Show I FIBRES F S OF iffllfflf Were Smaller Than For Any Corre Month sponding Ionth I g 4 RECORD IS SURPRISING I I VOLUME OF BUSINESS FTAS EXCEEDED EX-CEEDED EXPECTATIONS I Enormous Increase Clearing House Exchanges Partly Accounted For By Speculation I Stocks Some Improvement In the Woolen Goods Market Iron Advancing Prices t I New York Feb 3R G Dun Cos i weekly review of trade will say tomor i row Failures in January were smaller than in any previous month except August iSis and July 1SS7 and the i proportion of solvent payments to clearing house exchanges is smaller than in any other month of which records rec-ords exist In January they were but 26 cents per l00u cieuiring house payments ments and the smallest in any previous month had been about 108 pet 1000 The deiaulted liabilities were 57721 > 97 against U04ol513 last year a decrease of 26 per cent and 08 per cent smaller than in 183i 57 per cent smaller than In iSIS 50 per cent smaller than in IS5 and 76 per cent smaller than in 1894 The manufacturing failures were the smallest excepting August 1898 There wee easy seven failures for 100000 C more and the average of liabilities Is Ernalleir than in January of any other year and the small fail ures a not only fewer in number but smaller in average liabilities than in any previous year Considering that January is usually one of the largest months of the year in failures the return re-turn is surprising a well a encouraging encourag-ing The volume of business in January has been far beyond all precedent Exchanges Ex-changes through clearing houses have been 44 per cent larger than last year and 591 per cent larger than 1S92 and while speculation in stocks at New York mattrialy increases the volume of payments i was larger outside this city by 333 per cent than 1892 I Is pertinent to note that the remarkable expansion in the aggregate of business payments comes in spite of a material decline in prices during the past seven years so great that the payments of 52000000 would cover about as much I business as payments of 100000000 in 1892 I is not strange that European exchanges are disturbed and alarmed and a rise in sterling even when gold is being shipped this way is one of the interesting features I is commonly ascribed to recent sales of stocks on European account but it would take a million shares at ordinary prices to cover one months merchandise balances bal-ances Europe is not buying enough to cover its accumulating excess of merchandise mer-chandise exports over imports The most remarkable feature of the week ha been the decline of 5 cents in wheat with only half a cent in corn and only a sixteenth In cotton The government estimate of the wheat crop 675000000 bushels has more influence than any other from that source for a number of years for i is recognized as the reeult of great efforts to get at the truth and is therefore considered about the lowest estimate admissible With ordinary consumption and present exports ports of ISO000000 bushels from the crop of ISiS Hour included there will be less than 100000OOA bushels for the replenishment of stocks for farmers holdings and for erports in the next five moths and the gxp rt of 4342460 I bushels flour included from Atlantic ports against 3094517 last year and 1493604 from the Pacific ports against 776is40 last year besides S0585o bushels from Duluth and Portland Me shows a stress of fore n demand vhlch may well recover prees A very strong market for cotton goods has prevailed and prevents raw I cotton from de iningj The advance in good has been unusual and has been sustained by heavy buying especially of print cloths and kindred products The prospect is that the outgo will place dealers and manufacturers in a stronger position than they have held unsold for years with smaller stocks of goods 1 A better tone appears in the woolen goods market also with some important impor-tant grades which were opened at a great reduction in prices recently advanced ad-vanced which has stimulated the demand de-mand for all grades Sales of wool have been fairly large 30752400 pounds for the yen thus far against 36582470 pounds last year 50111300 pounds in 1897 and 26942800 pounds in 1S92 Philadelphia adelphia has made considerable sales to eastern mills and to others starting after long idleness The iron industry is advancing prices of products rather than of materials Pig ha remained without change this week anticipating that six or seven furnaces will be put into blast as soon as possible The demand is strong but not apparently urgent at the chief markets mar-kets Eastern bars and plates have advanced with very heavy demand and cut nails have been hoisted by the association sedation of makers The rush of or dejfs for the future does not cease and the works are generally covered for months ahead with orders for ships street cars and for export In the minor metals the speculative fever at London has caused considerable advance ad-vance and the tin plate combination ha advanced prices 25 cents As yet the prices of products do not seem to disturb the foreign demand which is e strong but In all the minor metals the London market is singularly uncertain un-certain Failures for the week have been 224 In the United States against 335 last year and 25 5n Canada against 39 last I yeW I |