Salt Lake Telegram | 1938-12-24 | Page 13 | Holiday Buying Boosts Sales

HOLIDAY BUYING BUYO BOOSTS SALES NEW YORK Dec 24 UP The I-The The final wave of Christmas buying boosted retail sales this week as American Amerian business went into the year-end year holiday period Factory Factor operations in some key Icey lines including steel and autos 1 tapered off of as is customary around I Yule time Yule but the Associated Press seasonally adjusted index of industrial industrial industrial indus indus- trial activity held close cose to the years year's high Steel mills mis operated at per percent percent percent cent of capacity a decline of 59 points under the preceding week The tapering resulted largely from reduced output of auto sheets and strip and other light steels But outturn of heavy steels Including including in in- structural metal expanded Sets Record High Production of electric power in inthe inthe inthe the latest week at kilowatt hours rung up a record high Railroad loadings at cars were under the previous week but the decline was smaller than usually recorded for the week Automobile production dropped to cars from in the preceding week due to slowing of operations Cotton Coton mill mi manufacturing and res residential i ide d e n t i a I 1 building after allowing for seasonal seasonal seasonal sea sea- factors were both close cose to their 1938 peaks Retail trade boosted by shoppers out to fill fi Americas America's Christmas stocking put on the best business show of the week Volume of merchandise mer mer- chandise moved across store counters count count- ers was the largest of the year and bigger than in the like 1937 week though dollar dolar volume lagged around 2 per cent behind due to lower prices Dun Bradstreet reported Rises in Midweek The stock market driven unevenly uneven uneven- ly lower early eary in the week turned upward at at midweek under leadership leadership leadership leader leader- ship of the rails rais Giving strength to carrier issues were recommendations tons by President Roosevelt's Roosevel's special special cial cal committee that all al modes of transportation be equalized with wih respect respect respect re re- re- re to regulation taxation and subsidies Medium priced pried rail rai loans led the bond market in a rally raly similar to to that of stocks stock Commodities for immediate delivery delivery delvery de de- de- de livery lvery advanced on a broad front giving the Associated Press index of 35 weighted wholesale staple prices the sharpest weekly boost since last summer Higher were tin tn lead rubber coffee hogs cattIe cattle cat cat- tIe tle te wheat corn oats rye cotton coton wool and silk sik Leading European currencies ended the week little changed in terms of the dollar dolar WHAT THE TlE STOCK MARKET DID DI Sat Fri Advances 51 Declines Unchanged Total issues 76 I