Evening star., 1932-06-11
FEDERAL RESERVE
BUYS LESS BONDS
Open Market Operations Are
Carried On at Reduced
Rate.

OPClA 1Ldi hCV PdASAAocSS Va OiAoSu
States Government securities by the
Reserve banks continued in recent
weeks at a somewhat reduced rate, ac-
cordlng to a statement today by the
Federal Reserve Board. Between April
13 and June S total purchases Of these
securities amounted to $4,000, ,000 The
funds placed at the disposal of member
banks through these purchases were
used to the extent Of $l27o00,000 in
the reduction of borrowings at the Fed
eral Reserve banks and to the extent
Of $16000000 in the liquidation of ac-
ceptances held by these banks, the
holdings of acceptances at the begin
ming of June being at a very low level
Total Reserve bank credit showed an
increase of $510OO0O0 during the
eight-week period. S40O, 100000 of which
was used in meeting demand for
gold for export and S100,000,0O0 was
added to the reserve balances of men,
Der banks.
Gold Exports.
Gold exports, which had begun in
April, were In considerably larger vol
ume in May, the loss to the country's
stock of monetary gold during that
month and up to June being $685.
100000. The exports were largely to
France, Netherlands, Switzerland and
Belgium. This flow of gold to Europe
has exerted an influence toward easing
conditions In the international money
markets and increasing the volume of
loanable funds in foreign countries. In
the United States the stock of monetary
gold on June 8 was S3980 600 900,
showing decrease of 1925. 100000 from
the corresponding date a year ago and
Of S475 100000 since the beginning Of
this year.
There were three periods Of large in
crease in gold stock from the beginning
OF 1915 to the middle of 1917, from 1921
to the middle of 1924 and from the end
OF 1928 to the Autumn Of 1881.
Loans and Investments.
Loans and investments Of reporting
member banks in leading cities, after
declining by $500, 100000, or Is per
cent, between March 18. 1881, and Feb
r'lary "a, 1882, declined further by $780,
100000 between February "a and April
13. From the middle Of April to the be-
ginning of June the decline in the total
volume of this credit was at a slower
rate, as there was a considerable in
crease in investments, which Offset the
continued decline in loans.
New Construction.
The value of permits officially issued
for new construction in May showed
more than the usual seasonal decline,
according to BradstreetS, not only
throughout the country, but In this local
area. the South Atlantic.
Normally the May figure for the coun-
try shows a drop of about 6.5 per cent
May figure is down "a per cent from
April and nearly 73 per cent from a
year ago.
The May total for 2l5 cities in the
United States was S34,894,7l4, which
compares with S47,74l ,687 in April and
$123, ,632 ,095 in May of last year While
permits filed in New York City, amount
ing to s5,317,58l, were down 85.4 per
cent from last year, the rest of the
country Jared better, showing decline
of only 66.1 per cent.
A clearer picture of these changes
may be obtained from Bradstreet's in
dex Of building permits, which is based
on reports from 120 identical cities and
allows for the seasonal fluctuations and
the differences in the length of the
months. This shows that in May the
value of new construction permitted for
was at only 1923 per cent of the aver
age for the years 1920 to 1890 This
latest figure is only slight drop from
the 13.1 in April, but represents the
lowest level for the index since the end
, of 1918. In this connection, it is in
teresting to note that year after this
wartime low the index stood at 1876.
The building trade Is one capable OF
quick recovery from depression.
While the general picture OF the
building industry at present is dark,
there are some encouraging signs. None
of the sections of the country are as
badly depressed as New York City. In
comparison with last year. the Pacific,
Mountain and Northwestern regions
show the smallest declines, ranging
from about 54 to go per cent. The
Mountain States further distinguished
themselves by being the only section to
show a gain over April of this year.
The South Atlantic and the New Eng
land States also made relatively good
showing both in comparison with last
May and this April
The outlook for the next few months
IS somewhat improved by the possibility
OF Federal construction programs. AL
though all forms OF Government con-
struction fell off sharply this Spring
programs under consideration by Con-
gress offer basis upon which the in
dustry may pin its hopes for some re-
covery in the Fall.
The South Atlantic area dropped
from $10,601 ,379 in May, 1881, to S4.-
243 ,238 in May Of this year. a drop of
so per cent, while the percentage of
change from April Of this year was 31.4.
Title Company Dividend.
The Real Estate Title Insurance Co.
yesterday declared its regular 3 per cent
and per cent extra dividend, payable
June 80 to stockholders of record on
that date. The company was organized
IN 1885. and Is headed by James j.
Becker. president.