The times., 1897-12-18
TRADING RATHER FEYERISH
Sugar Refining an Active Feature,
But Weak.
Money Market Firm, But Not Strin-
gent, Though There May Be
Further urtailments.

New York, Dec. 17.-An can loans
made on Friday carry over until
Monday, tut the market, while firm.
did not develop conditions approaching
stringency, and while outstanding loans
were generally marked up, there was no
| searcity % money offering at the advance.
| Il the same time, the tone Of the money
Iarketovershadowed firmer conditions, and
there Will be q further curtailm mt of
| blinking accommodations, owing to the
| preliminary contraction in loans incidental
| ID the pa yment of Ss,500,o 600 to be made
| Sh the 27th instant.
| While the money market may rule fnm
! thereafter and until the shifting of funds
| Oh account of the payments into and out
| df the treasury shall have been competed,
| II may be expected that subsequently there
| YIN be q return TO the conditions hereto
| fore existing.
| The greater part Of the trading throughout
the day was feyeIish. Sugar Refining,
which was among the active features,
showed weakness throughout the day.
| Interest elsewhere was largest In the
| granger shares, Northern Pacific and
New jersey Central. London's Ie4-ings
here on balance were on too small scale
to affect prices. Aside from the reports
Of earnings OF various railways and the
decision in the rapid transit case, there
Were no developments bearing on special
securities.
New York, Dec. 17-Dun's weekly re-
view OF trade tomorrow viii say; Close to
its annual holiday and halt the busin,ss
| Of the year is surprisingly large. Pay
| ments through banks are again :. . per
cent larger than in 1892, heretofore the
kyear of greatest prosperity; the prodIc-
tion OF iron and woolens and boots ana
shoes is larger than ever before, exports
| eclipse all past records, and failures for
two weeks have been the smallest for
| corresponding weeks in five years. Treas
| ury receipts show a steady increase for
| the first half Of December over previous
months, both il customs and internal rev
| enues, and heavy payments to government
| on Union Iacific account caused but slight
| strngency in money mark cts, with pr 1p1ra-
tiOn for large cancellation of bonds
The most weighty news Of the Wees
! is the rise of merchandise exports III
| November 10 SIG $50 ,290, the excess
! Of exports in four months being S229
| 12,401, " bile ia half OF December eX-
| ports aIe nearly as large and imports ST.
100000 smaller than last year, when the
| excess OF exports was sos ,2o5 .366. Prob
| ably all records are surpassed by exports
| for this year, which have been S974, ,6oo.
| OG0 in eleven months, and the excess over
| imports in five months has probably ex
| ceeded S26G 600 600.
I =
| the greatest ever known, 226 ,024 tons
against 213,159 November /, and 2I7,-
| 3O6 in November. 1895, the highest uoint
| heretofore. Unsold stocks also decreased
| in November 29.652 tons, indicating con-
| sumption OF about 100000 tons week
| ly during the month.
Cotton does not change in price, though
somewhat weak in options, but the un-
certainty about spinning at FAN Riv II has
had some effect. The cotton manufacturer
is in difficulty, due to production last Y ear
far in excess OF dena nd, and 10 partial
| transfer Of the demand to Southern mills.
The demand for WoOlen goods Is increas
| ing, and some mills are in the market
providing FOR greater production, hough
most are still waiting, and the wool md.I-et
is remarka bly, dun.
The stock market has been stead 3, Using
| a small fraction for railways, with asps-
cial strength in coal ana granger stocks.
Failures for the week have been 229 in
vhe United States, against 8S7 last year,
and IS il Canada, against Al last year
New York, Dec. 17.-Bradstreets' weekly
review OF trade today viii say: a sensible
Quieting OF demand in W holesale lines is re-
| ported as the holiday seas son and the ANIMAL
stocl.-taking period approaches. Chief among
the favorablefeatures OF the week has been
the enlarged inquiry at higher prices for
steel in various forms, accompanied by adj
vsnces il the prices Of sorts most affected.
| The wheat market mas been less faver.sh
and prices are practically unchanged IRON
| week ago, while corn, oats and sugar are
additions Ia the list OF products showing ad-
| vances. The unsatisfactory outlook for
| cotton goods is reflected in reductions in
blsached goods TO the lowest point ever
reached, while some cotton yarns show
weakness.
The price situation is one of quite ex-
ceptional steadness. At the East, trade
in wholesale lines is quiet, but retail trade
has been stimulated sufficiently to allow
a fair record OF business in seasonable
lines Tire unsatisfactory position of the
cotton goods trade may result in a general
movement to reduce wages in New England
mills
The trade situation West and Northwest
is one of unimpaired strength. although
milder weather checks distribution If
winter wear goods. Notable among ray-
orable features is the improved inquiry at
higher prices for several kinds of steel,
especially bllets and wire and nails.
Particular activity is noted at Chicago,
st. Louis, and Pittsburg in these lines,
while holiday trade remains active, ana
collections are almost uniformly good.
New York Stock Market