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FEDER.l>.L RESERVE BOA?.D STAT:Z:.3JT :FOR TIB PP..ESS For release L" Mor:1ing Pc~crs, :.io:1ciay, Fobruar;l 28, 1927 Tho following is a su:rll!Tiary ..,f general business a.."ld financial conditions throughout tho several Federal Reserve Districts, based upon statistics for the months of J a::mary and February, as co :1 tai ned i ::1 the forthcoming issue of the Federal Reserve Bulletin. Indus trial activity has been slightly larger si:1ce the turn of the yen:r than at the close of 1926. Seasonal li~~idation of reserve bank credit has been in tL"l- usually large volume owing chiefly to the inflow of gold from abroad, and conditions i:1 the money r.1arket have bee:1 easy. ifnolosale prices have continued to de- cli:1e. Production Output of factories ~as in January, 1926 or 1925. larger i:1 January tha~ in December, but smaller tha"l Mi:1eral productio:1, thoU[;h some':"!hat below the December level, contimted in unusually large volumo, reflectir;g the ;nainte:1ance of r,>roduc- ' tion of bituminous coal, crude 'PetroleU!'l, a:1d co:,roer. steel, which ~~s sharply ~Jrtailed hinr.ufacture of iron and in December, increased i:1 Ja~nary and February. Automobile output was i:1creased considerably from the unusually lo~ level of pro• duction roached last December, but the ::J.umber of passe:1ger cn:rs 'Produced since the begi~ni~g .. of the year has been smaller past four years. th~1 for the corresponding period of the The textile i:adustries have 'conti:1Ucd active sL1ce Dcccnber ...ith- out, horrevcr, sho'\7il"lg the usual seas o::;.a.l i:1crcase. ' BuildL'lg contracts a•·ardod in 37 stctes d-.;;.ring the first seve:1 weeks of the year were smaller in value tha.~ those for the same neriod of 1926. been largest in New York a::J.d i::-1 the New Engla...'1d, Southeaster:1 and Decreases have !Iorth•~·estern • X-4802 -2- states, Tihile increases occurred in tho :~Ud.dle Atla:1tic a.>d Central Wester:1 stctes. By types of building, co:1tracts a':'.'arded. for residential and bdustrial build.i:lg in January sho':'Ted large reductions as co::mared Tii th De cem~er o.:1d ni th Ja::uary, 1926, 11hile co:1. tracts for corimercial buildings '.7ere larger tho...'1 a month or a year ago. Retctil trade sho;'.'ed more than the usual seasonal decline between December and January. Sales of department stores FOre in about .the same volurne as a year ago, Tihile those of r.:Jliil order houses \cere 7 per in nearly all leading lines in J~1uary and c~nt ~as smaller. Wholesale trade declined eonsiderably smaller thru1 a year ago, Inve::1tories of department stores ,.,.oro reduced less than is customary and at the end of tno month were in about the same volume as in Ja:1uary, 1926. Stocks of mer- chandise carried by 1vholesale firms i:1creased slightly, but continued in smaller vol~~e than in the decli::1ed by corres~ondi:1g somc~hat montn of the nrevious year. more than the usual seasonal amount Freight car loadings bet~een December and January, but, owi11g chiefly to hec.vier shi '?men ts of coal this year, \7eekly loadings since the beginning of the year were larger th~'1 for the same period of 1926. Shipments of ncrchandise in les.s tha:1 car load lots '!:7ero also slightly larger than last year; but those of most basic conDodities were smaller. Prices The general level of wholesale prices declined fractionally in January, ing to the index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, considerable advances i~ accord~ urices of livestock being somewhat more thn.:i1 offset in the total by decreases in :1early all other co:-.1.7l0di ty grou'?s i:1clu.ded iu thEJ index. Prices of non-agriC'J.l tural pro- ducts, as a group, declineQ to the lowest level since early in 1922. In February there '"ere decreases in the price of iron a."'l.d steel, nonferrous metals, bi fu.rninous coal, grains, a'1d hides, while '?rices of cattle, sheep, cotton, a'1d gasoline increased. ': . X-4802 -3- Ja.:1k Oredi t Co~~crcia.l ing the four weeks, ru1d loans of member ~ceks o~ding in the middle ba.~s i~ loading cities co~tinued to decline dur- February 16, 'although at a less rapid rate than in earlier ~f February the volune of these loans ~as about $270,000,000 below the seasonal peak reached in the middle of November, though about $200,000,000 [~ove last year's level. ing the The ~eriod, ~hilc volur~e the ba~' of reserve ba~ Loans on securities also declined dur- investment holdings increased somewhat. credit ro~ai~ed during the four Februnr,y 23 noa.r the low level reached at the end of January. ~eeks ending Liquidation of re- serve ba11k credit since the high point of last December has been in excess of $500,000,000, the unusual extent of this reduction being due chiefly to the large inflow of gold from abroad. Total bills and securities of the reserve banks on february 23 were about $200,000,000 smaller th~~ on the corresponding date of last year. Easier money conditions in February were reflected in a decline in the rate on prime commercial paper from 4 - 4-i/4 to 4 per cent after the first week of the month.
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