Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1902 — COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL

~ “Trade at the is iIBW YOrli. wore quiet,o.wjug to the ad- —— vnneing season, and the bad effect of prolonged labor controversies is being felt in certain lines. Reports from the interior and tlie far West are more encouraging, bountiful harvests being expected, while the light stocks carried over from the previous season assure profitable prices. The best indication of continued prosperity is the fact that quotations do not recede,’even in thh lines where at present there is only a moderate degree of activity. Railway earnings thus far reported for June increased 3.9 per cent over 1900.’’ R. G. Dun & Co.’s Weekly Review of Trade thus sums up the situation: Uncertainty regarding their ability to secure pig iron at reasonable prices is making producers of steel cautious in accepting contracts that call for delivery at even remote dates. Raw material is undoubtedly in light supply, nnd the anthracite coal strike has suspended work at a number of furnaces. Coke production is attaining new records each week in the endeavor to supply all requirements, and better railway facilities are making unprecedented shipments from the Connellsville region. Soft coal Is beginning to show the effect of an abnormal demand. In certain lines of finished steel products the addition of new plants to the productive capacity has had a perceptible influence on prices, introducing more competition. This factor is felt in only n few divisions, however, and in all heavy lines, notably rails and structural material, orders run far into next year, and there is no question of concessions in quotations. Jobbers having a surplus of bar iron sold moderate quantities at a lower figure than the market rate, but steel bars are firmer. Quiet conditions prevail in eastern dry goods and footwear markets. A stronger silver market has revived purchases tor export to China, although, like the home trade, this is still on a moderate scale. Supplemental buying of woolens is also limited. It is noteworthy that prices in all textile lines are firmly held, despite the slow movement, indicating confidence on the part of sellers. Shoeshops in New England have more orders, yet most factories only operate part time, and some are entirely idle. Leather is dull and foreign dry hides weaker. Lack of rain in the Southwest is the only seriously unfavorable crop indication of the week, while exceptionally encouraging reports are received from most points. Domestic grain makes good progress, but bad news has been received from abroad, and the outlook is favorable for large exports. Failures for the week numbered 19-1 in the United States, against 193 last year, and 19 in Canada, against 14 a year ago. , The fact that the winter CIIiCdQO. wheat harvesting was intera Ifered with to some extent by rains 4iad a stimulating effect upon wheat prices. A wet harvest would l»e bad in that it would lower the quality of much grain, and would delay the crop movement as a whole. And with this domestic influence upon grain prices lh<week brought the first unfavorable news from abroad. The weather in France has beep less favorable than heretofore. Wheat prices have been firm in all markets. Chicago advancing about two cents. For the week our exports of wheat and flour combined equaled 3,860,000 bushels, compared with 3.400,000 in the previous week, and 5,520,000 bushels in the corresponding week last year. But from July 1. 1901, to date, a period of fiftyone weeks, we are ahead of the previous season by 35.148,580 bushels, having exported 245.285,883 bushels against 210,137.303 bushels. General commodity prices are holding steady, averaging a shade lower on the whole. Live stock prices are firm, some new price records being made at northwestern markets.