The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-31
FOUR MONTHS OF SPIRITS.
NAVAL STORES SEASON so FAR BAD
FOR PRODUCERS.

No Money In the Industry with
Prices As They Have Ruled for
Turpentine and ROSin-Receipts OF
Spirits So Far the Heaviest on
RecOrd-Phenomena Shipments o.
Spirits, Both Foreign and DOmes-
tic.
Yesterday closed the first four months
of the naval stores year. They have been
months marked by low prices and gen
orally unsatisfactory conditions, so far as
the producers are concerned. Opening the
season on April at 2S cents. the market
sagged in April until 25I4 cents was reach
ed, and but for atemporary squeeze, in
which one or two exporters were caught,
the prospects are that lower figures would
have been seen that month.
Under the pressure of their immediate
needs, the market, with the aid of other
buyers. it was intimated at the time, was
put up to so cents, which was ga cents
higher than had been reached in April, in
either of the two preceding years. AS soon
as The exporters had made up their car
goes requiring clearance that month, the
market went off, and opened May at q
cents. May was not a bad month the
greater part of the sales being made at
from 26 to q cents, the market going as
high as 272I cents. May prices were from
to cents a gallon better than were OBJ
tanned in the same month Of 1897, and from
l to cents better than in May. 1896.
June, though, proved a disastrous month,
with practically not a redeemng feature.
The market opening at % cents showed
a decided weakness from the start, and
rapidly declined to 2Sls cents. The bulk
of the sales of the month were made at
1919 to 24l2 cents, or from l to cents a
gallon less than last June, but stll rang
ing better than two years ago, with re-
ceipts heavier than in that famous season.
July opened al 2312 cents, and held steady
at that price for week. With a good
domestic demand, with considerable stuff
withdrawn from the open market by de-
liveries on future contracts, and with
some one or two exporters short for car
goes TO be cleared during the month, there
was small repetition of the experience
of the latter part of April and May. The
market was forced up by these causes TO
rs cents, with probably the larger part of
the receipts for the month, outside of those
covered by contracts, sold at rs TO 26 cents.
AS soon as the needs of the exporters re-
ferred TO were satisfied the market again
went off gong down to Is cents, at which
August promises to open
The spirits market has been very much
better than two years ago, so far this
season, and probably as good in its returns
to Aug. l as last year. II was just about
this time last year that the Antwerp COM
pany mad fairly started on it's bull move
ment. There is no such agency apparently
in view to help the market out now.
Receipts still continue heavy, although a
tendency to fall off has become noticeable.
July established another new record, the
receipts at Savannah being 1852 casks,
against As 1926 last year, and Al, 9l5 two
years ago. For the first four months of
the season, April to July 81 the receipts
here have been 1873 Ais casks against 49,
$50 in 1897 and 165, AT In 1896. The rainy
season, which seems to have opened up
throughout the belt is having some effect
on the receipts, and If the rains do not
stop soon may seriously interfere with OPP
| erations. the woods being soggy and it be-
coming difficult job In some sections to
| haul to the stills. Resin receipts are
smaller proportionately than those Of tur-
| pentine, owing to the holding back of large
quantities of rosin in the woods, the re-
suit of the low prices being paid for all
| grades, and more especially for the fine
qualities To date the receipts of rosin at
Savannah have been 379, 945 barrels, against
3Ss, 9l1 in 1897, and SS9, 635 in 1896 Probably
| about 81 per cent of the total crop of
| spirits turpentine for the entire year has
been marketed, while the rosln crop hard
| ly more than third has been shipped In
| The receipts of rosin will be proportonate-
! ly greater later in the season, though
while from now on those Of spirits fan off
A feature Of the present season thus far
has been the domestic demand for spirits
1t exceeds anything ever known before
] The shipments from here to
| New York and other points In
this country have been about
| 5000 casks, against $1,000 casks for the
| first four months of last year and of 1896.
and about $1,000 casks in 1895 The for
eign shipments are also phenomenal, being
in round figures nearly 116, 900 casks against
5000 last year, 10000 in 1896, and 81, 600 In
! 1895. This tends to show that the present
! season opened with stocks Of spirits tur-
pentine depleted the world over Lon
don's supply has got down extremely low
! this season, and there is feeling some
/ what of surprise abroad that under such
circumstances, higher prices have not
been obtained for this product of the South
| at this market.