The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-18
WEEKLY TRADERE
THE USUAL "JANUARY THAw'
 IN PRICES ARRIVES.
Although Declines Have Been Re- ported, the General Situation
 Has Not, on the Whole, Been
 Appreciably Weakened.

New York, Jan. r.-Bradstreet's to- The usual January thaw' in prices arrived this week and securities. food products, particularly the cereals. pork and dairy products. coffee aud sugar among the groceries, and copper among the metals. have all weakened and closed lower on the week. The causes for this movement have been in many cases technically, and the general trade situation has not. on the whole. been weakened. If anything. in Tact. Improvement may De expected to follow. a striking example of this being in the cereals. High prices had killed off export trade. but this seems to have re- vived this week on the decline. In distrfbuttve trade the situation has ness has been done in cotton and woolen goods. Advices from the West are of an enlarged spring jobbing business and collections remain satisfactory. North ricuitural implements and dry goods be- ing sold and shipped in large volumes. Trade in the Southwest continues satis- factory. but the lack of needed moisture ing element. tending to dull the edge of trade.
 More Is doing in leading Eastern tex tile markets. prints and gingha ms moving we'll with 5obbers, while a good business is also report sd in woolen goods, though the new prices made are rather lower than expected. There Is even some im- provemtnt noted in Southsrn trade. largly the result of firmer tone of raw cotton.
 Among the industrials. iron and steel are still easily first in the volume Of new business and In production, although the car shortage is shown to have materially reduced the December output of pig iron. Sales of the latter this week have been very heavy, fully 16o 900 tons having been taken. most of it at Pittsburg and the bulk of 1t for delivery In the latter part of the year. Prompt deliveries com mand a premium and the same Is true of steel billets.
 ing pig iron prices is still noted. South ern producers announce that they will discourage any advance beyond VIZ Tor No. at Birmingham. Conservative plans may. however, be disarranged If the scarcity becomes more acute. Predictions of advances in foundry and charcoal grades are confirmed by price changes this week Finished products s tehd hns n,sneir 1si: week, and Il cents is the nominal price, but claims are made of sales as low as 10 1-2 cents without any particular i'm provement in demand reported, although exports are large.
 The boot and shoe industry looks for ward confidently to an active spring Dusi ness. Although the question IS not set will go higher.
 The cereals have besn active and ex- cited; liquidation by disappointed "longs' was feature early and prices crum- bled, aided by the suspension of prom inent Western operator and bear rumors of further troubles. Unsatisfactory wheat crop advices, not enough moistue being reported at the West and Southwest, were sustaining features later, but the main clement seems to have been the rewakenlng of better export demand for wheat at the lower level. Flour act ed in sympathy with wheat and here also a better export demand appears to have been evoked. Corn and oats went of in sympathy. but these cereals are still above export levels.
 Wheat including flour, exports for the week aggregate 4.600.202 bushels against 3.567, no last week. and 3,336,o56 in this week last year. Wheat exports July l, to date, aggregate 15S, ,104,473 bushels, against 106 16S, ,69l last season.
 Corn exports aggregate 29S.O93 bush els. against t66, 1873 last week, and 5.14,- $50 last year. July 1. to date. corn ex- ports are 21 255. IF bushels. against 107,- 730.760 last season.
 Business failures in the United States for the week number 29i, against 5i6 last week, 290 in this week last year, 255 in 1900 262 in 1899 and 3S in 1898. Ca nadian failures for the week number D, against 32 last week and 50 in this week . year ago.