The herald., 1896-06-06
COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS
Business Is Dull, Even for the Summer
Season

NEW YORK, June 5.-Bradstreets to-
morrow will say:
most all lines. Demand is smaller than
week ago and request for and offerings of
commercial paper have decreased. Mer-
camille collections continue complained Of
| and the tendency of prices, particularly of
cereals. sugar, coffee, pork products, cot
ton and cotton goods and iron and steel
At the south the more favorable features
are the rain which visited South Carolina
and Alabama with benefit to the crops,
about one-sixth increase in the cotton acre
age in Texas, higher prices for rosin and
larger volume of business at Nashville,
Charleston and Baltimore. Nebraskas 8
prospects were never better There is a
moderate increase in demand for dry goods
at Chicago. but business generally is dis
is in part the result of delays in distribu-
tion of merchandise on account of the late
storm. Unreasonable cool weather and
rain have interfered with retail trade in the
territory tributary to Kansas City. East
ern advices are that wool is as full and
weak as ever, with larger stocks of old car
| mand for new clips. In the face of this
Portland Ore. wires that about 1000 tons
of wool will be handled at The Dalles this
year; that it has begun to move. but that
eastern buyers have. not put. in an .ap-
pearance. Exports of wheat, flour includ-
| ed as wheat from both coasts of the United
week in June, S,209,00 bushels. against g.,
064000 bushels last week, 1891 90 bushels in
-,
in the corresponding week of 1894, as COM
pared with 1884, 90 bushels in the like week
of 1898.
The total number of business failures
throughout the United States this week as
reported to Bradstreet's is 236. compared
with 227 last week, and 2Se in the first week
of June. 1895. There are 20 business failures
reported In Canada, against 20 last week.
27 in the week year ago, and 81 two years
ago.
Bradstrcets financial review will say:
Restricted conditions continue to prevail
in both speculative and investment circles
the market has appeared to virtually go
to sleep, SO intense was the dullness and
the lack of speculative initiative. On Fri
in most cases with an Improvement in a
number of instances. Europe continues to
take an .unfavorable. view Of the situation
here and has manifested its distrust by
letting American stocks alone. While the
release of the Transvaal prisoners gave an
impetus to mining, and other departments
of the London market. Americans were en-
tirely neglected and sold to limited extent
by professional traders.
The market I has taken en- fnrs no account whas
which has been somewhat weaker on the
appearance. Of a limited supply Of bills
London through the Messrs. Morgan.
Generally favorable crop prospects have
also secured but little attention and seem
temper of the stock market:
DUN & cos. REVIEW.
NEW YORK, June 5.-R. G. Dun & Cos.
weekly review of trade, which is pub
lished tomorrow. will say:
1t is highly suggestive that with as little
help as there now is from business, mar
ket5 are SO d nearly mathhtalned, main am, & summer nn
isng well and old stocks large 1t is no Won
der the farm products are cheap. The fac
tories and mills are still waiting for the
rush of business seen last year, and in
spite of narrow orders are at present gen.
orally holding on with much confidence. 1t
is so late that gold exports no longer alarm,
for the date OF the expected returns draws
near. The opinion gains ground that more
active business is to be expected after the
conventions have been held and the safety
and sufficiency of crops have been assured.
Low prices this season affect farmers very
little, but the speeulators who have bought
tied to most confidence point to a probable
yield of 00,000,0 900 bushels of wheat, which,
with the stock carried over, will clear away
any danger of oppressive charges for
breadstutfs. at the same time giving pro-
ducers a fair return.
The movement of cattle at the west is
very heavy, at Chicago 10 per cent greater
than last year thus far and lard makes
new low record with enormous stocks
accumulated.
The hardest problem of the day is wheth-
er iron and steel prices can be maintained
as they have been during the past week.
to win over competitors who undersell
them and are able to manufacture 75, 200
against every 100 by concerns in the com
more than the selling price for steel bars
Open hearth billets are freely sold at
Pittsburg below the price asked for Bes-
semer, and middlemen are still selling Bes-
semer billets about 81 below the price fixed
for the. pool. Naturally the doubt regard
ing maintenance of prices greatly checks
the demand for the present. but that 70
large demand Is certain and will not be
long delayed is one thing which prevents
considerable decline.
Failures for the week were 2s4 in the
United States against 1876 last year, and 20