Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-09
BANK CLEARINGS INCREASED
Wheat, Flour, Sugar and Iron Have Been
Shaded See.
WOOL HIT THE Lo S,T PRICE ON RECORD
Cotton Print ,rn, Oats and Lard Were
Quoted 2 lie Higher Cotton Mills,
Aft - ,ping for Better Things,
> Are Closing Down.

New York. May S.-R. G. Dun & Co.
In their weekly review of trade tomorrow
VIII say:
That exports of $3.50, 900 gold this week
have produced no monetary disturbance
is at once proof of the soundness of finan-
cial conditions and of the prevailing con-
hdence In better things to come II does
not matter whether the gold is required
for Russia or anywhere else, 1t would
not go from this rather than other coun-
tries If there were not balances to he
met.
Much of the hesitation at present is
Que to temporarily reduced demand In
some industries, and in iron and steel
the power of the new combinations Is
being generally tested by refusal of or
ders, so that production exceeds con-
sumption, but consumption exceeds new
buying. The general irregularity of
prices and slackness of demand for fin
lsned products do not prevent the mark
ing up OF prices by combinations but are
largely due to doubt whether such prices
as are fixed can be maintained Pig iron
is weaker at the east and also at Pitts
burg, and most finished products are
weaker with a remarkably narrow de-
mand.
For textile manufacturers the situation
is trying. Cotton mills have fairly ac-
tive demand, though not equal to their
normal output, and for many months
have been accumulating goods hoping
for better things, so that some are now
stopping, although the demand for some
grades, with higher prices for cottons,
mas helped to small advance in prices.
Print cloths are an eighth higher, but
some other grades have declined, so that
the average of all quotations is slightly
lower. Wooen manufacturers find prices
or wool sagging, both here and abroad
the decline at London having reached
about per cent, while the average Of
quotations by Coates Bros, Philadelphia,
was nearly per cent lower May 1, and
prices have been further reduced by con-
cessions to clear off stocks.
Cotton speculation has lifted the price
20 63l cents and profits have been real
ized from the men who have sold cotton
they did not own; but 1t Is still the fact
that the outlook for next falPs crop is
unusually favorable, while stocks here
and abroad exceed all possible demands
until September l.
Failures for the week have been .23S in
the United States, against 227 last wear.
and "a In Canada, against "a last year.
Bradstreet's Report.
Bradstreet's tomorrow will saw:
Relatively unfavorable features of the
general business sttua tion this week in
clude unreasonable cool weather. which
at some centers has checked trade, In
Texas further Improvement in the cot
ton crop outlook has stimulated jobbers
to send out travellers to anticipate the
demand, and the region of which Chatta-
nooga is the commercial center Is enjoy
ing the results of an extension of the
truck gardening industry. Savannah's
resin and turpentlne receipts and ship
ments are quite active. The outlook for
wheat In eastern Oregon Is the brightest,
and the like is true of Kansas Nebraska
and Iowa. More important staples, for
which prices are higher, are cotton, print
cloths, Indian corn, oats, lard and coffee,
while quotations for pork, coal and lum-
Der remain practically unchanged A sale
of wool is reported at Boston a the low
est price on record, from which 1t may
be inferred that the bottom has been
reached. Wheat -four, wheat, sugar, pe-
troleum, Bessemer pig and foundry irons
have likewise been shaded in price. The
evident though gradual increase i'm the
volume of business during the past two
or three weeks shows itself in an enlarged
volume of bank clearings. The aggre-
gate for the week is 81, 135, 900, 600, or Is
per cent more than last week, but only
7-10 of l per cent larger than in the first
week of May, 1895, although 25 per cent
larger than in the corresponding week Of
1894 AS compared with the like period in
1S93 the weeks total clearings show a de-
crease of II per cent, and as compa red
with 1892 a decrease of A per cent There
are 267 business failures reported
throughout the United States this week,
as compared with 254 last week, 224 In
the week one year ago. 1888 in the first
week of May, 1894, as compared with 210
In the corresponding week of 1893.