphatically denied the report, and President Roosevelt has offi cially declared that he has no intention of reducing the price of gold.

Our mid-April reports from London show uncertainty regarding stocks of oil and fats in America, and also uncertainty about the total of the Antarctic whale oil catch. Otherwise, there is no factor to explain any wide disorganisation of the copra market and we cannot discern any cause for serious concern on the part of planters.