OCR Text |
Show Upward Trend In Markets Encourages The bureau of agricultural economics' econom-ics' index of the general level of prices pric-es of farm commodities was 5 points higher on July 15 than on June 15 The rise was due to a sharp upturn in hogs, cattle, eggs and cotton, and minor advances in five other commodities, commo-dities, says the bureau. The bureau's July 15 index was 57, as compared with the bureau's prewar pre-war base of 100. The rise of 5 points over the June 15 index was the largest larg-est since July, 1929. On July 15 hog prices were 50 per cent higher than on June 15, cattle prices were 19 per cent higher, eggs were 13 per cent higher, and' cotton 11 per cent higher. Prices of small grains were lower on July 15 than on June 15. The July 15 index wa3 22 points below July 15 a year ago, and less than half the average of July 15 indexes in-dexes for the preceding five years, but there have been sharp declines in the prices of commodities which farmers buy and in wages of hired farm labor in the last year. The bureau's bur-eau's index of prices paid by farmers was 18 points lower on July 15, 1932, than on July 15, 1931. The feeding of corn to hogs is now more profitable than at any time cilice April, 1927, on account of sharp advance in hog prices and only a small increase in the farm price of corn, says the bureau. The hog-corn ratio was 14.1 on July 15, as compared compar-ed with 9.6 on June 15. |