The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-03-16
REPORT OF Dun & CO.
There Is Large Hope but Little
Actual Business.
GOOD SPRING TRADE LOOKED FOR.
Movements In Materials aud In Msnufact-
ures Are Results of Insde-
quate Consumption and Combin ations
Feit-Cotton Goods Sell slowly. Notwith-
standing Recent Reductions la Prices
Market for Wheat Weaker.

Market for Wheat Weaker.
NEW YORK March l6-R e. Dun q
Co.'s Weekly Review of Trade says;
Waiting Is still the rule. Large hope hut
little actual business explains the
strength OF some markets and the weak
ness OF others The feeling that the
spring of 1896 ought to bring larger bust
ness will suifi ,e 60 meet expenses all the
season If the larger business does not
come. II is especially noteworthy that
prices OF materials have varied differently
from prices of manufactured products. al
though in most cases the advance last fall
was commenced by extraordinary uplitt-
ing OF prices for materials. Thus cotton
is q per cent higher than year ago.
but cotton goods average only l07 per
cent. Wool Is but Q per cent higher
than year ago but wooden goods are, on
the whole, about per cent lower. Pig.
iron Is only IL per cent higher than 10 was
year ago. while flashed products of iron
| and steel average 10 per cent higher.
Iron stucks Accumulate.
The output of pig iron March Vas
| 1871 5St tons weekly. against lys. 599 Feb.
| 1, but the unsold stock has risen GO. 76a
| tons during the past month, or IL, AL
weekly, and the uusold stocks OF the
great steel companies are not included.
| There is reason 90 believe that actual con.
sumption is still at least 10 per cent
smaller than the production OF pig iron,
and the price of Bessemer at Pittsburg
| has again declined slightly to sl2. %, with
| exceptionally large sales even below that
| figure Prices of finished products are
not quotably lower although all markets
are week in zone. The industry Is walt
| ing for a larger demand, which 10 Is hoped
may soon come to clear away the accumu-
| lation of surplus stocks. or the minor
metals, copper is in moderate demand at
II II cents. and there Is more movement
in tin nc 10 4 ,onts, while lead Is slightly
weaker nt 3 10. Tin plates are weak. In
| part because of little demand. but Amer
lean Besscmer IC l4x20, full weight, arc
| quoted at S3 70 against s3 - for similar
| foreiga brands
| Cotton Goods Sell slowly.
| Aluminium rolling ingots are now Offer
ell at 6 cents per pound in ton lots, the
| harncssing oT Niagara having reduced the
| cost of this metal for the world. Cotton
| goods sell slowly notwithstanding recent
reductions ia prices, and the enormoui
| accumulation OF upsold stocks causes ap
| prehcnsiJn in many quarters. In wooien:
| the demand Is very largely for low grade
goods, and fierce competition affects the
prices of the better grades materially. Ii
clay wossteds the manufacture has beer
so far overdoue that the stoppage OF soms
OF the most important works Is considered
not Improbable The great need of a
| .1.rx linn
tions of imports is now realized by all par
ties Sales of wool at the three chief mar
kets are the smallest in five years and for
two weeks have been only g. 6s3. 900 pounds
OF which 3. 3J9. go were domestic, against
1881 500 last year. of which o, ls0, 800 were
omestic and II, OF. 676 in ls9z, Of which
{. .369 I95 were domestic Prices are still
maintained with decrease In Australian
supplies.
| Weaker Market for Wheat
The market for wheat Is we ike-. with
no better reason than the government mt re
port of wheat in farmers hands, which II
altogether out of keeping with the gov
ernment estimate q year ago. and yet Il
probably more nearly correct Western
receipts still exceed last years. and TO
two weeks have been L. 567, ,392 bushels
against 1896 7l5 last year. while the AT
lantic exports, -four included, this weel
are n little smaller than u year ago. and
for two weeks are 292l OBJ bushels
against 357l, l52 last year. Corn Is
shade hrmer. without apparent reason
and cotton maintained l-l6th. although
the prospect of the yield this year Is .
least as good as IL has been at any time
Failures for the week have been 81 Gil, 77i
against 81 ,6SS 052 last year. and s3,21o.29
In 1894 Manufacturing were $Sed.9l
against S7s5 296 last year, and trading
were 81 COS 500, against ss97, ,65o last year
Failures for the week have been 800 IL
the United States. against 266 last year
| md sixty I'm Canada aQainst dfty-sevel