June 27.
We publish to-day #2 interesting article on Mexico, in the form of an interview with a gentleman who has recently passed through Shanghai after extensive travel in that country. And perhaps the most interesting statement of all is, in connexion with Mexico's wonderful richness in oil, that.at present ''oil markets are over-stocked, the United States alone having 2,000,000 barrels in store." In further conversation Mr. Williams said that the tanks in Mexico are full and that the oil wells are as much as possible being screwed down, no easy matter, it would appear, in view of the tremendous force of the flow in many wells. Mr. Williams says that the reason for this depression is the absence of demand' for oil for industrial purposes, compared with which the demand for gasoline for motor-cars is almost negligible. In confirmation of this we may refer to the recently published annual reports of three big ai! companies. Last week the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company announced a decline in profits for the year 1921 from 129 to 104 million guilders. Yesterday we learnt that the Shell Transport profits, at £5,627,000 for the same period showed a decrease of £2,042,000 as compared with 1920. And the Mexican Eagle Oil Company reporting on the second half of 1921 showed ''a considerable decrease as compared with the corresponding period in 1920" though without giving exact figures. It is noticeable that the reports of both the Shell and the Royal Dutch dwell on the strong financial position of the two companies. As it appears possible for the oil ring to hold up supplies until the market suits their own ideas, these statements are evidently more than the usual bacon de parler of directors excussing a decrease in profits.
These facts are of special importance in view of the agitation to which we referred last Friday for reduction in the price of gaso-. line, which is being conducted at Home, and the excessive price charged in Shanghai. We there showed that an Imperial gallon of gasoline in England costs 2/54d., which at exchange 3/7 is about seventy-eight Mex. cents per American gallon in Shanghai Freights are lower, the price of erade oil has fallen, but still we have to pay $1 for our petrol, which
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.