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: 499 X-7296 FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD STATEMENT FOR THE PRESS For release in Morning Papers, Friday, November 25, 1932. The following summary of general b u s i ness and f i n a n c i a l conditions in the United States, "based upon s t a t i s t i c s f o r the months of October and November will appear in the forthcoming issue of the .Federal Reserve B u l l e t i n and in the monthly reviews of the Federal reserve banks. Volume of i n d u s t r i a l output, a f t e r increasing considerably during August and September, remained unchanged in October. Factory employment and payrolls reported f o r the middle of the month, showed a f u r t h e r increase. During October, as in the l a s t three weeks of September, wholesale commodity p r i c e s declined, and in the f i r s t three weeks of November the general average was a t the level of early summer. Production and employment - I n d u s t r i a l production, as measured by the Board's seasonally adjusted index, continued in October a t 66 per cent of the 1923-1925 average, as compared with a low level of 58 per cent in J u l y . In the t e x t i l e i n d u s t r i e s , which had shown a rapid expansion in August and Septemrber, there was a s l i g h t decrease in consumption of raw materials while output of f i n i s h e d products increased somewhat. Shoe production, which also had increased s u b s t a n t i a l l y in recent months, showed a seasonal decline. Operations a t s t e e l m i l l s expanded from an average of 17 per cent of capacity in September to 19 per cent in October, contrary to seasonal tendency, and, according to trade r e p o r t s , continued a t about t h i s r a t e through the f i r s t three weeks of November. level. Production of automobiles in October declined f u r t h e r to a new low At coal mines a c t i v i t y continued to increase rapidly u n t i l the middle of October, but since t h a t time a reduction, largely seasonal in character, has been reported. -2- X-7296 500 Smployinent iii most manufacturing i n d u s t r i e s increased between the middle of September and the middle of October, and the Board's seasonally adjusted index of factory employment showed an advance from 60 per cent of the 1923-1925 average to 61 per cent. At t e x t i l e m i l l s working forces increased by considerably more than the usual seasonal amount, and s u b s t a n t i a l increases were also reported a t s t e e l m i l l s , lumber m i l l s and carbuilding shops. In the canning and automobile i n d u s t r i e s there were decreases in employment. Value of construction contracts awarded, as reported by the P. W. Dodge Corporation, continued a t low l e v e l s during October and the f i r s t half of November. The Department of Agriculture estimate of the cotton crop, based on November 1 conditions, was 11,950,000 b a l e s , about 525,000 bales l a r g e r than the estimate a month e a r l i e r . Distribution - From September to October volume of f r e i g h t t r a f f i c increased by more than the usual seasonal amount; a f t e r the middle of October carloadings declined, r e f l e c t i n g c h i e f l y seasonal developments. Dollar value of department store sales increased by the usual amount in October. Wholesale p r i c e s - Wholesale commodity p r i c e s , as measured by the monthly index of the Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s , declined from 65 per cent of the 1926 average in September to 64 per cent in October. Weekly f i g u r e s show declines in the general average from early September through the f i r s t week in November, r e f l e c t i n g reductions in the p r i c e s of many domestic a g r i c u l t u r a l products and t h e i r manufactures, as well as in the p r i c e s of s t e e l r a i l s , copper, c o f f e e , rubber, and s i l k . In the second week of November p r i c e s of many leading com- modities, including g r a i n s , hogs, cotton, s i l k , zinc, lead, and t i n advanced considerably, but l a t e r the p r i c e s of these commodities declined. 501 -3- X-7296 Batik credit — Volume of reserve "bank credit showed little change for the four-week period ending November 16. Member "bank "balances at the reserve "banks increased further "by $75,000,000, and in the middle of November were about $475,000,000 in excess of legal reserve requirements. Dais growth in reserve balances reflected an increase of $60,000,000 in the stock of gold and the issue of additional national bank notes. Demand for currency showed little change during the four-week period. Loans and investments of reporting member banks in leading cities, outside New York City and Chicago, declined further between the middle of October and the middle of November, reflecting a farther reduction of loans at these banks. In New York City the investments of member banks increased by an amount larger than the decrease in loans, so that total loans and investments of these banks showed a further increase. Money rates in the open market continued at low levels during October and the first half of November. Bates on 90-day bankers* acceptances were 'unchanged at 1/2 of 1 per cent, and rates on prime commercial paper declined from a range of 1 3/4-2 to a range of 1 l/2-l 3/4 per cent.
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