The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-09
THE CONDITION OF TRADE
MARKED INCREASE IN THE ZOE.
UTE OF BANK OLEARINGs.

Quotations Have Advanced for Longer
List of staples-F or in the De-
mand for Lumber-Quantity of Available
Wheat to be Carried Over Until July is
Smaller Than for Years.
New York, May S-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say: Relatively unfavora-
BILE features of the general business sit
uation this week include unseasonably
cool weather, which at some centres han
checked trade. Continued surplus
stocks of cottons which express prices.
dullness and idle machinery in the
woolen goods industry; falling off in
demand for lumber at st. Louis and
Minneapolis and continued dullness In
iron and steel, where although mills
and furnaces are fairly active there is
continued absence of new orders,
Chicago jobbers report the weeks busi-
hess in light seasonable fabrics as only
fairly satisfactory, transactions in
clothing smaller than in the like period
a year ago and the leather market
weaker, owing to lack Of demand, but
light hardware relatively more active.
The favorable side of the picture in
cludes a marked increase in the total
volume of bank clearings, longer list
OF staples for which quotations have
advanced, almost uniform and unex-
pectedly improved prospects for cereal
and cotton crops and reflection Of
the more confident feeling as to. the
autumn's business in an improved de-
mand throughout the territory supplied
by st. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha. st.
Paul, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Duluth
and Sioux Falls. The least favorable
crop report is from Oklahoma, where
wheat is in need Of rain and Wash
ington, where wheat has been hurt BY
too much wet weather. Bank clear-
ings for the week aggregate $1,1S5, ,00O,-
900, or Is per cent more than last week,
but only seven-t tenths Of one per cent.
larger than in the first week of May,
1895, although 25 per cent. larger than
in the corresponding week Of 1894.
There are 267 business failures re-
ported throughout the United States
this week, compared with 224 year
ago. Exports of wheat, wheat flour in
cluded as wheat, from both coasts this
week amount to 1.SS2,000 bushels, COM
pared with 2S05,000 bushels in the
first week Of May, 1895.
Stocks of wheat and flour af1oat for
and in Europe May were equivalent
to 47,775,000 bushels, the smallest total
SO held and in transit on a like date
for eight years, being 1864 bushels less
than one year ago. The worlds availa-
Bile wheat stocks May /, 131, ,136, 900 bush
els, were almost as small as on July
| /, 1895, and much smaller than on July
| 1, 1894, or 1893. The present prospect
is for a smaller quantity Of available
wheat to be carried over on July next
than for years.
The preliminary investigation by
Bradstreets Of the annual consumption
of wheat per capita in the United
States and Canada has resulted in
| showing that the annual average con-
sumption Of wheat per capita in the
United States is about 1888 bushels per
capita, as opposed to the heretofore ac-
cepted rate 4.6 bushels. General trade
is more active in the province Of Que
bee, as reported by Montreal jobbers
and by those at Quebec City. There is
| is a fair movement in dry goods and
hardware at Toronto, but prices are
much changed and collections slow. In
Nova Scotia the volume is small.