Washington, June 17.
Financial circles here pointed out today that President Roosevelt can devaluate the United States dollar without permission from Congress, although the proportion of such a devaluation is restricted to 50 per cent. of the dollar's value prior to 1934 by a bill passed in that year.
The present value of the dollar being 59.06 per cent. of its 1933 worth, it can only be devaluated a 1 further nine per cent, by the a President, Indications gathered from cormercial, financial, and political circles show that devaluation does not seem in the interests of the American Government at present.
Well-informed circles stated that the Government would have recourse to devaluation only if it was compelled to do so by other Powers. No conversations are taking place at resent with the signatories of the ipartite Monetary Agreement with a view to a general devaluation of currencies. Circles closely connected with the Treasury and ihe Federal Reserve Board consider rumours or devaluation as completely groundless.
Competent circles, giving reasons for the maintenance of the dollar at its present parity, said a relative stability of currencies created a favourable atmosphere for commercial exchanges. The present value of the dollar was satisfactory as proved by United States foreign trade statistics. Further, the permissible margin of devaluation would be too small to have any powerful influence on the domestic prices of Taw materials and agricultural pro-duets. Finally, the entry of gold into the country does not constitute a threat for the Treasury, which recently decided, on the contrary. to suppress measures for the sterilization of the metal.—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.