London. Mar. 9.
Emboldeted by the tactics of the French E: ha trol, bears lost no time in renewing their drive against the franc in the London foreign exchange market yesterday.
After the pening, the rate quickly weakened to 155.96 under general of-forings by.the Continent. At this level the authorities stopped the rot, with the rate eventually closing at 156.
Wellinformed quarto regard the present flurry in the franc a largely speculative, resulting partly from nervousness over methods to be adopted to fi ce armament expenditure, and partly from fears of a falling-óff of Anglo-French co-opera tion if the Anglo-Italian rapprochement succeeds.
Evidence that no real panic exists may be noted in the London gold market. where yesterday's fixing found the demand for the metal very moderáte, with the result that official quarters had to take up the bulk of the offerings. The amount, incidentally, included a little Continental de-hoarded gold.—Reuter
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.