The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-31
CHANGES IN COTTON
PRICES HAVE BEEN
FEATURE OF YEAR
From Low Point of 1885
= In June, the Rate Has
Nearly Doubled.
WORLD CROP SMALL
Surplus of Last December
- Shrinks to Undersupply
s. At This Time.

NEW YORK. Dec. 30.-Raw cot
ton has passed through an event
full year. whose ending is far bet
ter than the beginning. There has
been a substantial. and apparently
permanent. increase in price; mills
are working near capacity and now
consume almost twice as much a
month as early in the year: for
eign consumption has improved.
and exports have Increased
A world surplus, which a year
ago lowered high above the mar
ket. will. at the close of the cur
rent season. be Below normal:
while every Improvement in world
conditions puts a better foundations
under the cotton industry. Like
Janus. cotton. while looking back
over the hard road of the past year.
also has a face to turn toward the
future, which II can survey with
Increased confidence.
Reaectx World status.
Prices must depend upon the re-
lation Of supply to demand. and
the latter is largely affected by
economic conditions OF many kinds
domestic and worldwide. II Is un-
necessary to review the political
and economic conditions prevailing
throughout the world in the past
two years. II Is sufficient to say
that cotton has faithfully reflected
them all. Indeed. a history of the
worlds struggle toward recon-
struction. with it's post-armistice
intoxication. its subsequent depres-
sion and the painful toiling upward
Of the present. can be read in the
movement OF cotton.
Those conditions brought about
the smallest domestic consumption
in December. 1920. that has been
known In years. Our own mills
turned the corner In January, but
world conditions and the apparent
! " large surplus steadily depressed
the market until. in June. spot cot
ton at New York sold down to 1O.S5.
even though the average cost of
production was above %. The ruin
OF many cotton growers was a part
of the price paid for this drop in
market value.
Improved Consumption.
But IL cotton was one OF the
first to suffer from world depres-
sion and dehation. II also led the
march toward Improvement From
January to December there has
been a persistent increase in mill
consumption. In January mills OF
the United States consumed 366,27o
bales OF cotton and in NovembeP
5zs.s1o. Total consumption in the
past eleven months was 4.3S6.s13
bales: in the last month II ap-
proximated a 100000 per annum
rate. Compared with the average
Of 1913. exports of finished goods,
by September of this year, had in
Creased SIS per cent.
The outside Industrial world.
principally Europe. In the eleven
months since January / took 5,176.-
$50 bales OF cotton from the United
States. In the same period last
year II imported 4.677.231. One fea-
ture Of the export situation is the
large amount that went direct to
Germany. 1.27o.751 bales, compared
with 43s.13T a year ago. Germany
now ranks second In imports OF
American cotton. Notwithstanding
the devastation of her factory dis
tricts. France in the past four
months has increased her imports
of cotton 90 per cent over last
year, and Japan has so far reco~~
cred from her depression that in
the-<our months since August l she
has tAen 394.6ss bales. In the
same period last year she took only
1915 bales from the United States.
These influences. coupled with an
extremely small supply, have re-
suited In an Increase in price OF
about 90 per cent. and spot cotton
now ranges around 1875 to 10 cents
at New York.