a Messrs Samuel Montague & Ca, In their report of August 12:
The Bank of England gold reserve against its note issue is £121, 530,460, merely £1,000 more than that of last week, A fair amount of gold came into the market and was taken for India and New York, The high price now being paid for gold in the Indian Bazaars is worthy of notice, in view of the announcement that an Order inj Counci] will be passed in September to make the sovereign legal tender for only 10 rupees instead of 15 as heretofore. The present market quotation of Rs. 22.8/- per fine tala of gold represents a premium of over 41 per cent above the future currency value of the metal, and indicates a luxury demand of exceptional vitality." Meanwhile the sovereign is in the remarkable position of possessing no legal tender value, although the gold mohur of equal weight and fineness is still legal tender for 15 rupees.
The keen demand on the part of India for the precious metals is not a bull point for the Indian exchange, nor is the recent official intimation at Karachi that it is unlikely that the Government will see its way to issue any licences this year for the export of wheat.
Dealing with the gold position on August 19 Messrs. Montagu say The Bank of England gold reserve against its note issue is £121,592,- 565, a slight increase of £2,105 as compared with that, of last week, 'A fair amount of gold came into the market and was readily absorb-for the United States of Ameri-and India, Under date August 12 Reuter reported that $750,000 gold had been engaged in the U.S.A. for shipment to Bombay.
The India Government will offer for sale on September 1 and 14 the standard gold equivalent of 12,500,- 900 tolas of fine gold. There will be no sales subsequent to the last mentioned date.
A new gold coin worth Rs. 35.4/- has been minted by the Tibetan Governnient, correspondent in the "Times" recently set out the following interesting figures touching the stock of gold money, showing that the stock has been increased since the end of 1913 by £256,000,000:-—
(In millions of pounds. Gold at 85s, per fine 07.)
3 3 38 Fess 8 2 pose 23 EfPs gy 4 sen E2228 2 now less 32
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.