New Britain herald., 1919-05-15
STEEL AND PIG
 ......-...-IR IRON MARKET
The Iron Age says:

The Iron ASe ndS S'
 There is no mistakins the better feeling in the market following the dissolution of the Industrial Board and the freeing of the price situation from government muddling. As at the original announcement of the March 21 prices this last development has brought the release of some business held up for several weeks.
 In view of the formal inquiry of the Railroad Administration for 100000 tons of SOLD. to 130-lb. rails, bids to be in by May IT. much inter- est is taken in the prices that will be named. There is little expectation of lower than SAT at mill for open hearth rails, which has been the sta
 bilized price. and the fact that $50
 for Bessemer rails and $52 for open
 hearth has been named on domestic
 inquiry for 2, 750- tons in the past week
 points to the possibility of at least one
 equally high quotation on government
 business.
 That railroad buying before the end
 Of the year will bc on a considerable scale is more confidently looked for, as largely increased appropriations arc discussed.
 l The steel manufa cturers having told 1 the Railroad Administration that no ] further reduction could be made on 1 railroad steel unless wages were re- ! duced arc not expected to go out and Signalzc the new situation by price , cutting. While advances would be : surprising. with operations still as
 slack as for several weeks, an Eastern maker Of wide plates has announced
 a price of 2.75c, or $2 a ton advance. ! There is also a quotation of $2.5O a ton higher on light rails, for which , considerable export inquiries have { come up fhtely.
 On the other hand. some price
 cuttineJ has gone on here and there , Line pipe has been irregular, though on oil country goods the market has ] been active. with prices generally maintained. A leading pipe mill has 1 shipped but slightly less product this
 year than in the first four months of ! 1918.
 ! Some of the railroad are insisting g : on the revision of prices on contra cts ! made last year, and where mills re- fuse, deliveries arc suspended and new [ orders placed elsewhere.
 ! An increased demand upon the mills 1 for ship steel is foreshadowed by the 1 presidents cablcd permission to the i shipyards of the country to accept { contracts for foreign account as far as this can be done without interfering { with the building of the American merchant marine British yards have taken some large orders lately for i Norway.
 : The banking and blowing out of ! blast furnaces is resulting in som : raWing on stocks of pig iron. Sales
 slightly under current quotations con- 1 tinuc on resale iron. but the volum @ i has not been large enough to estab- | fish a new price level. A sale of 1 Southern No. iron is reported at S25 l at furnace, and in the Central West : basic iron is tending lower. | Tho free swing allowed in tho Brit ish market since May 1 has resulted ' in further advances. Cleveland foun- j dry iron, quoted at $22 per ton two i weeks ago. has now gone to SRA ! Makers are fully booked to the end of ! June. Billets have brought S6S per
 ton, or $5 above the recent export , price there and $11 above the British i domestic rate. Tin plates are sS.20 : per box, aga inst the April price of
 $7.90.