The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-18
DUN's REVIEW.
The Readjustment of Prices is Con
 tinued.

The Readjustment of Prices is Con
 tinued.
 New York, Jan. H.-R. c. Dun & CO weekly review of trade tomorrow Will say:
 Readjustment of prices continued during the second week of January and the gen eral average reached a much lower point than prevailed when the year openeo' Manufactured products were scarcely ois- turbed but both staples and securities suffered. Business conditions are souna liberal distribution and prompt payments beinsT reported, except at few Southern cities.
 Cotton still fails to command a price proportionate to the estimated crop anu as a consequence the return to growers is insufficient to sustain business at the rate established by the previous year, most profitable yield. Transporting inter- ests are less behind with deliveries and railway earnings for the first week or January showing gains of "A per cent over last years phenomenal hgures ana 1L7 per cent over 1900.
 Nothing disturbed the bright outlook in the iron and steel industry. Deliver ies of fuel are less delayed and fur naces operated fully while mills receive material with a fair degree of prompt ness. Quotations are maintained nrmiy and particularly for pig iron which is in great demand. Large contracts nave been placed for Bessemer at $l6.5O on Pittsburg deliveries in June. Spot sales 1 in small quantities are much higher. Structural material is taken eagerly and more foreign bridge contracts are report ed Bilets cannot be had in sufficient bulk l from domestic producers, so that imports | from Germany sold at Youngstown for l 2750 Production of pig iron on January 1, according to The Iron Age was 2sS' 4OO tons, against S24,76l. the hlSnest point or | December 1.
 During the last two weeks conditions | have Improved with such rapidity that | the present rate of output Is proDaply al l about the top point. Stocks at the fur naces showed further decrease to @lo | 137 tons on January l.
 Sales of copper are made at II cents, | which makes a somewhat striking com parison with the 50 per cent higher f1g- ures of a few weeks ago.
 Footwear producers have at last made Il general advance of from 1-2 to } cents. Wholesalers have not altered lists Hides are weaker, which IS nat ural at this season. when the quality de teriorates
 Stocks of cotton goods are not burden some, and demands gradually expand with the advancing season, especially TOT fine grades. Heavy brown goods move slowly, both on home and domestic or ders.
 Woolen goods opened lower than ex- nocted and purchases were retarded rath- CT than stimulated by the declines. Changes were few and small, yet there had been such confidence in higher level that the trade hesitated. Woolen and yarns tend upwards.
 Grains reacted sharply from the hlgn point and a large Western operator was caught with more than he could carry, Forced liquidation of this long account facilitated the work of manipulators for a decline Another unsatisfactory feature was the recent falling off in foreign de- mand, official figures for December show ing smaller exports of wheat than for any month of the calendar year all though for six months of the crop year there still appears a gain of about 90 = GOO 900 bushels over the corresponding months of 1900 or 1S99 This week ex, ports were 4.43S 4S1 bushels against S40S- i25 a year ago. Corn declined sharply, but still remains about 20 cents bushel above the price last year. Exports in December were only about per cent of the outso in the same month of 1900 while for the week Atlantic ports sent out 12S 674 bushels against 4695, SS0 year ago.
 Provisions weakened slightly in sympa- thy with gram, yet the higher level of | prices in December established new monthly record In value of exports. Great activity occurred at the coffee exchange where speculators for decline were sue cessful. aided by enormous receipts at | Brazil ports and American stocks l5O per | cent larger than were held year ago. Failures for the week number 3S4 in the | United States against 325 last year and l a in Canada against 45 last year.