The age-herald., 1901-01-26
BRADSTREET'S
 TRADE REVIE " Special Activity In Some Branches
 of Iron Trade EXPORT BUSINESS IS DULL A Feature in That Line Was the Shp- ment of 5000 Tons of Steel Bill
 lets to Glasgow From
 Birmingham.
EXPORT BUSINESS IS DULL

New York, January 25.-Bradstreets to- morrow will say:
 Despite some irregularities in reports from different sections and industries, trade as a whole is of satisfactory volume for this time of year. Relatively the best reports come from the Pacific coast, the south and
 the southwest, where spring demand is
 opening up we'll Unreasonable weather in
 some sections, notably the east, has been
 bar to activity in retail trade, but taken as a whole the trade situation has many points or strength.
 Special activity has been noted in some
 branches of the iron trade and sentiment
 has been on the whole helped by clearer
 view of the possibilities contained in the
 recent war talk. The quieting down of bus
 mess abroad naturally points to some
 dminution of our export trade in the cruoer
 forms of iron and steel, copper and lum- Der, but for finished products of these ana other staples the outlook is declared to De
 still satisfactory.
 Speculation is limited in nearly all lines
 of produce and stocks, and it is probable
 that cearings return at present give
 clearer idea of actual business than TOT
 three months past. Prices now show few important changes the cereals being slight ly higher, while hog products and coffee are lower with dairy products weak The gen. eral range of other values is on the whole steady although some shading In the hlsher grades of wool has occurred.
 The feature of the week in iron has been
 the placing of large orders-2O0,O0O tons-of
 Bessemer pig at equivalent to $l325 at
 Pittsburg, which has steadied the market
 generally except for sundry grades, which
 are weak. Heavy buying Is also reported
 at Birmingham, but other markets snow
 little activity in this line. In finished prod
 ucts Chicago notes sales or 5O,OoO tons or
 rails at old quotations, and that the total
 sales for the season are ahead of those or
 last year. feature in the export line this week was the shipment of 5000 tons of steel billets to Glasgow from Birmingham, the largest shipment of this material ever sent abroad from the south. Heavy quan- titles of railway materials to replace that destroyed in China may be placed in this country
 Explanation of the fact that pig iron 1 prices are now just half what they were year ago will be found in the official f1s- | tres of stocks of iron on December 31, l900 l aggregating 442,370 tons, or about seven l times the quantity held year ago. Among 1 the other metals copper is weak and lower l in sympathy with a break in prices abroad, l but tin is higher on news of higher prices in London.
 l Large exports of zinc from Missouri l is announced, the quantity equaling 50,OOO tons.
 There is, apparently, less public specu- l lative interest in the grain markets, and l liquidation on the late decline has helped | to partially offset the later developments Of smaller receipts at the northwest de- creases in the visible supply and the con- tinued good export demand ruling. Wheat is, however, slightly higher and corn is stronger in sympathy. Talk of a coming big deal in May wheat at Chicago has re- vived again.
 Wheat, including flour, shipments for the week aggregate 4,SS3,67S bushels against B. 336 O54 last week; 3,5S1, ,197 in the correspond- ing week of 19O0 4997 522 in 1899, and 5,O26,O2i in 1898. From July to date this season
 wheat exports are 112 ,5S3 bushels, against IF, ,394 99S last season, and IA, 32,24 in 1S9S-99.
 Corn for the week aggregate 3,972, ,151 bushels, against 5,1S4, $50 last week, 3,526,S34 l in this week year ago, 3,695, 733 in 1899, and | 4,962, ,539 in 1S9S From July 1 to date this season corn exports are 112,764,73 737 bushels against 125, ,6469O3 last season and 95, 715, ,923 in 1S9S-99.
 Business failures in the United States for the week number 281, against 290 last week. 252 in this week a year ago, 246 in 1899, 28S in 1898 and 326 In 1897.
 Canadian failures for the week number
 34, a decrease of 16 from last week and
 comparing with 39 in 1900, 32 in 1899, 49 in
 1898 and 56 in 1897.