The sun., 1900-06-23
WHY WHEAT VENT UP.
Comment BY Dun's Review on Price
and Crops.
STATE OF METAL MARKET,
Progress Made During the Week In
Iron and Steel Toward Ad-
justing Prices to
New Basis

New York. June pr. G.. Dun {
Co.'S weekly review Of trade SAYS:
Ihe damage To the wheat crop Of tn,
northwest is the event Of chief inpor
tance. How expensive the loss may
prove in view Of widely conflicting ne
counts can only be judged from the spec
ulatiye market, in which information
gathered at thu west has caused d ~
markable advance, AT Chicago 10 cents IN
ten days, and the price here has advances
y cents per bnShei. though for the Sen.
tember option only 5 cents. The belief
+ that 50 large part OF the spring wheat
mas heen killed as 10 reduce a Weld ,.x
pected TO b. close to the largest on record
70 considerably less than the world has
required during the crop year now end
in2.
Until the past three years it would
have been reasoned that any material al.
vance ii price would neutralize tle far.
eiSn conditions which had caused exp9rts
of about lsa,HQa.eD0 bushels wheat. tiari
ihrluaed. in the closing year. after 2a..
'fh.A1 bushels ii the previous wear ana
2l1tsJp.9pi bushels III thu year fSgS. ~
sities exports ri 2l3.UALWp bushels corn
n the closing year against l7TH1pDB
last year and 212.01OW1l il the previous
year. But the facts seems 10 indicate 4
more extensive and lasting increase of
foreign demapd than has been considered
probable. Other sources Of heavy exp0rt
have been found disappointing. The
United States continues 10 show euor.
nous power Of increase If supported by
prices which until recent years would
hardly have been regarded remarkable
high. If the coming crop falls much be
low expectations. the demand for it NAV
prove surprising. even though prices aver.
age more than has been expected.
The closing Of manufacturing works a,
this season usually has a double mean.
ing. The labor organizations seek in the
summer vacation a settlement of wages
for the coming year. Last year the pres.
sure for products was so great that con.
cessions were readily made and Others
later, so that the rate Of wages becam.
the highest ever known since the cur
rency was deprecated. This year exten
siye demands are being made, withou,
approach to settlement as yet in man,
OF the branches of business, so that tbt
summer vacation may be more extensive
and in some lines longer than usnal
There will be time 10 work off excessive
stocks 10 some lines and to adjust price.
to new basis for the latter half Of the
year.
Iron md Steel.
In iron and steel progress toward tha,
end was made when the structural nro
ducers week ago reduced the prices ~
beams 70 $50 and angles to l 50 ar Pirts
burg. leaving only rails and tin Mate,
which have not been reduced from IN
highest point. The rail works are crowd
ed far ahead, and the question in III
plates depends largely upJn wages. East
erH bar is reduced to ! 80 cents ana Ste,
lars % l.a0 at Pittsburs. with a eeDera
shutting down of works expected Julv !
Hoops are quoted there 1t 2.25 ana IA
= black sheets ut cents, buyers aSkin.
only for small lots There Il q vi6f
ranse of quotations for merchant steel
ami The lower prices named for nfpa hayt
aAiy started the demand 4 littlc. Ill linz
eis expect yet ! 4wer quotations,
Mihot metals atc al- quiet. with smal
transactions. III AIay production tti
e1pEef was -2,ss2 t9HS. which f SI5Hliti
lhan tllc putput ii APRIL ii March. tai
l.aSe iS quoted hy some at III cents iii
ntar future delivery. No change amman.
ln lead. and tin continues salable al Isl
and 2sK cents for September ana All
gust delivery against 80 cents for spot.
HE shipments Of boots and shoes. 0nly
90, & ~ cases in three weeks of .Juue /
are over 90 per cent smaller than in 1s9e
Or 1898 and smaller by 10 per cent d
more in other years. The jobbers still
appear inclined 10 wait, and, while many
manufacturers decline quotations recent I
ly named and have closed or REDUCED |
force, others report not more than a third
OF the orders anticipated OF necessity
the best economy in production cannot
be reached under such conditions. The |
quotations for leather fail to represent
transactions reported by buyers. though
further weakness is admitted in Kid
Hides at Chicago are not changed for the
week, as reported gains and losses bal
ance.
Failures for the week have been 17e
in the United States against IT'S last
year and % in Canada against Is last
year.