The San Francisco call., 1899-06-10
DUN's REVIEW OF TRADE,

NEW YORK June 9-R. c. Dun & Co s
Weekly Review of Trade will say tomorrow:
The past week has brought a rise in prices not
equaled in any other week Of many years. Iron
products have advanced $50 per cent in one
week and pigiron 4.S per cent. following ad-
vances of per cent in pig and per cent In
products during May. Cotton has advanced l
per cent and cotton goods rs per cent; COM
mon goods Is per cent during the week, with
woolen goods per cent and boots and shoes
! per cent A little reaction OF 6 per cent ap-
pears in leather and per cent in hides but
the characteristic of the time is that expecta-
tions of higher prices induce buying far in ad-
vance Of requirements for consumption. 1t is
needless to say that this is a symptom of dan
ger and the most conservative manufacturers,
avoid it. but actual inability to deliver prod
ucts demanded leaves them little power, while
speculation in wool and ether lines is running
away from consumption. 1t Is saving tea-
ture that quotations are largely fictitious AL
most all the goods now being delivered or pro
duced in some Industries are prices fixed
by order accepted several months ago and
nearly all the iron works being thus tied up
far ahead the prices quoted indicate not at all
what they getting but what they see fit
10 ask a way Of refusing orders which they
cannot accept, or else the bids Of impatient
buyers who find nobody ready to deliver
large quantities. During the past week quota
tions have risen for anthracite No. l to S17 80,
for Bessemer TO SIS 50 at Pittsburg, for gray
forge TO SIG 25, for billets. with practically no
sales, to S31, for bars S27 per ton. for plates
and sheets as much. for rails to $26, for struc-
tural beams and angles So per ton and for wire
nails 25c per keg. But there accounts
of large transactions at these or any other
prices, though small sales of pig last week for
Italy and this week for Bremen at market
prices, with German offers for 10 900 tons of
Southern pig, indicate the needs abroad are
quite as great they here.
While there Is a better demand for woolen
goods. that prices OF some have advanced it
is not yet possible to distinguish heavy specu-
lative operations in wool at Boston, from eff
forts of mills to buy. The prices current in all
Wo0l-Erowing sections 50 high as to pre-
vent sales in Eastern markets to consumers,
and the readers who believe that mills will
presently be forced to pay higher prices are
taking the same risk they did in the winter of
1897, not realizing the size of the stock held.
The cotton market has advanced 1-l6c without
ether reason than the good demand but stocks
Financial Chronicle estimates a decrease of only
80 per cent in acreage. Goods are selling
largely and prices of ginghams and prints have
advanced.
After some advance wheat suddenly declined
2c closing lower for the week Against all ac-
counts of injury is the solid fact that Western
receipts were 5049,194 bushels for the week
against l. All, ,045 from the great crop of las
year. and at current low prices such recepts
would be inexplicable II growers really expect a
short yield. Exports have declined, being only
J. .S45 373 bushels -four included, from Atlantic
ports. against 4.207, ,294 bushels last year and
623, 400 bushels from Pacific ports. against 253
2l3 bushels: but even to future foreign de-
mand this Is not strong evidence. The esti-
mates of reduction in yield weakened on
the marked Judgment by certainty that the
spring wheat acreage Is unknown and may ex-
ceed expectations and that the prospect is ex-
For the current week failures have been 15s