The New York herald., 1921-01-22
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stock Market Weakness Ex-
tends-December Foreign
Trade Gains.


ket quotations found more material to
work with yesterday than in earlier days
Of the week and made the most Of H..
In consequence an irregularly heavy
tone during the morning was gradually
extended into weakness. which affected
petroleum and steel shares especially,
but reached out into the general indus
trial list with many reactions OF a
point to points. The trend of business
indicated something which had seemed
plain to conservative observers of indus
trial and financial conditions. namely.
that the recent advance had very little
connection with events outside the mar
ket itself. 1t ignored the real state Of
the money market and also numerous
signs that readjustment processes still
had some distance to go in the steel and
oil trades. Yesterday rather scanty
offerings of call money resulted in a rise
of the renewal rate to per cent for the
first time since January IL. Time loan
rates were unchanged as far as rates
went. but banking opinion holds that
fixed period money is likely to become
sensitive If the demand increases. at
least so long as commercial discounts
remain firm at 71a to per cent.
News that several grades of petroleum
had been reduced in western Pennsyl-
vania. that cut being the second in
few weeks. supplemented information
about wavering steel quotations as a
factor of bearish influence. 1t has been
altogether patent for the last two months
that the establishment of new price
levels for commodities could not proceed
in certain fields without all being af-
fected. Crude oil. like steel, Jagged be-
hind dry goods. leather, rubber and
foodstuffs when price cutting got well
under way early last autumn, and 1t
remains now for those industries to set
tle ON a basis in line with altered condi-
tions. The establishment of that basis
in the end will rest with the consumer
The truly amazing flow of American
exports during all of last year was en-
December, issued by the Department of
Commerce yesterday. AS the November
total was less than that of October,
it looked month ago as though De-
cember might show further decline.
But the actual value of merchandise
sent out last month, amounting to $780,
600, 600, was s43,000,000 larger than in
November, and furthermore that month
was the largest of the year with the
exception of January. March, May and
October. That the foreign exchanges
have advanced in the face of this heavy
buying indicates that other forces be-
sides trade conditions have been behind
the Improvement of rates. This is made
all the more impressive by reason of
the fact that December imports. which
entail purchases OF exchange in pay
ment. were s55, 900 less than in the
preceding month, and were. by a large
margin. the smallest of any month of
1921. Imports for the year as whole,
however, Increased 35 per cent. over the
1919 total, and as exports increased only
about per cent, the trade balance fell
81 .o00, 100000 under the high record Of
1919.
The foreign exchanges were buoyant
again yesterday. especially French and
Belgian rates. French francs sold as
high as $50 cents each. figure nearly
cent higher than at the end of last
Year. Sterling reacted nearly a cent
from the best quotation before the end
Of the day. but left off quarter cent
higher than on Thursday. The comment
in banking quarters showed that impor-
tant results for the exchanges are ex-
pected to come from next weeks meet
ing OF allied commissioners in Paris.