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MONTHLY REVIEW o f Financial and Business Conditions F ifth Federal Reserve D is tr ic t May 31, 1941 Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond, Va. Summary of April Business Conditions L L branches o f trade and industry expanded further in April and early May in the Fifth Reserve district except bituminous coal mining and railroad car loadings, both exceptions resulting from the month-long shut-down in the Appalachian coal fields. This trouble was at least ttempararily settled at the end o f April, and during May the miners were exceedingly active. New records were set in several production lines during April. A The outstanding feature o f business in the district is the strong effect exerted by defense construction and in dustrial work. In the Hampton Roads area, great expan sion in shipbuilding, with several hundred million dollars in naval and merchant ship contracts, has brought in thousands o f new workers who have made necessary a number o f housing projects and have swelled retail trade in N orfolk, Newport News and Portsmouth to record levels. Cantonments and new defense industries in other sections o f the district, expansion of airplane plants at Baltimore, and record activity iti the cotton textile and rayon yarn industries have brought large volumes o f busi ness to many cities, towns and counties. There is hardly a section of the district which has not felt the impact of the defense work. With more work available than in many years, consumer purchasing power has naturally risen sharply, and prac tically all retail outlets are reporting large sales. A uto mobile sales in April were the highest for any month on record in the Fifth district, sales o f cars being further stimulated by a fear o f rising prices and higher taxes on 1942 models. Department store sales, profiting by the later date o f Easter this year and favorable weather, rose 35 per cent in April above April 1940 sales. Furniture sales in 39 stores were 24 per cent higher last month than a year ago, and 212 wholesale firms in various lines gained 30 per cent in sales. Construction continues in large volume in the Fifth dis trict. Building permits issued in April in 29 cities were 27 per cent in valuation above April 1940 permits, and constructon contracts actually awarded for all types o f work showed a rise o f 51 per cent over contracts awarded in the corresponding month last year. Although parts o f the Fifth district need rain very bad ly, prospects for agriculture both as to production and cash receipts are good at present. Grains came through the winter in fair condition, spring weather was favorable for setting fruit buds and for farm work, and prices for farm products appear to be definitely on the up grade. High government loans provided for on cotton and tobacco will help substantially the district’s two leading cash crops, and prices on most other crops are rising as demand for them expands. It should be remembered, however, that it is too early in the season to do more than estimate rough ly on probable crop yields. BUSINESS STATISTICS— FIFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT Debits to individual accounts (25 cities)...................................... Sales, 79 department stores, 5th district........................................ Sales, 39 furniture stores, 5th district.......................................... Sales, 212 wholesale firms, 5th district.......................................... Registrations, new autos, 5th district.......... ................................. Number of business failures, 5th district...................................... Liabilities in failures, 5th district................................................. Value of building permits, 29 cities.... ......................................... Value of contracts awarded, 5th district...................................... Cotton consumption, 5th district (Bales)................................... Cotton price, cents per lb., end of month...................................... Print cloths, 39 in., 80x80s, end of month...................................... Rayon yarn shipments, U. S. (Pounds)........................................ Rayon yarn stocks, U. S. (Pounds).............................................. Bituminous coal mined, U. S. (Tons)............................................ April 1941 $1,628,471,000 $ 16,075,814 $ 1,476,705 $ 14,910,000 34,958 42 $ 281,000 $ 13,105,339 $ 47,873,000 413,856 11.41 9.25 38,700,000 7,300,000 6,266,000 % Change Month Y ear. March 1941 April 1940 $1,674,663,000 $ 13,995,665 1,119,994 $ $ 14,602,000 30,742 $1,338,001,000 $ 11,917,225 1,194,961 $ $ 11,496,000 26,726 — 3 -f- 15 + 32 + 2 + 14 + + + + + 22 35 24 30 31 48 348,000 10,311,986 31,625,000 309,622 + 20 + 49 + 8 — 16 + 7 -f- 5 0 + 9 — 28 — 87 — — + + + 13 19 27 51 34 + + + — — 8 35 24 38 81 $ $ $ 35 547,000 12,128,896 57,017,000 385,352 10.89 9.25 35,400,000 10,200,000 48,250,000 $ $ $ 10.60 6.875 31,100,000 11,700,000 32,790,000 MONTHLY REVIEW 2 Number of Failures District U. S. BANK ING STATISTICS PERIODS RESERVE BANK STATEMENT ITEMS Fifth District 000 omitted $ Discounts held .............................. Foreign loans on gold................. Industrial advances ................... Government securities ............. Total earning assets ............. Circulaiton of Fed. Res. notes. Members’ reserve deposits Cash reserves ............................. Reserve ratio ................................ May 15 1940 Apr. 15 1941 May 15 1941 ITEMS $ 60 0 844 121,486 122,390 299,519 435,693 683,999 84.88 $ 210 0 848 121,486 122,544 298,853 400,802 650,872 85.03 190 43 907 126,155 127,295 217,259 302,841 440,400 77.98 SELECTED ITEMS— 41 REPORTING MEMBER BAN KS Fifth District 000 omitted ITEMS Loans to business and agriculture . . . . All other loans ............................................ Investments in securities ....................... Reserve bal. with F. R. banks ............... Cash in vaults ............................................ Demand deposits ........................................ Time deposits .............................................. Money borrowed .......................................... May 14 1941 $148,900 161,709 408,353 302,684 26,893 686,514 207,496 0 May 15 1940 Apr. 9 1941 $146,500 159,392 428,461 270,921 27,444 654,971 207,504 0 $ 122,200 147,148 422,485 198,225 20,502 556,380 202,146 0 M UTUAL SAVINGS BANK DEPOSITS 10 Baltimore Banks Apr. 30 1941 $225,433,881 Total deposits Apr. 30 1940 $224,288,123 Mar. 31 1941 $225,009,656 DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS Fifth District Apr. 1941 Dist. of Col. Washington 000 omitted Apr. Mar. 1940 1941 of Change Month Year $ 335,672 $ 342,396 $ 289,325 — 2 + 16 Maryland Balimore ............. Cumberland Hagerstown ......... 476,472 9,486 11,245 481,724 8,694 11,074 388,646 8,402 9,313 — 1 + 9 + 2 + 23 + 13 + 21 North Carolina Asheville ............... Charlotte ............. Durham ................. Greensboro ........... Raleigh ................. Wilmington ......... Winston-Salem . . 16,036 92,486 30,553 25,009 51,709 16,667 42,136 15,798 99,621 32,350 24,986 57,714 15,455 48,231 12,581 64,816 26,453 21,352 42,300 11,375 37,979 + 2 — 7 — 6 + o — 10 + 8 — 13 + + + + + + + 27 43 15 17 22 47 11 South Carolina: Charleston ........... Columbia ............. Greenville ............. Spartanburg 26,721 38,503 25,327 17,134 26,077 41,821 24,834 17,852 19,799 27,917 19,610 11,381 + — + — 2 8 2 4 + + + + 35 38 29 51 Virginia Danville ............... Lynchburg ........... Newport News . . Norfolk ................. Portsmouth ......... Richmond ............. Roanoke ............... 8,827 16,513 15,738 71,205 6,679 173,290 34,121 8,938 16,759 16,556 72,632 6,494 184,219 33,511 8,045 15,645 11,733 53,653 4,653 147,832 28,765 — — — — + — + 1 1 5 2 3 6 2 + + + + + + + 10 6 34 33 44 17 19 West Virginia Charleston ........... Huntington ........... Parkersburg District Totals . . 55,583 19,814 11,545 $1,628,471 56,502 19,559 10,866 $1,674,663 48,598 17,303 10,495 $1,338,001 — + + — 2 1 6 3 + + + + 14 15 10 22 .... April 1941 ..................... March 1941 ................... April 1940 ..................... 35 48 1,149 1,211 1,291 $ 281,000 547,000 348,000 $ 13,827,000 13,444,000 16,247,000 4 Months, 1941 ............. 4 Months, 1940 ............. 170 196 4,613 4,767 2,100,000 2,011,000 52,642,000 56,679,000 E M PLO Y M E N T There was a decline in total employment in the Fifth district in April, due chiefly to idleness of bituminous coal miners in W est Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. Fur ther, construction work on certain army cantonments in the district was virtually completed last month, and sev eral thousand workers were laid off. However, coal min ers returned to work on April 30 and May 1, and many o f the cantonment construction workers have caught on in private construction, industrial work or in agriculture. Industrial work continued to expand, and skilled men were added to working forces as rapidly as they could be found. Some scarcity of farm hands is reported, and there are in sufficient trained mechanics to meet the needs o f ship yards, airplane plants, and other industries which have substantially expanded operations. The following figures, compiled for the most part by the Bureau o f Labor Sta tistics, reflect the trends of employment and payrolls in the Fifth district from March to A pril: Percentage change from Mar. 1941 to Apr. 1941 In number In amount on payroll of payroll STATES % Maryland ................ Dist. of Columbia .. Virginia ................... . West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina District Average Dun & Bradstreet reports commercial failures in the Fifth district and the United States for several recent per iods as follow s: + 5.1 + 5.6 — 1.7 — 40.5 + 1.9 + 2.0 — 4.8 + 3.1 + 4.4 — 3.2 — 43.5 + 5.0 + 5.0 - 9.5 A U T O M O B IL E REGISTRA TIO N S Sales o f new passenger automobiles set a new monthly record in April in the Fifth district, according to figures gathered by R. L. Polk & Company, o f Detroit. Indi vidual state records were reported for Maryland, District o f Columbia, North Carolina and South Carolina. V ir ginia showed the only decline in registrations from April 1940, but this was due chiefly to the largest April sales on record in Virginia last year. Increased consumer pur chasing power accounts for the larger part o f the rise in new car registrations this year, but in addition sales are being stimulated by expectations o f higher prices and sharply increased taxes on 1942 models. Most dealers be lieve that many sales are being borrowed from next year’s business. Used cars taken in exchange on new car sales have accumulated on all dealers’ lots, but a substantial business is being done in the used car field and present stocks are not burdensome. REGISTRATION OF N EW PASSENGER CARS— NUMBER STATES C O M M E R C IA L FAILU RES Total Liabilities District U. S. Maryland ........... Dist. of Col. . .. West Virginia . . No. Carolina . . . So. Carolina .. . Fifth District . Apr. 1941 Apr. 1940 7,485 4,102 6,392 4,354 8,448 4,177 34,958 5,112 2,692 7,264 3,335 5,667 2,656 26,726 % Change + + — + + + + 46 52 12 31 49 57 31 4 Months 4 Months 1941 1940 22,906 12,413 25,086 11,628 26,034 14,534 112,601 16,781 9,126 18,102 9,664 18,022 10,261 81,956 % Change + + + + + + + 36 36 39 20 44 42 37 3 MONTHLY REVIEW CO N STR U C TIO N C O TTO N TEX TILE S Construction work provided for in permits issued in April 1941 in 29 Fifth district cities totaled $13,105,339, an increase o f 8 per cent above $12,128,896 for permits issued in March this year and 27 per cent above $10,311,986 in April last year. Total permits in the 29 cities in the first 4 months amounted to $45,752,085 this year and $34,215,345 last year. Baltimore led in April with per mits totaling $4,934,556, followed by Washington with $4,349,240, Charlotte with $433,015, Richmond with $385,296, and Charleston, W . Va., with $352,090. W ash ington permits do not include Federal Government work. Cotton cloth and yarn mills operated at the highest rate on record in April, but did not materially reduce the large backlog o f forward orders on hand. Some mills are sold up to December, especially those producing ducks, twills, drills, and other fabrics entering directly into the defense program. The market for textiles was less active than in March, but was sufficiently strong to sustain price gains made earlier. Cotton consumption in both the Fifth dis trict and the United States set new monthly records in April, and activity continued at the same level in the first half o f May. Consumption o f cotton by states in the Fifth district in April 1941, March 1941 and April 1940, is shown below: Contracts actually awarded for all types of construction in the Fifth district in April totaling $47,873,000 were be low March contracts amounting to $57,017,000, but were 51 per cent above $31,625,000 for April 1940. The bulk o f construction at present is connected with defense work, and a decrease in that type o f work accounted for the de cline from the March figure. Residential work accounted for 45 per cent o f the April 1941 total, including a num ber o f housing projects to provide additional quarters near defense industries. Figures by states for March 1941, which were not available when the April 30 R eview went to press, were reported by F. W . Dodge Corporation as follow s: CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT AW AR D S STATES Mar. 1941 Mar. 1940 % Change Maryland ................................ $22,244,000 $11,905,000 + 87 10,481,000 4,007,000 +162 Digt. of Col. ...... .................. Virginia .................................. 7,621,000 7,057,000 + 8 West Virginia ................. . . 2,584,000 2,020,000 + 28 North Carolina ................... 7,427,000 4,216,000 + 76 +185 South Carolina ..................... ................. 6,660,000_________ 2,337,000 Fifth District ................... $57,017,000 $31,542,000 + 81 C O A L PRO D U CTIO N The output o f bituminous coal mines in the Fifth district was nominal in April, all mines being officially closed by a labor dispute until the last day o f the month. Since May 1, however, production has been at a very high rate, and some progress has been made toward rebuilding stocks which were depleted in April. Total production in the United States this calendar year to M ay 10 o f 156,967,000 tons is 5 per cent less than output o f 165,065,000 tons to the same date last year, the decrease being entirely due to the April shut-down. Although shipments o f coal drawn from reserve stocks through Hampton Roads ports held up moderately in April, between January 1 and May 10 loadings totaled only 7,617,291 tons against 9,084,396 tons in the corresponding period last year, a decline of 16 per cent this year. Shipments through Hampton Roads ports, Wjhile at a relatively high level, have not kept pace with production o f coal this year. In the Fifth district, coal mined in April 1941, March 1941 and April 1940, was as fo llo w s: SOFT COAL PRODUCTION IN TONS REGION West Virginia ....................... Virginia .................................... Maryland .................................. 0 5th District ..................... United States ................. % in District ................. 0.0 Apr. 1941 0 0 172,000 0 6,266,000 30.0 Mar. 1941 Apr. 1940 12,741,000 1,566,000 9,720,000 1,156,000 137,000 11,013,000 32,790,000 34,0 14,479,000 48,250,000 COTTON CONSUMPTION— FIFTH DISTRICT In bales. MONTHS No. Carolina So. Carolina Virginia District April 1941 ................... March 1941 ................... April 1940 ................... 223,032 210,198 166,746 171,865 158,442 128,493 18,959 16,712 14,383 413,856 385,352 309,622 4 Months, 1941 ........... 4 Months, 1940 ........... 839,999 695,109 638,549 531,817 68,138 54,396 1,546,686 1,281,322 R A Y O N Y A R N PRO D U CTIO N Shipments of rayon filament yarn to domestic consum ers, according to Rayon Organon, totaled 38,700,000 pounds in April, a record for a single month, and 24 per cent above shipments o f 31,100,000 pounds in April 1940. Last month’s deliveries exceeded production by nearly 3,000,000 pounds, and reserve stocks of yarn consequently dropped from 10,200,000 pounds on March 31 to 7,300,000 pounds on April 30. Total rayon yarn consumption in the first 4 months o f 1941 amounted to 140,700,000 pounds, an increase of 15 per cent over 122,500,000 pounds con sumed in the corresponding period last year. The National Rayon Weavers Association and the National Federation of Textiles report the inventory of rayon filament yarn in the hands o f broad weavers on April 30 totaled 27,300,000 pounds as compared with 25,400,000 pounds on March 31 this year and 21,200,000 pounds on April 30 last year. Based on the high rate o f rayon consumption by weavers and the tight rayon yarn situation, this four weeks’ sup ply o f yarn is considered moderate. CO TTO N STATISTICS Spot cotton prices on 10 Southern markets declined slightly during most o f April to 10.99 cents per pound on the 25th, but then turned upward and advanced to 12.67 cents by May 16, making a gain of $8.40 per bale in three weeks. Several influences played their parts in stimulating the rise, among them being the bill passed by Congress making loans of 85 per cent of parity mandatory, the ris ing tendency in the general level of commodity prices, and the continued strong demand for cotton textile products. The May 16 price was the highest average for middling grade cotton on the 10 Southern markets since July 1937, and compares with an average of 9.58 cents on May 17, 1940. Spot cotton is now approximately $15 a bale higher than last fall when the 1940 crop was picked. MONTHLY REVIEW 4 COTTON CONSUMPTION AND ON HAND— BALES Apr. 1941 Apr. 1940 R E T A IL A N D W H O LESALE TR A D E Aug. 1 to Apr. 30 This Year Last Year DEPARTMENT STORE TRADE Percentage increase or decrease in sales, stocks, outstanding orders and outstanding receivables in April 1941 in comparison with April 1940 figures: Receivables Orders Stocks Sales + 74 + 16 + 37 + 10 16 + 99 + 33 ( + 20) + 1 +15 +15 + 92 + 35 (+21) + 9 + 66 + 29 ( + 14) +10 + 5 +14 + 90 + 35 (+20) + 8 Fifth district states: Cotton consumed . 309,622 3,197,430 2,847,797 532,588 5,969,811 5,068,081 Cotton growing states: 775,956 Cotton consumed ..................... Cotton held April 30 in Consuming establishments Storage & compresses 1,556,431 1,199,884 12,000,443 10,663,006 United States: 920,142 623,098 Cotton consumed ..................... Cotton held April 30 in Consuming establishments 1,933,507 1,470,527 Storage & compresses ........... 12,374,839 10,732,290 Exports of cotton, U. S................. Spindles active, U. S..................... 74,009 6,995,238 344,609 904,001 5,953,999 5,694,962 22,787,396 22,288,832 (+ ) Richmond (5) ......... Baltimore (10) . . . . Washington (7) Other Cities (12) Fifth District (79)* Same stores by states, including stores reporting sales only: Maryland (13) ........... Virginia (16) ............. West Virginia (15) . North Carolina (16) South Carolina (12) . + + + + + 33 42 37 26 42 ( + 19) ( + 22 ) ( + 15) ( + 16) ( + 19) * Includes stores reporting sales only. N ote: Second figure in parentheses under Sales compares combined sales in 4 months of 1941 with sales in first 4 months of 1940. RETAIL FURNITURE SALES T O B A C C O M A N U F A C T U R IN G % Change in Sales, April and 4 Months 1941 STATES Production of tobacco products continued to increase in April over March, and also exceeded April 1940 output in every branch of the industry. Percentage increases for April 1941 over production in March 1941 and April 1940, respectively, were 2 and 7 for cigarettes, 14 and 15 for cigars, 3 and 2 for smoking and chewing tobacco, and 8 and 3 for snuff. Production figures released by the Bur eau o f Internal Revenue are as follow s: Apr. 1941 Smoking & chewing tobacco, pounds ............... Cigarettes, number ............... .. Cigars, number ..................... .. Snuff, pounds ......................... - 25,619,906 15,853',661,710 490,584,765 3,507,505 Mar. 1941 24,993,372 15,528,629,200 430,326,200 3,260,069 + 18 + 19 + 31 Compared with 4 Months 1940 + 20 + 35 + 27 + 15 + 40 + 27 + 20 + 11 + 35 WHOLESALE TRADE, 212 FIRMS Apr. 1940 25,082,562 14,819,507,680 425,140,424 3,398,017 Compared with Apr. 1940 + 18 + 31 + 29 + 6 + 52 + 24 Maryland, 8 stores ........... Dist. of Col., 7 stores Virginia, 13 stores ......... North Carolina, 5 stores . South Carolina, 6 stores District, 39 stores ......... Individual Cities: Baltimore, 8 stores ......... Richmond, 5 stores ........... Washington, 7 stores LINES Auto supplies (10) ......... Drugs & sundries (11) . . Dry Goods (8) ................. Electrical goods (21) . . . Groceries (61) ................. Hardware (14) ............... Indus, supplies (10) . . . Paper & products (9) Tobacco & products (11) Miscellaneous (53) ......... District Average (212) Net Sales April 1940 compared with Mar. Apr. 1941 1940 + 40 + 23 — 16 + 57 _ 3 + 16 — 2 + 25 + 71 + 11 + 6 + 1 + 39 + 19 + 42 — 15 + 12 + 1 + 22 + 14 + 24 + 3 + 30 + 2 Source: Bureau of the Census. (Compiled May 21, 1941) Stocks Ratio Apr. Apr. 30, 1941 collections compared with to accounts Apr. 30 Mar. 31 outstanding 1940 1941 Apr. 1 65 — ’8 -1 2 65 85 \-12 47 + 12 + 57 -11 82 + 13 94 - 1 + 10 - 2 53 + 26 20 + 7 — 1 - 6 67 + 6 92 + 8 + 20 68 + 3 73 + 17 + 2 MONTHLY REVIEW, May 31, 1941 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND SUMMARY OF NATIONAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS (Compiled by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) PRODUCTION INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Federal Reserve index of physical volume of production, adjusted for seasonal variation, 19351939 average=100. Subgroups shown are ex pressed in terms of points in the total index. By months, January 1935 to April 1941. WHOLESALE PRICES OF BASIC COMMODITIES Bureau of Labor Statistics’ indexes based on 12 foodstuffs and 16 industrial materials, August 1939=100. Thursday figures, January 3, 1935 to May 8, 1941. In A p ril the B oard’s seasonally ad ju sted in dex o f industrial production declined to 139 per cen t o f the 1935-1939 average, a drop o f 4 points fr o m M arch. The decline reflected chiefly a sharp redu ction in ou tpu t o f bitum inous coal, as m ost m ines w ere closed during the en tire m onth. The m ines w ere reopened on A p ril 30 and in the first h a lf o f M ay coal output increased rapidly. A u tom obile production also declined in A pril, ow in g to stoppage o f w ork at plants o f the F ord M otor Com pany during an industrial dispute. This was settled about the middle o f the m onth and dom estic ou tpu t has since advanced to a high m on th ly rate o f ov er 500,000 cars and trucks. A n n ou n cem en t by the O ffice o f P roduction M anagem ent that ou tpu t in the tw elve m onths ending July 31 w ould approxim ate 5,290,000 units indicates that a rate close to that n ow prevailin g should be m aintained through July, although there is usually a considerable decline in this period. Steel production w as curtailed som ewhat in the latter h a lf o f A p ril by shortages o f coal and coke and output declined fr o m a level o f 100 p er cen t o f capacity to 94 per cent at the m onth end. Subsequently ou tpu t increased, reachin g 99 per cent b y the m iddle o f M ay. In m ost other lines activity continued to increase during A p ril and the first h a lf o f M ay. M achinery p rodu ction rose fu rth er and activity in the air c ra ft and shipbuilding industries continues to expan d rapidly. Consum ption o f n on ferrou s metals also advanced, and, as in M arch, dom estic sou rces o f copper w ere supplem ented b y large supplies fr o m Latin A m erica . T extile pro du ction rose fu rth er fr o m the high rate prevailin g in M arch. C onsum ption o f raw cotton in A p ril am ounted to 920,000 bales, a new record level, and rayon deliveries also rose to a neiw peak. A t w ool tex tile m ills a ctivity w as m ain tained near the high M arch rate. C ontinued advances w ere rep orted in the chem ical, paper, and fo o d industries. A n th racite production declined considerably in A pril, ow in g to a delay by dealers in placing usual spring orders, bu t increased in the first h a lf o f M ay. Output o f crude petroleum show ed little change fr o m the M arch rate, fo llo w in g som e increase fro m the redu ced level o f the w in ter months. Iron ore shipments in A p ril am ounted to about 7,000,000 tons, an excep tion ally la rg e am ount f o r this tim e o f year, and m ine output o f n on ferrou s m etals continu ed at n ear capacity rates. V alue o f construction con tra ct aw ards in A p ril declined som ew hat fro m the high M arch total, ow in g principally to a sm aller volum e o f d efen se plant contracts, accordin g to F. W . D odge C orporation reports. There w as an increase in contracts f o r publicly financed d efen se housing, and aw ards fo r private resi dential bu ildin g rose b y a b ou t the usual seasonal am ount. DISTRIBUTION MEMBER BANKS IN 101 LEADING CITIES Sales o f general m erchandise at departm ent and variety stores showed about the usual seasonal rise from M arch to A pril, m aking allow ance f o r the changing date o f Easter. Retail sales o f new autom obiles, w hich had am ounted to 526,000 cars and trucks in M arch, rose fu rth er in A p ril and sales o f used cars w ere at peak levels. F reigh t-car loadings declined sharply in A pril, reflectin g a reduction in shipm ents o f coal and coke, bu t increased in the first h a lf o f M ay w hen coal mines w ere reopened. B y the middle o f the m onth total loadin gs had risen to a w eek ly rate on e-fourth higher than in the correspon din g period last year and abou t the same as the seasonal peak reached in the autum n o f 1940. COMMODITY PRICES Wednesday figures, January 2, 1935 to May 7, 1941. Commercial loans, which include industrial and agricultural loans, represent prior to May 19, 1937 so-called “ Other loans” as then reported. P rices o f m ost basic com m odities, both dom estic and im ported, advanced sharply fu rth er in the first h alf o f M ay fo llo w in g a short period o f little change during the latter part o f A pril. P rice increases w ere m ost pron ou n ced fo r agricultural com m odities reflectin g in part the p rospect o f legislation raising Federal loan rates fo r basic farm crops. P rices o f a num ber o f sem im anufac tu red industrial products, in cluding petroleum products, coke, leather, textile yarns and fab rics, and bu ildin g m aterials, also advanced. M etal prices, n ow fo r the m ost part su bject to F ederal con trol, rem ained at the maxim um levels established earlier. BANK CREDIT EXCESS RESERVES OF MEMBER L»RS BANKS SILLI0N8 Of DOLLARS Bank loans and investm ents have shown a m arked rise since last summ er, the increase at reportin g banks in 101 leading cities am ounting to $4 ,000,000,000. In A p ril and early M ay holdings o f investm ents by these banks increased considerably, m ostly at N ew Y ork C ity banks, reflectin g substantial purchases o f n ew ly issued R econ stru ction F in an ce C orporation notes. Increases in com m ercial loans in this period w ere som ew hat sm aller than during the preced in g tw o months. Excess reserves o f m em ber bank w ere $5,700,000,000 on M ay 14. Since January th ey have declined b y a b ou t $1,100,000,000, ow in g la rgely to increases in Treasury deposits w ith the R eserve Banks and in cu rren cy in circulation. The decrease has occu rred en tirely at N ew Y ork C ity banks. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SECURITY PRICES Wednesday figures partly estimated, January 2, 1935, to May 7, 1941. P rices o f United States G overnm ent securities, w hich had risen sharply from A p ril 9 to A pril 21, subsequently declined irregu larly through M ay 15. On that date the 1960-65 bonds w ere % o f a poin t low er than on A p ril 21 and about 1*4 points below the all-tim e peak reached on D ecem ber 10, 1940. The yield on this issue is curren tly about 2.09 per cent, com pared w ith 2.03 per cent on D ecem ber 10.
@FedFRASER