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MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW Covering financial, industrial, and agricultural conditions in the Fourth Federal Reserve District Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Vol. 15 Cleveland, Ohio, June 1, 1933 The sharpest advance in trade and industrial operations since the depression began occurred in this district in April and the first three weeks o f May, and reports from most of the important fields were more favorable than for months. In several instances operations were at higher levels than prevailed a year ago and, whereas in most recent years some slackening developed in May, the past month showed continued improvement in the more important lines o f this district. Electric power consump tion was greater than a year ago and so were car load ings in the latter part o f May. Retail buying was much improved in April, the sea sonally adjusted index o f department store sales advanc ing to 62.8 per cent o f the 1923-25 monthly average from 46.2 in March. This was the sharpest increase on record back to 1919. Buying in April was stimulated by several factors, among which were rising wholesale prices, release o f bank deposits which permitted buying in April prior to the late Easter, and increased employment and in some cases, wages, which meant greater buying power that apparently was utilized for purchases deferred in earlier months. In the industrial field, the improvement in steel produc tion was spectacular. Rising from a low of about 12 per cent o f capacity in early March, operations increased un til a 43 per cent rate prevailed in the entire country in late May. Steel centers in this district outside o f Pitts burgh were producing at much-better-than-average rates. Tin plate mills in the third week o f May were operating at 80 per cent; Cleveland output was at 58 per cent, Youngstown 45 and Pittsburgh 25 per cent o f capacity. Lack o f rail and structural orders affected operations in the eastern part o f this district whereas automobile ma terial buying was responsible fo r much o f the activity at other centers, though considerable ordering by general manufacturers has been reported recently. Steel produc tion in April was eight per cent greater than a year ago and while in most years there is a seasonal decline in May, indications are that May production will exceed April by a good margin. Tire companies stepped up schedules sharply in late April and May in response to greater dealer and retail demand. Employment at Akron factories was increased by more than 3,000 and the expansion in operations was much greater than seasonal. Tire prices were raised five per cent on May 1. In the automobile parts and accessory field, operations No. 6 improved coincident with the expansion in automobile assemblies. Shoe production was 40 per cent higher in April than in the same month of 1932. Most of the smaller manufacturing lines reported marked im prove ment in the first part o f May, though in many cases op erations are still below a year ago. Building activity continues to lag and contracts awarded are less than half as large as a year ago. Building ma terial sales were reported larger in May than for some time, but much of this apparently represented repair work. The crop season has been retarded about three weeks by the cool, wet weather, but conditions are better in this district than in most parts of the country. W inter wheat is in better-than-average condition and the estimated crop for Ohio is the second largest in the entire country. The rise in grain prices has been encouraging to local farmers in this connection. F IN A N C IA L . A further easing o f the strained financial conditions oc curred in the month ended May 25. This was reflected in the decline in borrowings o f member banks, the drop in note circulation in the face o f higher prices and expand ing industrial operations and wages, and the increase in deposits. Ten banks were granted licenses to resume full operations in the period and some unlicensed banks were placed in liquidation. Reorganization plans for many of the approximately 300 unlicensed banks were nearing completion, but in some sections deposits impounded in DEPARTMENT STORE INDEX 1923- 25-100 ) ^ N a/a/ V w y ' V k SEASOrvlALLY A!DJUSTED J%..... A > 1 \ V -1927 1A AA 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 i 1933 Index of Dollar Sales at Fourth District Stores 1934 THE MONTHLY BUSINESS R EVIEW 2 closed banks were quite a hindrance to industrial ex pansion and trade improvement. Savings deposits at selected banks declined 2.4 per cent in April and at the end o f the month were 11.5 per cent smaller than a year ago. The decline was proportionately greater at Ohio banks than at those in western Pennsyl vania. Bank debits to individual accounts were 28 per cent smaller in April than in the same month o f 1932 and the reduction in the first four months was 24.5 per cent. The sharpness of the decline in the dollar volume o f bank debits which represent chiefly check payments is shown by the fact that in April they were only 46 per cent of the monthly average o f the three years 1923-25. Price changes o f course are a factor affecting these figures. Commercial failures continue below a year ago, both in number and the amount o f liabilities involved. In April, failures in this district numbered 182, a reduction o f 14 per cent from last year. Liabilities o f the defaulting con cerns were down 25 per cent from a year ago in April and 27 per cent in the first four months. Reserve Bank Credit. By May 24 over $100,000,000 in Federal reserve notes, put in circulation in this district immediately prior to the bank holiday, had been retired and only approximately $20,000,000 were still outside the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Only a small part o f the decline in recent weeks reflected the increase in the volume o f Federal reserve bank notes outstanding, for on the latest date only $3,015,000 o f these notes o f this bank were in circulation, there having been a slight re duction in the four most recent weeks. Total deposits of member banks increased in the month ended May 24 as money was retired from circulation, and borrowings o f member banks were reduced. Bills dis counted, which increased in late April and the first part o f May to $79,000,000 on May 3, were reduced to $61,500,000 by May 24. One year ago loans to member banks were $52,000,000. Acceptances held were reduced in the four latest weeks to a very nominal figure. This bank’s holdings o f Government securities remained unchanged in the first three weeks o f May, but in the week ended May 24 an increase o f $2,750,000 occurred. Holdings of Government securities were $31,000,000 high er than a year ago, but somewhat below the peak touched in early March of this year. Total earning assets o f this bank on May 24 were ap proximately the same as in late April, but they were about $40,000,000 higher than a year ago. Member Bank Credit. Publication o f condition figures o f reporting member banks in leading cities was resumed in mid-May, but the statement includes figures for a much smaller group of banks which have been licensed to re sume full banking operations. In recent weeks there has been an increase in demand deposits and a slight reduc tion in time deposits. Investments were increased through the purchase o f Government securities, but loans, both on securities and “ all other” , still show a downward trend. the profit stage. According to Steel, at 50 to 55 per cent of capacity, on a declining scale, operations ceased being profit able; it has been estimated that the situation would be re versed at 35 to 40 per cent, on an increasing volume. W hen the industry from the second week of March to the third week o f April expanded from l S 1/^ to 25 per cent, based on ingot capacity engaged, this was an achieve ment rarely equalled in the industry’s history. But from the third week o f April to the last week o f May the rate pushed up from 25 to 43 per cent. In the month ended May 20 the steel rate at Pitts burgh increased from 21 to 25 per cent, at Youngstown from 24 to 45 and at Cleveland from 41 to 58 per cent. Except for the W heeling district, where tin plate dom i nates, the Cleveland and Youngstown rates were the high est for the country. Automotive requirements remain the base of the iron and steel market, with May assemblies o f m otor vehicles estimated at more than 200,000 units and releases for steel indicating an equally good June. Tin plate also was a m ajor factor; some mills in the Pittsburgh district operated fully in May, and the average as o f May 20 was 80 per cent. Miscellaneous general manufacturing requirements in creased, both for current consumption and for a moderate rebuilding of inventories, the latter due to a stiffening of the price structure. Building steel requirements were conspicuous by their absence. Railroads were comm itting themselves only for necessary equipment repairs, pend ing action at Washington on the measure coordinating them. About May 15, iron and steel scrap prices, which had been advancing for more than a month, reached their peak and a slight easiness set in. This was in part due to the satisfaction o f mills’ requirements and also because the rise in scrap quotations brought that commodity practically up to parity with pig iron. A bout that time pig Iron be gan to rise, advancing $1 at Pittsburgh and Youngstown and 50 cents at Cleveland. F ollow ing the withdrawal of most concessions for the second quarter, sheet mills an nounced a $3 per ton advance for the third quarter. Hotrolled strip was put up $1 and cold-rolled strip $2. Quan tity differentials by warehouses increased the price to small buyers. Reinforcing bars were advanced $4 a ton. This upward tendency in prices was evidenced by the MANUFACTURING, MINING Iron and Steel Iron and steel producers in the month ended May 20 entered the zone where, taking into account drastic economies, they were believed to be breaking even and re-entering Steel’s weekly estimate of ingrot production; no a ll jwanes for seasonal variations. THE MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW advance in the iron and steel composite o f the magazine Steel, From $28.18 as o f April 22, this index rose to $28.50 by May 27. At the beginning o f the year this index stood at $28.83; its low for 1933 was $28.12 on April 1. Statistics o f both pig iron and steel ingot production in April show important gains. The daily average output o f coke pig iron in April was 20,770 gross tons, compared with 17,484 tons in March, and 28,524 tons in April, 1932. The April rate was the highest since November, 1932. A net gain o f ten was registered in active blast furnaces in April, with six more lighted in the first three weeks of May. The April total o f 623,097 tons of pig iron gave 1933 a four-m onth total o f 2,286,962 tons, compared with 3,754,736 tons in the same period o f 1932. The April open-hearth and bessemer steel ingot daily rate was 53,392 gross tons, compared with 33,006 tons in March; it was the highest since February, 1932. The month’s total was 1,334,797 tons, the highest since March, 1932. The four-m onth total o f ingots for 1933 is 4,299,807 gross tons, and 5,542,283 tons in the same period of 1932. Little change occurred in the coal industry o f this district or the entire country in April, but a slight increase in production was reported in early May and because o f the falling-off which developed in April and May last year, output in the four latest weeks was ahead o f a year ago. In this district the recent advance was due in part to larger industrial takings and also to increased lake ship ments to upper lake ports. So far this season such ship ments, while as yet somewhat limited in volume, were 16.8 per cent ahead o f a year ago. Coal April output o f fourth district mines was 7,886,000 tons, a reduction o f 10.8 per cent from the same period of 1932 and represented only slightly more than half the ten-year average April production o f 14,258,000 tons. In the first four months output was down 5.8 per cent from the corresponding period o f last year. Stocks of bituminous coal in hands o f commercial con sumers and retail dealers, as of April 1, were the smallest on record and were 21 per cent below a year ago. A re duction in stocks generally occurs in the first quarter, Index of new passenger car registrations in Ohio and western Pennsyl vania. (1927-1929 Monthly Average = 100) 3 but this year the decline in reserves was unusually heavy. In terms o f current consumption, stocks represented 27 days’ supply compared with 33 days’ supply a year ago. W ith potential capacity almost double current consump tion, and assured transportation facilities, it is unnecessary to keep a large supply of coal on hand at the present time. The order o f the Interstate Commerce Commission re storing the old Ohio coal shipping rate so that the tencents-a-ton differential in freight rates between Ohio and western Pennsylvania and northern Ohio towns would again prevail was regarded very favorably by Pennsylvania producers and just as unfavorably by Ohio mine oper ators. When the freight rates from Ohio coal fields were lowered about a year ago, coal from western Pennslyvania was virtually excluded from northern Ohio markets. Producers and dealers in this district reported some improvement in buying in the first part of May with more coal contracted for than a year ago. Prices have shown little change. An unusually sharp increase developed in the automobile industry in April, and the expansion continued in May, judg ing by weekly reports. A ccording to the Department of Commerce, factory sales o f passenger cars and trucks totaled 181,029 units in April. This was an increase of 52.6 per cent from March, 22 per cent from April, 1932, and output was higher than for any month since last June. The expansion from March was considerably more than seasonal, the Federal Reserve Board’s adjusted index rising from 27 to 44 per cent o f the 1923-1925 monthly average. In April, 1932, the index was 35. Automobiles The increase from March was proportionately greater in the truck industry than in the passenger car field, but compared with a year ago, the improvement was entire ly in passenger car production which was up 27 per cent. Truck production in April was 0.3 per cent smaller than in the same month last year. In the first four months passenger car output was up 9.6 per cent from that o f the same period o f 1932, whereas truck production was off 9.2 per cent in the four-m onth interval. W hile the week-to-week expansion in April was quite pronounced, some slackening in the rate o f increase was apparent in the first half o f May. That output would probably exceed 200,000 units in the latest month, however, was quite clearly shown by the weekly figures, which for the first three weeks of May was more than 50,000 cars in each period. The greater part o f the recent advance has been con fined to the lower-priced cars, but the trend has not been uniform. Makers o f some o f the medium-priced cars have increased production quite sharply. Retail buying of cars improved in most parts of the country in April and May, but this is partly seasonal and sales are still much below the average of past years. The accompanying chart is a monthly index o f passenger car registrations in Ohio and western Pennsylvania for 1927 to date, with the monthly average o f 1927-29 rep resenting 100. A sizeable increase in registrations was reported in April in this district as well as in other parts o f the country and sales in the latest month were greater than a year ago. 4 THE MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW Tires, R ubber In the rubber tire industry in the past six weeks operations and sales increased sharply and prices have been advanced slightly. The industry, along with steel production, has been leading the way recently so far as expanding operations are concerned. Consumption o f crude rubber in the United States in April was up 45 per cent from March and was only slight ly under April, 1932. Takings by domestic plants ex ceeded imports by a good margin and stocks declined two per cent, but remained 11.4 per cent above a year ago at 382,167 tons. Imports in April were only 19,459 tons, a decrease of 30 per cent from March and o f 47 per cent from a year ago. Prices of crude materials used in tire production have increased quite sharply in recent weeks, cotton advancing from around 6 to 8 % cents a pound and rubber from 2 % to 5 cents. Because o f these increases, etc., tire manu facturers raised prices about five per cent, effective early in May. So far, according to reports, these advances have been maintained. Conditions in Akron, the center of the tire industry in this district, have improved markedly in recent weeks, despite the fact that the financial situation is unfavorable. Employment has increased about 3,000 in the rubber in dustry alone, but, despite the expansion, employment in the entire city as well as the rubber industry is about 40 per cent below the level o f 1926. Several plants are reported to be operating at capacity levels and working tw enty-four hours a day, on four sixhour shifts. Present capacity, however, is very much below what it was in pre-depression years. As a matter o f record tire production in March, accord ing to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, was 44.7 per cent below the corresponding month o f 1932, and in the first quarter was off 40 per cent. Output in that period was smaller than for any quarter since 1921 when only aproximately 11,000,000 cars were in use, whereas at the present time automobile registrations are close to, if not in excess o f 22,000,000. In April and the first part o f May, a marked change occurred in dealer buying and, according to reports, more orders have been placed for delivery than since the en actment of the tax on rubber products last June. The seasonal increase in April replacement sales in past years was close to 12 per cent. This year, according to a re liable source, the increase was 54 per cent and sales were only 17 per cent below April, 1932. The peak of the tire selling season is from the middle of May to the fif teenth of June and present indications point to an in crease in sales from April to May o f about 28 per cent in contrast with an average increase for that time o f year of about 8 per cent. Dealers’ stocks are known to be low and some o f the recent buying no doubt has been to replenish them, but retail sales also have increased in the past few weeks. In the latter part of May manu facturers reported demand holding up well and some d if ficulty obtaining cotton fabric from mills fast enough to take care o f current operations was mentioned. Other Manufacturing Substantially increased operations were reported in most of the smaller manu facturing lines o f the fourth district in the month ended May 15. The expansion in most cases was considerably more than or contrary to seasonal changes o f past years and reports from the various lines were more favorable than for many months. Auto Parts, Accessories. The sharp increase in autom o bile production was preceded by expanded operations at many local plants and April sales exceeded those for many previous months. In several cases both employm ent and pay rolls in early May were considerably above a year ago. According to the Ohio State Bureau o f Business research, employment in this industry in April was up 19 per cent from March compared with a five-year average change o f two per cent. Further substantial increases occurred in the first half o f May. A few companies re ported higher wage rates and prices o f raw materials. Prices on finished products have been raised in a few in stances to cover the increased costs. B rick and Tile. An increase o f 17 per cent in employ ment in this industry was reported in April, whereas the five-year average change from March was 2.4 per cent. Sales o f brick and tile have improved recently. China, Pottery. Some increased buying developed in early May because quotations on materials were raised. Operations have expanded only slightly. Clothing. Most clothing factories are operating at very low levels at the present time, production o f spring and summer goods having been completed and w ork on fall goods not yet having started. Orders, however, have been placed in a much larger volum e recently, partly, it is thought, because o f the sharp advance in the price of wool and woolen fabrics. Salesmen have just started out with fall samples, and no reports on future buying are yet available. The outlook, according to the trade, is more favorable than for some time. Makers o f knitted clothing have increased operations recently as a result o f a greater volume o f orders of both summer and fall goods. Sales, however, continue below previous years. Employment in the clothing and textile industry of this district was 86 per cent o f the 1926 monthly average in April. Electrical Equipment. Orders in April increased for the third successive month, and though they still are below a year ago considerable im provem ent has developed in recent weeks. The employment index was 91.2 per cent of the 1926 average in April, up 6.9 per cent from March in contrast with a five-year average change of 1.2 per cent. Glass. The plate and molded branches o f the glass in dustry experienced considerable improvement in sales in late April and early May, and additional furnaces were lighted. Employment in the entire industry in April at 26 Ohio plants was 19 per cent higher than a year ago. Demand for plate glass came chiefly from the automobile industry, for little building activity has developed. Prices have remained steady. Hardware, Machinery. As a result of increases in raw material prices, quotations on some lines o f hardware have advanced, but the change has been only nominal. Volume o f incoming orders was much larger than for several months, and consequently, employment in some cases has improved. Paint. Sales o f some types o f paint in the past four THE MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW weeks were larger than a year ago, but industrial demand, except from the automobile industry, and sales of house paint were behind a year ago, the latter being unfav orably affected by the rainy weather. Raw material prices have increased quite sharply recently. Paper, Little change occurred in paper production in April, but boxboard output was up quite sharply, accord ing to reports. Orders o f both improved in early May and prices on a few lines have advanced. Inventories re main low. Shoes. April output o f 31 shoe establishments in this district was 40 per cent higher than in the same month o f 1932 and the decline from March was much less than the average falling-off o f the past ten years. In the first four months shoe production was 18 per cent greater than in the corresponding period of the preceding year. Raw material prices have advanced sharply, the latest hide quotation being 10 y2 cents a pound, compared with a low of 4% cents touched earlier this year. April buying was stimulated by the late Easter, but orders continued to arrive in good volume in the first half o f May. BUILDING Sales o f building materials and supplies improved in the past month, according to reports from all parts o f the district. The Lumber Manufacturers Association re ported that production and orders were above a year ago and shipments also have increased quite sharply. Prices have changed only slightly and, since new con struction reported continues in very limited volume, the buying of lumber by dealers was thought to be partly to replenish stocks and also for renovizing and repair p roj ects. The building industry as a whole continues in a very depressed state. Contracts awarded in April, according to the F. W. Dodge Corporation, were valued at $4,943,882, a reduction o f 55 per cent from a year ago, and com pared with $6,192,000 in March this year. In the first half o f May building awards in this section were little changed and continued to be less than half what they were a year ago. Residential building in this district expanded almost 20 per cent in April from the preceding month, but compared with last year a reduction of ten per cent was shown. Pub lic works contracts were only about one-sixth what they were in April, 1932, and public utility work was almost negligible in the period. A sizeable increase in contem plated projects was reported in April, compared with the preceding month, and the total was almost equal to the volume reported in April, 1932. AGRICULTURE Because of rainy weather farm work has been delayed three to four weeks this spring, and planting o f oats in many sections was not done at all, while preparation o f ground for corn has been very difficult. W inter wheat conditions in this district are above the average o f past years and fruit prospects are fair. The general agricultural situation has changed mate rially in the past two months and prices have advanced considerably, more than 100 per cent in some cases, such as hides. These increases were due in part to unfavor 5 able developments in the actual crop situation, but in the case o f some crops the advance was sympathetic and in line with the general upturn in stock and comm odity prices. W inter wheat in the entire country showed the poorest condition on record as o f May 1 and at the present time indications suggest that not enough winter wheat will be harvested this year to meet domestic requirements, but the carryover from preceding years is large. Com pared with past years, this season's indicated crop is smaller than since 1904 and is 43 per cent below the average harvest of the five years 1926-1930. Almost onethird of the acreage sown last fall has been abandoned whereas the ten-year average abandonment was 14.7 per cent. In the states o f the fourth district the May 1 con dition was considerably above the average o f the entire country and also above the average o f past years. The expected Ohio crop is the second largest in the entire country and is only slightly below last year’s harvest of over 32,000,000 bushels. The stand is exceptionally good on high ground, but low fields in many sections were drowned. W hile abandonment on local farms was only 2.5 per cent compared with a ten-year average abandon ment of about 13 per cent, wet weather was a factor which cut down the abandonment, for fields could not be prepared for other crops and many in poor condition are still left untouched. Growth o f pastures and hay in April was retarded by the cool, wet weather and on May 1 the condition o f both was several points below the average o f past years. Con siderable improvement occurred in May, but hay fields and pastures in many sections are still in poor condition. Fruit prospects are good in this district, with the ex ception o f peaches which were damaged by early spring freezes. Early apples also were affected to some extent, but late varieties were not harmed and a fairly large crop of the latter, together with sizable crops of grapes and pears are in sight at the present time. Prospects for a larger burley tobacco acreage than was harvested last year continue, but field preparation and planting has been delayed by unfavorable weather. In the third week o f May the season was reported to be about ten days late. A very small acreage o f tobacco was trans planted prior to May 20, but tobacco fields generally were in poor condition. An increase in the size and number o f seed beds this year indicates that there will be a plen tiful supply o f plants even though considerable damage to plant beds by insects, leaf spot, etc., is reported. Agricultural prices advanced 17 per cent between April 15 and May 15, the greatest advance in 14 years. Based on the five-year pre-war average the index o f the Bureau o f Agricultural Econom ics grows from 53 to 62 in the 30day period. Most o f the recent rise occurred in grains and fruits and vegetables, but prices o f other com m odi ties have also advanced, livestock and hide prices work ing upward in May. The index in mid-May was six points higher than a year ago. TRADE One o f the sharpest increases in retail buying on record was reflected in the April reports o f department stores in the fourth district. Several factors worked together to Retail 6 THE MONTHLY BUSINESS R EVIEW bolster buying in the period. Purchases which were de ferred in March because of the bank holiday were made in April and much pre-Easter buying occurred in the lat ter month. The index o f sales rose from 41.6 per cent in March to 67.2 per cent o f the 1923-25 monthly average in April, and, after allowing fo r seasonal variations and changes in the Easter date, the index was 62.8 compared with 46.2 in March. Sales in the month were only down three per cent in dollar volume from a year ago, which, when allowing for price declines that have occurred in the period, meant that the physical volume o f goods sold was larger than a year ago. A ccording to Fairchild's index, retail department store prices in April were 11.3 per cent below last year at that time. The decline in the month, however, was only 0.5 per cent and wom en’s apparel prices advanced slightly. Dollar sales in the first four months o f this year were 21.7 per cent below the corresponding period o f 1932. Judging by April figures, little stocking-up has yet oc curred at reporting stores, for the seasonally adjusted in dex of the dollar value of stocks was 48.8 per cent o f the 1923-25 monthly average, compared with 49.8 in March. Compared with a year ago the value o f stocks was down 26.8 per cent. Some improvement in collections was evident in April and the ratio of credit to total sales declined slightly. Other lines of retail trade showed improvement in April, furniture sales being off only 12.7 per cent in dollar value from last year, whereas the decline in the first quarter was over 30 per cent. Sales of wearing apparel stores were down 19 per cent in April and 32 per cent in the first four months from similar periods o f 1932. Chain drug store sales were off 18 per cent in April and sales of gro cery chains 8.7 per cent in the same period. Department Store An analysis o f sales by departments of Sales By Depart- reporting department stores in the ments fourth district which shows the percent age of sales done in each month o f the year has just been completed, and is presented below. The figures represent the averages of the three years 1930, 1931 and 1932, and the tabulation is similar to that presented in September, 1926. Figures o f 61 stores were used in this study, but each department does not include figures for all the stores. The m ajority o f departments include figures from 30 to 55 stores for the three years. W hile some of the departments have changed in the past eight years, which makes a close comparison of the present table with the earlier study impossible, many o f the departments are unchanged. It is interesting to ob serve that in some departments there has been little vari*ation in the monthly distribution of sales from the pre ceding period, whereas in others the change has been quite marked. In some departments sales are fairly steady throughout the various months o f the year, while in others the sea sonal fluctuations are very great. In toys and sport goods, Percentage of Sales Made In Each Month of the Year 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 21. 23. 24. 25S. 2 5 T. 27. 28. 31. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 42. 43. 46. 47. 48. 51. 52. 53. 55C. 55D . 55J. 56. 57. 59. 60. 61. 65. 66. 67. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 82. 91. 93. Silks and Velvets. . . . . . Woolen Dress Goods. . . Cotton Wash G o o d s.. . . Linens................................... Domestics........................... Laces, etc............................ Toilet Articles, etc.......... Silverware........................... Tewelry................................ Art Needlework, etc— . Books, Stationery............ Neckwear, Scarfs............. Handkerchiefs.................. Millinery............................. Gloves................................... Foundation Garments. . Knit Underwear.............. Silk and Muslin Under- Jan. 9 .4 0 % 7 .7 6 8.3 1 1 3 .6 7 10 .5 8 7 .2 6 8 .8 1 8.21 8 .1 5 6 .7 7 8 .4 9 6 .8 7 7 .3 5 6 .6 8 4 .7 0 6 .4 0 9 .5 7 6 .3 3 7 .7 4 6 .9 6 5 .0 7 6 .4 9 5 .0 5 6 .6 0 4 .9 8 8 .05 W omen’ s Coats................ 4 .6 9 W omen’ s Suits................. 8 .1 9 W omen’ s Dresses............ 5 .6 9 Misses’ Coats & Suits. . Misses* Dresses................. 7 .8 9 5.6 3 Juniors’ & Girls’ W e a r.. 6 .6 3 7 .6 0 Aprons, House Dresses. 11.31 8 .7 3 5 .8 7 M en’ s Furnishings.......... 5 .9 8 M en’ s Hats & Caps. . . . 4 .9 2 Boy’s W ear........................ M en.s & Boys’ Sh oes... 6 .5 9 6 .2 8 Furniture............................ 1 0 .3 4 Oriental R ugs................... Domestic Floor Coverings 7 .5 6 6 .7 0 Draperies, etc................... 7 .3 9 Lamps, Shades................. 7 .8 8 House Furnishings.......... 6 .5 7 Musical Instruments, Records & R a d io s.. . . 1 4 .2 6 1 .8 4 Toys and Sport Goods. 6 .5 0 Luggage............................... Negligees ............................. Infants’ W ear................... Leather Goods.................. Wom en’ s Shoes................ Feb. 8 .9 1 % 7 .3 1 8.8 5 8.1 1 7.4 5 7 .4 2 8 .1 3 8 .7 1 7 .3 6 7 .21 8 .6 6 7 .2 2 6 .8 4 5 .7 5 5 .9 7 5 .9 6 7 .8 0 7 .2 0 6 .0 5 March 1 0 .1 1 % 1 1.07 8 .9 7 7.81 7 .2 6 12.63 8.53 8.11 7 .9 8 7 .3 5 8 .3 8 6.7 5 8.8 0 5 .8 5 1 1.36 8 .8 0 9 .0 0 8.5 7 6 .0 8 April 9 .7 7 % 9 .2 5 9 .4 4 7 .0 6 7.61 10.05 9 .0 4 7.61 6 .5 2 7 .3 9 7 .55 6.0 5 10.50 5 .7 4 14.39 10.74 9 .9 7 9 .3 0 6 .95 M ay 9 .9 3 % 4 .3 5 1 0.79 6 .9 2 7 .4 0 9 .0 6 9 .0 5 7.01 6 .6 6 7 .6 6 6 .7 2 5.81 7 .9 4 5 .93 10.54 7 .7 6 10.21 9 .4 6 7 .7 1 June 9 .3 9 % 2.73 11.95 6 .61 6 .6 9 7 .8 6 8 .8 7 8.21 7 .7 6 7 .9 7 5.8 9 5 .7 2 5 .6 9 5 .4 9 9.2 5 6 .7 2 9 .5 0 8 .53 7 .65 July 7 .1 5 % 2 .8 6 1 0 .1 4 6 .8 4 6.3 1 5 .1 6 7 .5 4 7 .4 7 5 .4 4 5 .8 2 5 .2 9 4 .6 2 4 .1 6 5 .0 2 4 .7 2 3 .93 7 .2 2 6 .7 4 8 .2 6 Aug. 5 .3 6 % 6 .2 7 6 .1 3 7 .6 0 8 .7 7 4 .6 4 6 .4 1 6 .9 6 5 .8 7 5 .7 8 5.8 5 4 .9 9 3.93 5.31 6 .9 1 3 .6 4 6 .2 4 6 .3 2 5 .2 6 5 .9 3 4 .9 7 6 .7 9 4 .8 0 6 .3 7 5 .5 9 5 .7 8 9 .1 8 7 .2 4 5 .0 2 7 .3 1 5 .8 8 5 .6 8 7 .6 3 8 .2 7 7 .5 7 5 .1 9 6 .3 4 5 .5 9 6 .4 1 14.95 1 0 .9 4 8 .1 3 7 .5 7 8 .5 7 8 .0 1 7 .6 8 6 .0 3 4.8 5 8 .3 7 7 .5 6 8 .5 7 8 .6 0 11.63 2 2.08 8.7 5 12 .0 9 9 .0 5 10.25 6 .6 0 7 .2 6 6 .8 5 8 .3 4 5 .9 8 8 .2 9 10 .1 7 8 .0 4 7 .7 5 9 .7 0 1 0.40 9 .0 5 8.2 5 8 .0 2 8 .9 6 7 .0 6 5 .3 4 9.4 1 9 .4 7 10.58 11.15 15.35 18.44 10.25 15 .4 9 10 .0 7 11.11 8 .1 3 8 .8 8 5 .5 0 9 .7 7 7 .0 0 10.10 10 .6 7 8 .9 8 1 0 .2 6 10 .2 2 14 .4 0 1 2 .1 2 1 1.26 7 .1 7 1 2 .0 2 9 .2 4 6 .5 4 ? 7 .6 9 8 .43 10 .8 9 9 .1 5 6 .3 5 5 .5 8 1 1.50 5 .7 9 10.81 8 .2 7 9 .9 4 1 2.07 3 .1 5 8 .7 6 7 .6 1 1 0 .4 7 8 .3 6 9 .4 7 9 .7 9 1 0 .4 8 13.65 1 3 .5 7 8 .0 9 7 .5 0 11.11 9 .7 6 7 .6 6 6.4 5 8.6 5 8 .5 7 7 .5 4 5 .31 6 .2 2 8 .5 0 2 .1 4 2 .2 7 11 .5 6 2 .6 5 10.75 6 .9 4 1 1.40 14.75 1 .5 0 9 .4 4 8 .8 4 10 .7 8 7 .2 6 1 0 .5 0 7 .5 2 6 .3 4 7 .8 9 8 .2 9 5 .9 6 7 .8 9 8 .2 2 6.0 5 1.71 2 .0 6 6 .9 7 2 .8 0 6 .2 1 4 .5 7 8 .8 3 11.63 2 .4 6 7 .1 4 7 .4 0 5 .4 2 4 .4 3 7 .0 1 5 .2 2 4 .7 9 5 .3 1 5 .2 1 4 .3 0 6 .0 5 6 .3 6 6 .2 5 5 .8 0 5 .9 4 5 .4 4 1 0 .6 7 6 .5 4 7 .9 7 4 .2 8 5 .5 5 1 0.08 5 .7 2 5 .8 7 6 .6 7 5 .63 2 0 .1 6 5 .4 8 5 .8 8 4 .7 5 5 .7 7 5 .41 11 .9 9 6 .7 0 6 .6 2 5 .3 0 5 .6 2 6 .8 1 6 .2 4 1 0 .9 9 2 .4 2 5 .1 6 8 .5 4 3 .3 7 5 .2 5 9 .3 5 5 .3 3 5 .7 9 4 .9 7 5 .6 9 8 .7 4 4 .3 8 6 .4 4 1 0.38 3 .41 5 .7 2 9 .6 7 4 .7 2 4 .0 3 9 .6 6 Sept. 6 .7 4 % 11.91 5 .7 8 7 .41 10.25 7 .3 2 8.35 8 .3 8 7 .4 7 7 .6 4 8 .5 8 6 .9 7 7 .23 6 .1 1 11 .8 8 7 .6 4 7 .6 7 7 .3 0 6 .8 2 Oct. 8 .1 6 % 16.35 6 .6 0 7 .3 5 10 .1 7 8 .2 3 8 .3 1 7 .6 4 8 .3 4 7 .6 9 9 .3 4 7 .1 5 8 .9 2 6 .1 4 9 .2 9 10 .8 2 7 .8 9 8.0 3 1 0 .0 0 N or. 11.55 5 .8 4 7 .8 4 7 .6 2 7 .6 6 7 .0 5 7.2 1 9 .1 8 7 .7 9 9 .6 7 8.6 3 8 .5 9 8 .0 7 6 .0 1 9 .2 8 6 .8 9 7 .5 7 9 .8 3 Total Dec. per cent 7 72% 1 00% 8 .5 9 100% 7 .2 0 10 0 % 12 .7 8 10 0 % 9 .9 1 100% 12.71 100% 100% 9 .9 1 1 4 .4 8 100% 1 9 .2 7 2 0.93 i& i 1 5 .5 8 10 0 % 2 9 .2 2 1 00% 10 0 % 20 .0 5 100% 33.91 1 00% 4 .9 8 18.31 1 00% 8 .0 4 1 00% 14.65 100% 17.65 1 00% 5 .5 7 6 .0 7 8 .6 8 7 .8 9 7 .05 9 .8 2 6 .9 8 12 .0 7 7 .2 4 8 .7 2 8 .7 3 8 .8 4 9 .4 0 5 .0 0 8 .0 8 7 .4 7 6 .2 5 1 1 .7 4 8 .2 6 7 .4 6 7 .1 8 5 .65 7 .1 3 7.33 7 .51 8 .2 2 8 .9 2 6 .2 3 6 .4 7 11.21 7 .5 9 68.1.384 8 .9 9 15 .6 9 1 2.18 8 .0 4 1 5 .8 6 8 .6 0 1 1.18 9 .9 1 5 .1 7 11.41 9 .7 8 6.8 1 8 .8 1 1 0 .0 6 7 .5 8 6 .9 8 1 1 .3 7 7 .6 5 8 .6 8 7 .9 2 8 .0 7 8 .0 3 7 .0 6 7 .5 9 8 .9 7 6 .7 2 87.9.11 0 9 .0 8 1 1 .3 9 4 .0 9 6 .7 4 9 .9 2 6 .8 8 9 .0 8 7 .0 0 4 .9 6 1 0 .8 7 8 .3 8 7 .8 8 7 .8 4 9 .1 6 7 .7 0 5 .5 2 7 .3 2 6 .0 1 7 .8 0 7 .81 8 .5 1 6 .4 0 2 1 .3 4 3 2 .1 0 1 4 .6 9 2 2 .1 8 8 .7 4 1 1 .5 7 6 .9 6 3 .0 8 7 .9 7 5 .8 9 7 .9 8 1 2 .3 8 9 .8 1 9 .4 2 1 0 .4 4 9 .1 4 2 5 .2 9 9 .4 8 15.35 1 4.85 6 .5 6 6 .1 5 5 .2 5 8 .3 8 1 7 .3 2 1 5 .8 7 9 .4 9 100% 1 00% 10 0 % 100% 1 00% 100% 10C% 100% 100% 10 0 % 1 00% 10 0 % 1 00% 10 0 % 10 0 % 100% 100% 100% 100% 1 00% 1 00% 1 00% 1 00% 1 00% 100% 100% 1 00% 1 0.21 4 .1 9 7 .6 2 9 .0 8 4 .9 3 4 .5 5 7 .6 5 8 .3 5 5 .2 5 1 2 .4 4 4 7 .6 9 2 1 .4 3 100% 100% 100% THE MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW nearly half o f the year's total sales are made in Decem ber, while over 25 per cent of all men’s furnishing sales occur in that month. Handkerchief sales also are large in December. Furniture sales are important in February and August and linens and domestics in January and the lat ter again in September. A chart showing these seasonal fluctuations by departments will be available upon re quest. Sales o f the fou r reporting wholesale lines in April increased about seasonally in the aggregate, but not all lines shared in the improvement. Grocery sales were 1.6 per cent smaller in April than in March and were down 13.7 per cent from April, 1932. Drug firms reported a falling-off of 2.8 per cent from March and 24 per cent from last year. Dry goods sales were up 8.3 per cent from March, but were 12.7 per cent smaller than a year ago. Hardware sales improved sharply in April being up 39 per cent from March, but they were still about 10 per cent smaller than in April, 1932. Dollar sales of all wholesale firms in April were only 47 per cent o f the monthly average of the three years 1923-25. Stocks increased slightly in the latest month, but they were still much below a year ago. Wholesale Fourth District Business Indexes Fourth District Business Statistics (000 omitted) Fourth District unless Otherwise Specified Bank Debits— 24 cities................... 3 Savings Deposits— end of month: 27 selected banks, O. & Pa..........$ Postal Receipts— 9 cities................ 3 Life Insurance Sales: Ohio and Pa....................................... $ Retail Sales: Department Stores— 53 fir m s ...# Wearing Apparel— 11 f i r ms . . . . $ Furniture— 44 firms........................$ Wholesale Sales: Drugs— 13 firms...............................$ Dry Goods— 10 firms.....................$ Groceries— 33 firms........................ $ Hardware— 14 firms.......................$ Building Contracts— Residential. $ — T otal............$ Commercial Failures— Liabilities.$ ..........Number Production: Pig Iron, U. S............................Tons Steel Ingot, U. S.....................Tons Automobiles-Pass. C a r . . . . U . S. — Trucks ..........U. S. Bituminous Coal..................... Tons Cement— O., W . Pa., W . Va. Bbls. Elec. Power— O., Pa., K y. k.w.h. Petroleum— O., Pa., K y ....B b l s . Shoes .......................................... Pairs Tires, U. S............................Casings Bituminous Coal Shipments: Lake Erie Ports........................Tons Iron Ore Receipts: Lake Erie Ports........................Tons 1 monthly average 3 March 5 confidential % change Jan.April, from April, 1933 1932 1933 1,249,000 — 2 8 .1 5,323,000 575,617 — 1 1 .6 2,223 — 1 2 .4 598,8021 8,912 change from 1932 — 24. 5 — 9 .0 12.0 — 66,851 — 1 4 .4 281,203 —21.8 14,685 786 512 — 8 .0 — 1 9.3 — 1 2 .7 43,359 2,199 1,517 — 2 1 .7 — 3 1 .0 — 2 5.5 940 778 2,880 902 1,724 4,944 6,008 1822 — — — — — — — — 4,013 2,723 11,040 2,702 4,902 18,844 23,780 793* — — — — — — — — 2 4 .2 1 2 .7 1 3 .7 9 .9 10.3 5 4 .8 2 5 .2 1 4 .2 2 3 .2 2 1 .5 17.3 1 9.2 39 .4 4 6 .9 2 6 .8 2 2 .9 623 1,335 153,721* 27,3082 7,886 218 9833 1,7533 * 1,630s — 2 7 .2 + 8 .2 + 2 7 .1 _ o .3 — 1 0 .8 — 2 9 .4 — 8 .9 — 1 0 .0 + 4 0 .2 — 4 4 .7 2,287 4,299 453,084* 82,4232 37,101 691 2,929* 5,080* * 5,307* — 39.1 — 2 2 .4 + 9 .6 — 9 .2 — 5 .8 — 3 1 .7 — 8 .3 — 10.7 + 1 8 .4 — 3 9 .9 1,338 + 1 1 .8 1,545 + 1 6 .8 9 .... 2actual number 4 first three months 9 (1923-1925— 100) Bank Debit* (24 cities)........................................... Commercial Failures (N u m ber).......................... ” ” (Liabilities)....................... Postal Receipts (9 cities)......................................... Sales— Life Insurance (Ohio & P a .).................... ” — Department Stores (53 firms)................. ** — Wholesale Drugs (12 firms)..................... ” — ” Dry Goods (10 firms)........... ” — ” Groceries (33 firms)............... ” — ” Hardware (14 firms).............. ” — ” All (6 9 ) ...................................... ” — Chain Drugs (3 firm s)**............................ Building Contracts (T otal)..................................... ** ” (Residential)......................... Production— Coal (O., W . Pa., E. K y .) ............ — Cement (O.. W . Pa., W . V a .) . . . ” Elec. Power (O ., Pa., K y .) * ............ ” — Petroleum (O ., Pa., K y .) * ............ *’ — Shoes................................................. .. Apr., Apr., Apr., 1933 1932 1931 100 64 46 114 125 145 182 105 136 98 115 86 93 129 80 67 68 97 63 81 99 32 36 61 50 58 76 73 46 51 56 76 47 74 87 61 23 77 10 56 10 11 49 65 44 26 69 18 129 144 117 105 109 95 62 74 87 Apr., Apr.. 1930 1929 122 139 93 108 58 58 129 123 155 145 103 109 112 106 95 80 90 90 84 102 90 96 86 82 98 108 74 110 85 86 121 117 147 143 129 109 68 91 oo yi ♦March. ^ **P er individual unit operated. Wholesale and Retail (1933 compared with 1932) Percentage Increase or Decrease SALES SALES ST O C K S April, First 4 April, 1933 months 1933 D E P A R T M E N T ST O R E S (53) Debits to Individual Accounts (Thousands Akron................... Butler.................. Canton................ Cincinnati.......... Cleveland........... Columbus........... D ayton................ Erie....................... Franklin.............. G r e e n s b u r g .... H amilton............ Homestead......... Lexington........... Lim a..................... Lorain.................. M id d le to w n .... Oil C ity.............. Pittsburgh.......... Springfield.......... Steubenville.. . . T oledo................. W arren................ Wheeling............ Y o u n g sto w n .... Zanesville........... Total........... .. 4 weeks ending M ay 1 /, 1933 24,156 5,183 15,146 187,882 285,708 79,577 32,450 14,007 1,968 3,553 5,724 1,473 12,038 4,749 1,756 5,172 4,283 429,341 8,610 3,600 $6,273 3,864 23,724 22,269 4,713 1,237,219 % change from 1932 — 4 8 .7 — 1 4 .8 — 1 .7 — 1 8 .6 — 2 3 .3 — 1 6.1 — 2 2 .2 — 35 .1 — 2 1 .3 — 2 4 .3 — 2 9 .6 — 3 4 .3 — 8 .2 — 3 8 .6 — 2 9 .4 — 1 0 .5 — 4 7 .4 — 1 7 .9 — 1 7 .6 — *21.8 — 2 5 .6 — 3 .8 — 4 .6 — 1 5 .4 — 1 0 .6 — 2 0 .7 of Dollars) Year-to-date Dec. 29, 1932 to M ay 17,1933 148,296 26,593 76,937 1 029,217 1*591,758 ’ 403,809 172,289 72,254 9,455 18,681 28,434 7,114 76,168 27,456 10,422 23,904 27,855 2,249,833 45,593 19,410 306,051 19,281 £114,379 100,460 22,707 6,628,356 Year-to-date Dec. 31, 1931 to M ay 18, 1932 264,256 30,767 92,525 1,294,803 2,223,338 507,705 232,540 114,142 14,977 28,395 40,490 11,950 91,592 39,174 16,316 30,248 44,526 2 785,049 62,873 28,706 394,260 24,015 139,509 142,159 29,603 8,683,918 % change from 1932 — 4 3 .9 — 1 3 .6 — 1 6 .8 — 2 0 .5 — 2 8 .4 — 2 0.5 — 2 5 .9 — 3 6 .7 — 3 6 .9 — 3 4 .2 — 2 9 .8 — 4 0 .5 — 1 6 .8 — 2 9 .9 — 3 6.1 — 2 1 .0 — 3 7 .4 — 1 9 .2 — 27 .5 — 3 2 .4 — 2 2 .4 — 1 9 .7 — 1 8 .0 — 2 9 .3 — 2 3 .3 Other Cities.................................................... — — — — — — — — — 4 .1 3 .9 3 .0 8 .7 11 .8 7 .8 4 .8 15 .7 8 .0 — — — — — — — — — 2 1 .8 2 0 .3 17.3 2 2 .4 2 3 .6 2 0 .8 2 5 .2 2 5 .4 2 1 .7 — 29.1 — 3 0 .6 — 3 3.3 — 2 0 .4 — 2 2 .9 — 2 7.1 — 2 1 .6 — 29 .8 — 2 6 .8 — 1 1 .7 — 2 3 .0 — 19.3 — 2 2 .4 — 3 5 .2 — 3 1 .0 — 2 5 .0 — 2 7 .2 — 26 .5 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — W E A R I N G A P P A R E L (11) Other Cities.................................... ................ F U R N IT U R E (44) Other Cities.................................................... C H A IN ST O R E S* Drugs-District ( 4 ) ........................................ Groceries-District ( 5 ) .................................. W H O L E S A L E G R O C E R IE S (33) Other Cities........................................... W H O L E S A L E D R Y GOODS ( 1 0 ) . . . . W H O L E S A L E D RU G S (1 3 )................. W H O L E S A L E H A R D W A R E ( 1 4 ) . .. 7 .6 7 .3 3 .4 2 4 .8 3 5 .6 8 .5 1 2 .7 2 2 .8 2 1 .0 2 8 .2 2 9 .2 3 6 .2 2 6.3 25 .5 — 18.1 — 8 .7 — 1 9 .4 — 8 .0 — 1 3 .6 — 1 0 .6 — 2 8 .6 + 0 .8 — 3 4.5 — 7 .5 — 1 3 .7 — 1 2 .7 — 2 4 .2 — 9 .9 — 1 9 .9 — 1 8 .0 — 2 3 .2 — 8 .0 — 3 0 .4 — 11 .8 — 17.3 — 21 .5 — 2 3 .2 — 19.3 — 22.2 — 18.3 .... 8 THE MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW Summary of National Business Conditions By the Federal Reserve Board Industrial activity increased considerably during April and the first three weeks of May and wholesale prices o f many leading com m odities ad vanced, particularly in the latter part o f April and the early part o f May. Follow ing the imposition o f an embargo on gold on April 20, the exchange value of the dollar declined and on May 20 was 87 per cent of its gold parity. Production and Employment Index of industrial production, adjusted for sea sonal variation (1923-1925 average 100) Latest figure, April, 67. Volume o f industrial production, as measured by the Board’s seasonally adjusted index, increased from 60 per cent o f the 1923-1925 average in March to 67 per cent in April, as compared with 63 per cent a year ago and a low of 58 per cent last July. Activity at steel mills increased from 15 per cent o f capacity in March to 25 per cent in April and there was a fur ther increase in the first three weeks o f May. Increased activity in the steel industry reflected chiefly increased demand from automobile producers and from miscellaneous sources, while demand from the railroad and con struction industries continued at low levels. At textile mills and shoe fac tories, production increased considerably during this period. Output of petroleum fluctuated widely, declining in the middle o f April and subse quently increasing to a high level. Volume o f factory employment and payrolls increased between the middle o f March and the middle o f April by an amount somewhat smaller than the decrease in the preceding month. Value o f construction contracts, as reported by the F. W . Dodge Cor poration, continued at previous low levels in April, but showed a consider able increase in the first half o f May. Total value o f awards in these six weeks was considerably smaller than in the corresponding period a year ago. Distribution Freight traffic, which was at a low level in March, increased during April and the first two weeks o f May by more than the usual seasonal amount, reflecting chiefly large increases in shipments o f miscellaneous prod ucts, grains and livestock. Department store sales increased sharply from March to April and the total for these two months showed slightly m ore than the usual sea sonal increase over the volume o f sales in January and February. Indexes based on three-month moving averages of F. W . Dodge data for 37 eastern states, ad justed for seasonal variations. (1923-1925 aver age = 100) Latest figure, April, 14. RESERVE BANK CREDIT AND FACTORS IN CHANGES Wholesale Prices During April, particularly in the latter part o f the month, there were substantial increases in the wholesale prices o f grains, flour, sugar, textile raw materials and finished products, hides, pig iron, nonferrous metals and rubber. Prices o f most o f these commodities continued to advance rapidly in the first two weeks o f May* and showed little change in the third^week of the month. Prices o f livestock, which did not advance in April, in creased considerably in the first three weeks o f May. Silver prices after advancing by a substantial amount in the latter part of April subsequently showed a decline, and petroleum prices also were reduced. Foreign Exchange During the four weeks follow ing the imposition o f the embargo on gold the exchange value of the dollar declined to 83 per cent o f its gold parity on May 5, but subsequently rose to 87 per cent on May 20. The noon buying rate on cable transfers on the French franc rose from 3.98 cents on April 18 to 4.50 cents on May 20, and the rate on the English pound rose from $3.49 to $3.87. Bank Credit <♦000 3000 J LV [A Reseirve Bank Cre< 1 Weekly figures, Wednesday series. are as of May 17, 1933. 1 <*000 3000 Latest figure* During the four weeks ending May 17, about $215,000,000 of additional currency was returned to the reserve banks, and on that date all but $200,000,000 o f the $1,930,000,000 withdrawn by banks and individuals between February 1 and March 13 had been returned. Funds arising from the re turn of currency during the four-week period were used to reduce reserve bank holdings o f acceptances by an additional $130,000,000 and to liquidate $85,000,000 of member bank indebtedness at the reserve banks. As the result of an addition of about $100,000,000 to the reserve banks’ holdings of gold and a further reduction of Federal reserve notes in circulation, the reserve ratio of the reserve banks rose considerably between April 19 and May 17. The decline in Federal reserve notes reflected in part an increase of $50,000,000 in Federal reserve bank notes in circulation. Loans and investments of reporting member banks in New York City in creased by about $400,000,000 between the middle of April and the middle of May reflecting chiefly a growth o f $200,000,000 in loans on securities, and o f $140,000,000 in investments in United States Government securities. Net demand deposits also increased by about $400,000,000, o f which one-third represented a further growth o f bankers’ balances. Money rates in the open market continued at low levels.
@FedFRASER