The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-04-11
In CIRCLES OF TRADE
While There Is No General Increase ii Basl.
ness There Are Encouraging Reports.
A FEW CITIES REPORT IMPROVEMENT.
One of tho most Unravorabie Pcnsur.s 4
Is the Continued Inability or ms
fcrior Merchants TO Make Rensit.
tances PromptIy-The Range rsrs
Commodities Lowest Ever K no i III
New York. April -Bradstreets to.

New York. April 10.-Bradstreet's ID.
morrow will say:
While there Is no general increase ,s,s 4
business, there are several encouraeino
features. First. the advance In prices
Oh hour. wheat. corn. oats, pork and
sugar. together with that for steel biz
lets and beams and other iron and steeiS
products. including No. foundry pig
and for Tin plates. The advance III
wheat has continued SO much longer !,
man expected that the trade are again
discussing the likelihood of this being
the beginning of the long advance Tor
cereals. which they believe must comeS
arler the extreme depression OF the
past few years. "
Gross railway earnings reflect the
March iuil In trade. Brighter and mora 4
seasonable weather East, and needed
rains I'm Missouri, Kansas and Nebraaka
have tended to stimulate the belated de- :
mand for general merchandise.
There are only few cities reporting
moderate Improvement. st. Louis,
conspicuous. but even there the gains )
are slight st. Paul, Minneapolis and
sioux Falls report only fairly satisfac-
tory spring business. u
one of the most unfavora BILE featurRpsS \
is the continued inability of inter.orE
ly. sEF!
Demand for wool is smaller-has at-
most disappeared. Stocks OF woods are
unusually heavy and a large propor-
ton of them Will have to be carried Z
over. Trade In the raw staple IS at d \
standstoll. Dry goods continue de-
pressed shirtings and other cottonf,
goods are not moving freely, notWithas7
standing cuts in prices.
Leather is also lower and large oy4
ders for shoes have been placed bssfs
cause of lower quotations.. The list o.
notable price reactions also &incIudeasS
those for wool and petroleum., while rat
ton. print cloths and coffee prices area
substantially unchanged. Busineas
failures In the United States this weak
number 231. compared with 236 lastweeK,
225 I'm the week year ago, ell two years8
ago, and with 1876 in the first week ofs
April. 1893. Ed
Total bank clearings aggregate 1925. .si
100000 this week thus continuing to res
fleet the Stacking off in business which,
has been so conspicuous. Nj
what DUN & Co., sny About III.
Failures for the past week have been
209 In the United States against 207 last s
year and % in Canada against q last
year.
The volume of business has not on the
whole increased, nor have prices ap-
preciably advanced since April 1st, when
| the range for all commodities was ths q
| lowest ever known in this country 81,
Breadstuffs and iron products hayei
| risen slightly. but some other articles
| have declined, and the root of the matter
| is that demand Tor consumption Is sstIIl2
| below executions. The billet pool and Z
| other combinations nave raised prices of 81
pig iron and steel, but as yet finished
| products have gained scarcely anything,
| nor has demand for them increased. The
output April 1st was l90.2S1 tons weekly, 81
| against 1858 March 1st, but reported :,
| stocks unsold Increased 5S,16S tons in
March or 1892 weekly, and there is be-;
sides the unknown accumulation of thesg
great steel concerns. Prices for LakeS8
ore are announced. as expected, sl.f0
| higher than last year, and the coke CONS
| b!nation makes no reduction but gradt. N
| ally lessons the output. While purcasers q
| OF pig to anticipate future wants hayeS
| been heavy, actual consumption Is but e
moderate. Minor metals are dull but 81
West. Ss M
Prices of boots and shoes do no f;
change, though leather Is lower Hides
are little stronger at Chicago, receiptsS Is
being small. Wool Is weaker, with eaiss 8
for the week the smallest for manyfE
years. Prices tend lower except for fi,leaFs&
washed fleece, and manufacturers are rss ~
pidly reducing production. There is faffsb y
demand in the dress goods branch, but fe a
is estimated that not 40 per cent OF ithas6l
mems wear machinery Is In operafiS,,lt$
There have also been cotton mills stnyxsS
ping or reducing time this week Ftsrs d
ther reduction In shirting prints to tho 4
lowest point ever touched failed to 81. s,
crease the demand materially. ~ e \ -
Rhode ysinnd Tor Reed. sSS ~