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FEDERAL R E S 3 R VE 3 0 AR D ic-6299 3 ^ 9 STATEMENT FOR THE PEESS For r e l e a s e i n Morning Papers< Saturday, A p r i l 27, 1929 i The following i s a summary of general business and f i n a n c i a l c o n d i t i o n s throughout the s e v e r a l Federal Reserve D i s t r i c t s , based upon s t a t i s t i c s f o r the months of March and A p r i l , as w i l l appear i n the forthcoming i s s u e of the Federal Reserve B u l l e t i n and the monthl y r e p o r t s of the Federal Reserve Banks. * Volume of i n d u s t r i a l production and of trade i n c r e a s e d i n March and wholes a l e p r i c e s advanced somewhat. There was a, growth of commercial loans of member banks i n l e a d i n g c i t i e s i n March and the f i r s t h a l f of A p r i l , while investments and l o a n s on s e c u r i t i e s of t h e s e banks showed a r e d u c t i o n f o r the p e r i o d . Production—Output of manufactures reached a new high l e v e l i n March. Automobile p r o d u c t i o n was e x c e p t i o n a l l y l a r g e , and s t e e l ingot output was r e p o r t e d to be above r a t e d c a p a c i t y . Output of r e f i n e d copper, lumber, c o t t o n and s i l k t e x t i l e s , and sugar was a l s o l a r g e f o r the season. There was some seasonal r e c e s s i o n from February i n the p r o d u c t i o n of wool t e x t i l e s and l e a t h e r , and a f a r t h e r d e c l i n e i n p r o d u c t i o n by meat-packing p l a n t s . The volume of f a c t o r y em- ployment and p a y r o l l s continued to i n c r e a s e during the month and was s u b s t a n t i a l . l y above the l e v e l of March, 1928. p r o d u c t i o n of m i n e r a l s a s a group declined sharply, r e f l e c t i n g r e d u c t i o n i n output of coal by more than the u s u a l S e c o n a l amount. Output of nonferrous metals continued l a r g e and petroleum production i n c r e a s e d . Daring the f i r s t p a r t of April i n d u s t r i a l a c t i v i t y continued a t a h i g h r a t e , although p r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t s i n d i c a t e d a s l i g h t slowing down i n c e r t a i n branches of the s t e e l i n d u s t r y , and a smaller output of coal and petroleum. The value of b u i l d i n g c o n t r a c t s awarded Increased seasonally during March -3- X-6299 380 and. t h e f i r s t two weeks i n A p r i l , r e f l e c t i n g i n p a r t the award of a few l a r g e c o n t r a c t s , c h i e f l y commercial and i n d u s t r i a l . The t o t a l volume of "building, how- ever, continued smaller i n March than a year ago. Contracts f o r r e s i d e n t i a l "building and p u b l i c works and u t i l i t i e s were s u b s t a n t i a l l y "below the l e v e l of March, 1928, while i n d u s t r i a l and commercial "building was i n l a r g e r volume. D i s t r i b u t i o n — R a i l r o a d shipments of commodities declined somewhat i n March "but were l a r g e r than i n the same p e r i o d of the preceding y e a r . The d e c l i n e from February r e f l e c t e d smaller shipments of coal and coke, g r a i n products, and l i v e stock, a l l of which were a l s o below March a year ago. Loadings of ore and mis- cellaneous f r e i g h t i n c r e a s e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y over February and continued above 1928. Sales by wholesale f i r m s i n a l l l i n e s of t r a d e r e p o r t i n g to the Federal r e serve system were s e a s o n a l l y l a r g e r tl%an i n February. In comparison with the same month a year ago, however, s a l e s i n most l i n e s of t r a d e were smaller, except i n the case of dry goods, men's c l o t h i n g and hardware. Department s t o r e s a l e s showed a l a r g e r i n c r e a s e i n March than i s usual a t t h i s season, and were l a r g e r than i n the same month i n the preceding y e a r , p a r t l y on account of the f a c t t h a t E a s t e r came i n March t h i s y e a r . Prices—Wholesale p r i c e s of commodities during March averaged s l i g h t l y h i g h e r than i n February, according to the index of the United S t a t e s Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s . There were marked i n c r e a s e s i n p r i c e s of copper and l e a d , and s m a l l e r advances i n p r i c e s of i r o n and s t e e l and c o t t o n goods, a s well a s of c e r t a i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y c o t t o n , l i v e s t o c k , meats, and h i d e s . P r i c e s of g r a i n and f l o u r were lower during the month and the p r i c e of l e a t h e r declined, r e f l e c t i n g an e a r l i e r d e c l i n e i n p r i c e s of h i d e s . S i l k and rayon t e x t i l e s and raw wool were a l s o somewhat lower i n p r i c e . I n the middle of A p r i l p r i c e s of l i v e s t o c k and raw s i l k were higher than a t the end of March, while c o t t o n and wool had declined i n p r i c e . Among the nonr- i -3- 381 X-6299 a g r i c u l t u r a l products t h e r e were marked d e c l i n e s i n the p r i c e s of copper, l e a d , t i n and z i n c ; a f u r t h e r decline i n rubber and i n c r e a s e s i n p i g i r o n and f i n i s h e d , steal. Bank Credit—Between March 20 and April 17 t h e r e was a considerable decline i n the volume of member bank loans to brokers and i n the bank's holdings of i n vestments. Loans c h i e f l y f o r commercial and a g r i c u l t u r a l purposes showed a r a p i d i n c r e a s e , and a t the end of the p e r i o d were near the high l e v e l of l a s t autumn. During the same p e r i o d the volume of r e s e r v e bank c r e d i t i n use d e c l i n e d f u r t h e r as a consequence of a d d i t i o n s to the c o u n t r y ' s stock of monetary g o l d . A continued r a p i d r e d u c t i o n i n holdings of acceptances c a r r i e d the t o t a l to the lowest p o i n t since the autumn of 1924. S e c u r i t y h o l d i n g s a l s o decreased some- what, while discounts f o r member banks i n c r e a s e d . Open-market r a t e s on bankers' acceptances and commercial paper i n c r e a s e d further. Rates on c o l l a t e r a l loans i n c rease d sharply i n the l a t t e r p a r t of March, but d e c l i n e d i n A p r i l .
@FedFRASER