Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-03-10

OSAbtl IL lSASI1t SA101I lIldh VI liz UOdIu
Of the Ninth Federal: Reserve bank.
today issued the following statement
to the directors covering business and
credit conditions in the northwest:
There was not enough change in
btisiness events during February tot
indicate the probable trend during the
spring season. and in many linea there
was a marked disposition to await de-
'velopments. In some respects pre-
vious declines inthe wholesale markets
and impoytant downward change in
raw material costs have tended TO
produce hesitation rather than new
orders, due to the feeling that further
recessicns> may possibly come. Both
! n business and banking circles there
have touched bottom, although there
is a feeling that a. number OF i'm
portant raw materials are not likely.
for the present at least, to go any
lower. This is probably true IF lunl-
Der, which is Of prime importance
from the standpoint Of The, hoped for
revival OF construction, but lumber
Changes in brick, cement, steel. glass
and some Of the other important
items in the building list DO not place
them in III same position as lumber.
and for the present the reduced cost
of lumberNthat goeRinto building may
not prove a sufficient factor TO en-
courage building activity which is SO
greatly needed; The housing situation
- bad at all Of the centers. and t0ere.
is promise of /, considerable rural
building, involving both housing and
farm construction. A notable feature
Of the. price changes is their irreED~
larity. This Is apparent in both
wholesale and retail markets and in
dicatcs that further adjustments are
.>k L. a~;ci Sc -
ward normally.
Grain Movement.
"The movement of grain during the
month was encouraging, but does not
necessarily represent liquidation, since
storage tickets. From q banking
standpoint. agricultural liquidation
has not yet appeared. Commercial
liquidation has been pronounced, and
has proceeded steadily since late No
! vember. During the last half of Fob
ruary it sliowed~sotn tendency to slow.
down, The agricultural liquidation
the evident ability of wholesale and
iobbing firms and other distributors
6f goods and merchandise to liquidate
their banking Indebtedness at tho rcn-
tiers. hut does not appear in the course
, of country bank deposits o. in the
form OF changes in their bills payable
to reduce their indie btedness with a
VERY good degree Ct success, while
country banks during the month
showed a disposition to increase their
borrowed none somewhat.
The movement OF grain and live
stock from farms to terminals was
considerably larger III: February than
a year n larger than the ten
year average Mild weather and i'm
\ S,,.., I'{ -4 - ~,> - sEr, I.o,-4 1~looI ~
bring about a. moro regular and or
DERBY marketing than existed a year
ago. Demand was sufficient in Tebrn
airy to sustain wholesale live stock
prices. there being as many advances
as declines In the South st. Paul mar
ket. In fact, cattle prices were
stronger at the end of the month with
. much larger inquiry, for stockers
and feeders. Prices of grain in cash
sales at Minneapolis sagged during
the month with losses of about 10
cents per buahel in the median prices
CT fax. rye. wheat and corn. These
declines in grain prices have not been
due to conditions in the northwest.
Receipts at Minneapolis and Duluth
combined for all grains We're but IA
million bushels in February as com
pared with IS million bushels in Janu-
airy. and February wheat receipts
alone were about 3 million bushels as
compared with over II million bushels
in January. No important change has
taken place in grain stocks in north
western terminals.
Prices Decline.
THE price declines which occurred
in wholesale markets in November.
December January are slowly
reaching the consumer. In February
much of the produce as well as the
grains and some Of the meats re-
corded further declines at wholesale.
Retail prices Of foods III Minneapolis
arc estimated to have declined about
I per rent between December ! and
March /.
THE Ninth Reserve bank was able
during February to pay off it's indeht-