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MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS ISAAC B. NEWTON, Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Vol. X V San Francisco, California, April 20,1931 No. 4 S U M M A R Y O F N A T IO N A L C O N D IT IO N S Prepared by the Federal Reserve Board Further increase in industrial activity was reported for the month of March which usually shows little change from February. Factory employment and payrolls increased by the usual seasonal amount between the middle of February and the middle of March. The v ol ume of building contracts awarded in March showed considerable growth, largely of a sea sonal nature. The general level of wholesale prices continued to decline. Production and Employment. Industrial pro duction increased 2 per cent further in March and the Federal Reserve Board’s seasonally adjusted index stood at 88 per cent of the 19231925 average, compared with 104 per cent in March, 1930. There was a considerable in crease in daily average output of steel, which ordinarily shows little change from February to March, while production of automobiles in creased by about the usual seasonal percentage. A ctivity at cotton mills increased slightly, con trary to the ordinary seasonal movement, and the output of shoes increased substantially. In the first half of April steel mill activity declined. The number of men employed at factories increased between the middle of February and the middle of March by about the usual sea sonal amount. In the iron and steel and auto mobile industries somewhat larger than usual increases were shown and at textile mills and shoe factories, where the number employed ordinarily declines in March, substantial in creases in employment were reported. In the agricultural machinery and petroleum refining industries and at car-building shops em ploy ment declined contrary to the usual seasonal trend, and in the automobile tire and fertilizer industries the increase was less than usual. Volum e of building contracts awarded in March increased considerably from February, according to the F. W . Dodge Corporation, reflecting in large part developments of a sea sonal character. Contracts for residential build ing increased seasonally and were in about the same volume as a year ago, while contracts for public works and utilities rose to the high level of March, 1930. Agriculture. Definite improvement in mois ture conditions in the drought area was an im portant development in March and the first week of A pril; supplies of moisture in the topsoil have been replenished, but the subsoil continued to be dry in certain areas, particu larly in the spring wheat belt. Department of Agriculture estimates, based on April 1 condi tions, indicate a winter wheat crop of 644,000,000 bushels, about 100,000,000 bushels larger than the five-year average and 40,000,000 more than last year. Intentions to plant, as reported on March 1, indicate a considerable reduction in spring wheat acreage, and an increase in acreage to be planted to corn. IN DU STRIAL PRODUCTION FA C T O R Y EM PLOYMENT Index numbers of industrial production adjusted for seasonal varia tions (1923-1925 average=100). Federal Reserve Board's index of factory employment with adjustment for seasonal variations (1923-1925 average =100). 26 MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS Distribution. V olum e of freight carloadings increased seasonally in March and department store sales increased during the Easter season by about the usual amount. Prices. The general level of wholesale com modity prices continued to decline in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reflecting chiefly reductions in the prices of petroleum products, bituminous coal, and tex tile products. Prices of, farm products in creased slightly and there was a substantial A p r il, 1931 April 8, owing largely to an increase in their holdings of United States government obliga tions, while loans on securities as well as all other loans showed a decline for the four-week period. Volum e of reserve bank credit has fluctuated since the middle of February around a level of $925,000,000. Continued imports of gold, deposited by member banks with the re serve banks, have provided the member banks with sufficient funds to meet an increase in the demand for currency. United States governB iLLIO KlS O F D O L L A R S PER C E N T 10 r A L L O A N S v J W HOLESALE PRICES Indexes of United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (1926=100). advance in the price of hides. In the first half of April prices of many commodities including cattle, cotton, rubber, and coffee declined while the price of wheat advanced. Bank Credit. Loans and investments of mem ber banks in leading cities, which had increased in the middle of March as the result of Treas ury operations, showed a decline for every week between March 18 and April 8, but on the latter date were still $270,000,000 larger than four weeks earlier. Investment holdings of these banks were at a new high figure on ' L (D N O T H E R S E C U R I L O A N S / ^ T JkS t \f \ y y IN \/ E S T M E N T ; L _ . ........ MEMBER BANK CREDIT Monthly averages of weekly figures for reporting member banks in leading cities. Latest figures are averages of first three weeks in April. ment security holdings of the reserve banks have remained at the $600,000,000 level estab lished last summer, while discounts for mem ber banks have continued to decline and holdings of purchased acceptances have fluctu ated in response to temporary changes in the demand for reserve bank credit. M oney rates showed little change from the middle of March to the middle of April. Rates on commercial paper declined further from a prevailing rate of 2 per cent to a range of 2Y \-2y2 per cent, while bond yields increased slightly. T W E L F T H F E D E R A L R E S E R V E D IS T R IC T C O N D IT IO N S As in February, Tw elfth District business was relatively stable during March. It seems probable that, after allowance for seasonal movements, declines outnumbered advances, but by a smaller margin than during most months of the past year. Industrial production increased seasonally, while distributive activity was slightly lower than in February and whole sale com m odity prices continued to decline. Deficient soil moisture for the season to date retarded the normal growth of some crops and of forage on livestock ranges in parts of the District during March and early April. Rain fall in the Pacific Northwest during March improved the condition of livestock ranges and crops in that area and on April 1 it was esti mated that the harvest of winter wheat in W ashington and Oregon would be larger than last year. In the remainder of the District, production of winter wheat was expected to be smaller than in 1930. On March 1 farmers in tended to plant a smaller acreage of spring wheat, but larger acreages of most other field crops than were harvested in 1930. Markets for most important crops, for livestock, and for livestock products continued to be very un satisfactory to producers during March. Expansion of industrial production was ap proximately equal to the usual increase during March. This is the second consecutive month during which this phase of activity has, in the aggregate, shown only the customary seasonal changes. Output of crude and refined oils was practically the same as in February and lumber production increased seasonally. Copper pro duction and flour milling were slightly less active. Total value of building and construc tion, however, increased sharply during the month. This increase was principally because of the large H oover Dam contract, although A p ril, 1931 most types of engineering contracts were greater in value than in February. Em ploy ment increased seasonally, but there was fur ther evidence of wage reductions. Although trade activity as a whole declined slightly during March, department store sales increased, even after allowing for the usual gain over February and for the early Easter Sunday this year, and registrations of new automobiles rose by more than the seasonal amount. W holesale trade in the aggregate was less active than in February, seasonal factors allowed for, and there were further small de clines in District freight carloadings and in tercoastal traffic through the Panama Canal. The amount of Reserve Bank credit out standing in the Twelfth District has declined slightly during the past month. Member bank discounts have declined since the third week of March, but part of this decline was offset by sales of acceptances to the Reserve Bank. Both commercial and security loans of reporting member banks declined somewhat, while total investments changed little, a decline in hold ings of government securities being about offset by increases in investments in other securities. Net demand deposits of reporting member banks remained practically unchanged during the month and time deposits rose slightly. Interest rates charged customers con tinued to move downward slowly. Agriculture During late March and early April the cumu lative effect of the season’s subnormal rainfall in the Twelfth District was made apparent by a decline in the condition of livestock ranges and grow ing crops on dry land farms in Cali fornia and parts of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Tim ely rains throughout the Pacific Northwest during late March helped to replenish soil moisture in that area, although these supplies are still less than usual. Storage of irrigation water in the mountain areas continues less than normal in almost all parts of the District. Prices of agricultural products being marketed in the District have moved slightly lower dur ing the past month. On April 1 the fall-sown wheat crop in the Pacific Northwest was in excellent condition. FALL-SOWN WHEAT Condition Indicated (Percent of normal) Production HarApr.l, vested ,— April 1-----* Dec.l, 1931 1930 1931 1930 1930 (Inthousands ofbushels) Arizona ...................... 89 98 95 1,000 1,288 California .................. 79 85 87 10,000 13,020 86 94 12,000 13,520 Idaho ........................ 93 Nevada ...................... ..92 98 94 70 48 Oregon ...................... 94 85 89 19,000 18,538 Utah .......................... ..88 91 95 2,600 3,735 Washington .............. .. 92 50 82 39,000 20,240 Twelfth D is t r ic t .............. ............ .. 83,670 70,389 United States .......... ...88.8 77.4 86.3 643,920 604,337 Source: United States Department of Agriculture. 27 FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO The condition of that crop in the southern part of the District was less satisfactory, reflecting the lack of sufficient rainfall in the dry farming areas which produce wheat. Data collected by the United States Depart ment of Agriculture show that on March 1 farmers in the District intended to plant larger acreages of barley, oats, beans, potatoes, and rice but smaller acreages of spring wheat than were harvested in 1930. These early figures on intentions to plant frequently differ consider ably from actual plantings, however, because of the week-to-week influences of the market situation, climatic conditions, and other factors. INTENTIONS TO PLANT-1931 (Inper cent of 1930 harvested acreage) Ariz. Calif. Idaho Nev. Ore. Utah Wash. Spring Wheat . . .. 76 120 95 92 65 Oats ............ 125 104 100 100 95 104 100 B a r le y .......... 140 101 110 100 116 125 100 R i c e ...................... 114 Grain Sorghum .. 120 87 .. .. .. . . .. P o ta to e s___ 115 112 112 90 110 120 102 100 108 ..100 .. .. Beans .......... 100 Source: United States Department of Agriculture. U.S. 88.0 106.5 112.0 97.1 106.6 110.7 98.5 Production estimates of the forthcoming de ciduous fruit crops in the Pacific Coast states are not yet available. Blossoming of fruit trees in these states has been heavy, however, and somewhat earlier than in the spring of 1930. Lemon and Valencia orange crops in Cali fornia are maturing rapidly. The forthcom ing crop of Valencia oranges is currently estimated to be much larger than the crop harvested in 1930 (10,930,000 boxes). Prices for dairy products declined during late March and early April, a reflection in part of the heavy receipts of these products during recent weeks at Pacific Coast markets. The price for 92-score butter at San Francisco, changes in which usually correspond closely Agricultural Marketing Activity— Carlot Shipments Lemons ............ Oranges ............ Vegetables (Cal.) Eggs (Cal., Ore., Wash.) . . , Beans (Cal., Idaho) ........ Exports Wheat ( b u . ) . . . . Barley (b u .). . . . Receipts t------ M arch------- > 1931 1930 3,607 1,159 7,391 6,046 2,458 749 4,705 7,026 447 339 301 97,498 512,735 808,541 526,053 62,143 12,265 216,876 205,711 213,027 Eggs (cases)f. . Butter (lb s.)t •. • 6,142,272 Storage Holdings (end of the month) Wheat (b u .)___ 6,584,000 Beans (bags— Cal.) .............. 1,410,019 Butter (lb s.)$ . . . 270,133 Eggs (cases)$ ... 197,789 69,251 12,157 169,654 171,931 209,410 5,866,754 (— Season to Date — 1930 1931 43,235§ 2,669* 18,966* 42,360 58,594§ 4,333* 28,656* 39,819 1,397 1,094 4,348 5,083 13,894,659§ 20,952,936§ 7,792,476§ 8,850,496§ 185,271 33,971 670,955 691,119 519,155 16,960,723 202,742 36,327 580,950 510,696 514,716 16,069,430 4,886,000 ................................ 678,853 208,042 203,198 ................................ ................................ ................................ §Season begins July 1. *Season begins November 1. markets. fThree markets. $Eight 28 MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS with changes in other dairy products prices at Pacific Coast markets, declined from 29 cents per pound in late March to 24 cents per pound in mid-April. In April, 1930, this quotation was 38 cents per pound. The seasonal place ment of eggs in cold storage reduced the sup plies of eggs available for current consumption and prices were maintained at 1 9 % cents a dozen (United States Extras, San Francisco) during March and early April. Receipts of cattle at eight markets in the District were greater during March than in February but somewhat smaller than in March, 1930. The seasonal shift in market shipments from feedlot cattle to grass-fat cattle is now underway. Beef cattle prices have been rela tively stable in recent weeks at levels approxi mately 30 per cent lower than a year ago. Spring lambing and w ool shearing are now seasonally important in the sheep raising areas of the District. Trade associations report that both the w ool clip and lamb crop this year will be larger than in 1930. Eastern shipments of California spring lambs started relatively early this year, 53,800 head of live and dressed lambs having been m oved to eastern markets up to April 1 in comparison with 8,600 head shipped during the corresponding period last year. Be cause of poor feed conditions in California, which are expected to affect unfavorably the condition of spring lambs, the proportion of fat lambs marketed this spring will probably be less than a year ago. Recent sales of the 1931 w ool clip have been at prices approximately 20 per cent less than in the spring of 1930, while lamb prices have declined about 25 per cent over the year period. Industry Industrial activity in the Tw elfth District remains at relatively low levels. During the past two months, however, there has been an encouraging cessation of the declines in most of this Bank’s seasonally adjusted indexes of industrial output and approximately the ex pected seasonal increase was evident during March in most lines of industry. During the ten months prior to these changes nearly all of the indexes had moved downward almost without interruption. Building and construc tion, even after allowance for the H oover Dam contract, increased rather sharply during March. Available data indicate that em ploy ment throughout the District also increased during the month by about the customary February-March amount. The tendency to re duce wage rates has persisted, especially in the employment of additional agricultural workers. Building and construction in the District showed the most striking improvement of any April, 1931 of the industries for which this Bank main tains records. This was due in large part, of course, to the letting of the contract for the H oover Dam, but even after deducting the value of this major contract, which approxi mated $49,000,000, there was more than the usual increase in value of construction activity generally. The value of engineering contracts awarded for projects other than industrial buildings was moderately large and the value of building permits for residential construction in the smaller cities of the District increased by more than the normally expected amount. Value of building permits in the larger cities, however, failed to increase as much as sea sonally during the month. During the first quarter of 1931 the average value per building permit issued in the District was 16 per cent smaller than in 1930 and 30 per cent smaller than during the past seven years. No com posite index of building costs in the Twelfth Federal Reserve District is available, but on the basis of reductions in Pacific Coast prices of many building materials and from the de cline in indexes of building costs in the United States as a whole, it appears probable that an appreciable part of the declines in the average value of permits resulted from lower building costs in this District. The output of lumber in the Tw elfth D is trict increased by approximately the usual amount during March, but the total amount produced, as in preceding months, was smaller than for the corresponding month in any year since 1921. Orders and shipments did not in crease as much as did production; consequently the ratios of these factors to production de creased. Declines in these ratios, however, are usual occurrences during March. Industry— Indexes of 'daily average production, adjusted for seasonal variations (1923-1925 daily arera£e“»100) 1931--------* 1930 General : Mar. Feb. Jan. Mar. Carloadings— Industrial ............ ......... 64 66 75 Ill Electric Power Production 151 151 151 Manufactures : 59 63 112 ........ 60 Refined Mineral O i l s f ................ 140 133 184 101 105 100 Slaughter of Livestock................ 86 70 72 96 88 75 W ool Consumption! ................... . 77 54 63 Minerals: Petroleum (California) t ............ 81 81 98 Copper (United States) $............ ......... 70 71 76 88 Lead (United States) $................ ........ 79 82 107 83 Silver (United S ta tes )!.............. . 62 68 93 Building and Construction^ 56 57 67 Value of Building Permits Twenty Larger C it ie s ............ ......... 36 44 44 54 Seventy Smaller Cities .......... ......... 45 45 47 59 Value of Engineering Contracts Awarded Total ...................................... . 83 96 124 Excluding Buildings .......... ........ 308 107 117 124 tN ot adjusted for seasonal variations. ^Prepared by Federal Reserve Board. § Indexes are for three months ending with the month indicated. 29 FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO A p r il, 1931 There was little or no change in the produc tion of petroleum during March. Daily aver age output of crude oil remained approximately the same as in January and February— about 525,000 barrels. The most important develop ment of the month was in the petroleum price structure. Prices of crude oil declined sharply and there were also drastic reductions in .quota tions for gasoline. The ill effects of this mar ket weakness within the industry were more keenly felt in those areas producing crude oil having a high gasoline content, the declines in prices of light crudes being greater actually and relatively than the decreases in prices of heavy crudes. A ctivity in the mining industry declined dur ing March, output of both copper and lead be ing at a slower rate than in February. Output of the District’s flour mills declined slightly from February to March as a result of the continued unsettled condition of the wheat market. Dom estic demand for flour did not im prove and, because of the relatively higher wheat prices in domestic markets, foreign busi ness remained negligible. Purchases of wheat by mills were reported to be for immediate needs only. the occurrence of Easter Sunday early in April, and registrations of new automobiles increased sharply from the low February level. Value of sales of reporting wholesale houses was 18 per cent lower in March, 1931, than in March, 1930, a year-to-year decline of the same magnitude as that recorded for the first three months of the year. The value of reported wholesale transactions was smaller than in any March since these figures have been col lected (1919). RETAIL TRADE—Twelfth District STOCKS* ,--------- NET SALES*--------- * Jan.1 to Mar., 1931 Mar., 1931 Mar. 31,1931 compared compared compared with with with Jan. 1 to Mar., 1930 Mar.31,1930 Mar., 1930 Department S to r e s f..— 6.8 ( 64) — 8.6 ( 64) — 14.1 (49) 8.9 ( 27) — 14.2 (18) Apparel S to r e s .......... — 4.5 ( 28) Furniture Stores . . . . — 10.0 ( 43) — 13.2 ( 43) — 14.0 (32) — 9.2 (134) — 14.1 (99) All Stores .................. — 7.1 (135) *Percentage increase or decrease (— ). Figures in parentheses in dicate number of stores reporting, flncludes dry goods stores. Some further decrease in distribution through primary channels was apparent during March but the rate of decline was less than in most recent months. Seasonally adjusted in dexes of wholesale sales, carloadings, and inter coastal shipping were at lower levels than in any other month of the current business de pression. Sales of department stores on the other hand were stimulated during March by Department store sales increased by consid erably more than the usual amount during March, largely because the Easter trading period was earlier than in most years. This improvement in excess of seasonal proportions was evident in all parts of the District except Salt Lake City. Compared with March, 1930, increases were recorded in the value of depart ment store sales of millinery, gloves, w om en’s and misses’ coats, juniors’ and girls’ wear, and wom en’s sports wear. Registrations of new automobiles in the Twelfth District increased substantially more than seasonally during March and were only 7 per cent fewer in number than in March, 1930. This is the smallest decline from the corresponding month in the preceding year since January, 1930. E m p lo y m e n t — D is tr ib u tio n a n d T ra d e — Trade No. of No. of No. <—Employees No. *— Employees of Mar., Mar., of Mar., Mar., Industries Firms 1931 1930 Firms 1931 1930 All Industries*___ 920 137,021 167,271 133 18,569 21,835 Stone, Clay and (- 1S;°> Glass Products. 49 5,542 7,201 3 180 219 Lumber and W ood (— 23.0) (— 17.8) Manufactures .. 117 15,804 19,325 46 10,164 12,537 (— 18.2) (— 18.9) Textiles .............. 18 2,152 2,334 9 1,441 1,637 Clothing, Millinery (— 7.8) (— 12.0) 7% and Laundering. 98 9,125 9,749 342 364 Food, Beverages, ( ^.4) ( 6.0) and T o b a c c o ... 203 26,253 27,465 39 1,525 1,636 (— 4.4) (— 6.8) Public U tilities... 38 54,299 60,243 .................................... (— 9.9) Other Industriesf. 400 70,328 92,111 .. ... ... (— 23.6) Miscellaneous . . . 35 7,817 9,086 29 4,917 5,442 Wholesale and ^ 14.0) ( 9.6) Retail .............. 137 34,901 37,196 - 1931 1 1930 Jan. Mar. Feb. Index Numbers*Carloadingst 82 84 108 . r 80 92 111 91 Merchandise and Miscellaneous.. . 95 Foreign Trade0 9111 124 110 88ÏÏ 132 92 94 Intercoastal Trade0 91 83 86 Total ............................................... . 76 110 86 92 97 Westbound ...................................... 81 82 86 Eastbound ...................................... 73 Retail Trade Automobile Salesî 71 84 101 Total ............................................ . 94 67 78 96 Passenger C a r s .......................... . 92 115 144 158 Commercial V e h ic le s................ . 123 Department Store . I ll 108 1050 1180 Stocks§ ........................................ . 92 92 93 1060 ------ Actual FiguresStock Turnover || .27 .22 .25 .25 Collections# R e g u la r ............ ...................... 43.5 40.9 44.8 44.5 Installment . . . . ...................... 15.9 14.8 15.9 14.9 *Public utilities and wholesale and retail figures not included in this total. $Laundering only, flncludes the following indus tries : metals, machinery and conveyances; leather and rubber g o o d s; oils and paints; printing and paper goods. Figures in parentheses indicate percentage change from March, 1930. *Adjusted for seasonal variations, 1923-1925 average=100. ‘’ In dexes are for three months ending with month indicated. tExcluding raw silk. $Daily average. §At end of month. ||Proportion of average stocks sold during month. # P e r cent of collections during month to amount outstanding at first of month. ^Revised. IfPreliminary. f------ - California-----—«. r---------- Oregon • -------■n _____ (—6.2) Mar. 30 MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS April, 1931 Intercoastal traffic through the Panama Canal continued to decline sharply during March. During the first three months of the current year intercoastal trade dropped pre cipitately, reversing the upward tendency of the last half of 1930. A fter allowance for sea sonal changes the volume of cargo shipped during the first quarter of 1931 was 14 per cent smaller than in the last three months of 1930. Shipments of each of the three most important commodities in the eastbound traffic (petro leum, lumber, and canned goods) were sub stantially lower than in the first quarter of 1930. Volum e of practically all classes of com modities shipped to the west coast declined, decreases being particularly pronounced in shipments of articles of iron and steel manu facture, sulphur, tin plate, and automobiles and automobile accessories. Railroad freight moved in the District did not increase by the customary seasonal amount during March. T his decline was entirely the result of a further reduction in the volume of industrial freight loaded, inasmuch as loadings of merchandise and miscellaneous commodities increased by more than the seasonal expecta tions. Cattle and hogs, District market receipts of which were larger during March than in Febru ary, have continued to decline moderately in price. Quotations for California spring lambs (marketing of this year’s crop in substantial volume began during March, somewhat earlier than usual) have been from 25 to 30 per cent lower than a year ago. Prices for w ool have risen slightly in eastern markets since midMarch. Rubber has declined to the lowest price ever recorded, while prices of cotton, beans, hay, potatoes, and butter have recently declined slightly. Sugar, oranges, and lemons on the other hand have been quoted at slightly rising prices. Quotations for crude oil were sharply re duced during March and there were further declines in retail and wholesale prices of gaso line. United States M otor gasoline, quoted f.o.b. California refinery or seaboard terminal, has also declined substantially in price during recent weeks. Prices Building materials prices at the principal District markets have been steady to slightly rising during the first quarter of 1931. Com mon brick, structural steel, and sand and gravel prices have advanced a little while quotations A small rise in most weekly indexes of wholesale prices between late February and mid-March has been slightly more than offset by declines in such composite measures during the past month. The Bureau of Labor Sta tistics’ monthly index of wholesale prices declined from 75.5 (1926 = 100) in February to 74.5 in March. This decline was due chiefly, however, to sharp decreases in prices of fuels and textiles, there having been advances in group indexes of metals, building materials, hides, and farm products. This is the first month in which these indexes have advanced since 1929, excepting the drought period of August-September, 1930, when the indexes of hides and farm products rose slightly. Retail prices of food at principal Pacific Coast cities continued to decline between February 15 and March 15 but, like wholesale price decreases, the declines were less pronounced than in other recent months. Prices o f wheat for delivery before July have tended to rise slightly in national markets since early March. Options for July futures, however, continued to decline irregularly dur ing March at both Chicago and Pacific Coast markets, but during April they have risen per ceptibly. A lthough the disparity between do mestic and world prices for wheat has recently diminished, exports from Pacific Coast ports are still exceedingly small. PRICES OF CRUDE OIL A N D GASOLINE-California ,------------ 1931 ----------s 1930 1929 Apr. 20 Mar. 20 Feb. 20 Apr. 21 Apr. 22 Petroleum, Crude, 30° gravity, well, per b b l.. $0.35 $0.65 $1.35 $1.47 $1.22 Gasoline, Refinery, 54-58° gravity, per gal................... 035 .041 .098.074 .090 Bank Debits* — March, Arizona 1931 Phoenix ............ $ 33,030 California 10,904 B akersfield........ Berkeley ........... 15,051 22,360 Fresno .............. 42,542 Long Beach . 860,412 Los Angeles 180,571 Oakland ............ 32,009 Pasadena .......... 45,267 Sacramento 8,863 San Bernardino, 47,890 San D i e g o ........ San Francisco . . 1,059,858 23,177 San Jose .......... 13,238 Santa Barbara . 16,625 Stockton ........ Idaho 11,832 Nevada 8,605 Oregon 5,267 144,347 P o rtla n d .......... . Utah 14,485 Salt Lake Cii y . 62,526 Washington Bellingham . . . 7,259 9,448 Everett .......... 212,039 41,905 Spokane .......... Tacoma .......... 36,294 13,208 Y akima .......... T otal................ $2,979,012 *In thousands of dollars. $ March, 1930 40,164 r-First Three Months—% 1930 1931 97,976 $ 124,431 $ 35,808 48,663 70,134 137,140 2,614,040 574,205 100,688 136,497 27,093 154,564 3,164,792 73,409 40,744 52,825 42,197 61,581 132,002 149,297 3,165,756 593,622 112,792 142,973 32,601 176,558 3,967,189 84,723 46,322 75,326 12,791 37,810 41,432 10,687 27,528 32,813 6,649 180,543 16,287 417,287 19,329 506,318 17,651 74,559 43,220 187,865 51,240 229,404 9,935 13,996 260,891 60,914 48,255 14,795 20,631 27,732 589,260 130,547 104,500 38,285 26,933 39,621 730,189 160,430 134,976 41,019 13,261 19,757 42,936 50,479 1,088,138 222,784 39,456 45,728 10,950 57,803 1,530,955 26,664 15,091 24,711 $3,940,543 $8,969,530 $10,921,074 A p r il, 1931 FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO for cement have remained unchanged. Average lumber prices declined slightly during the quarter. After rising from a low of 25% cents per fine ounce on February 16 to 3 1 ^ cents per fine ounce on March 16, silver prices again moved downward and were quoted on April 20 at 28%. A dull market for copper has been ac companied by renewed weakness in the price of that com m odity which, on April 20, sold at 9 cents per pound, delivered Connecticut Valley. Credit Situation There was little change in the credit situa tion during the past four weeks. Borrowings from the Reserve Bank continued small in amount and for relatively short terms. Net demand and time deposits of reporting member banks remained practically stationary while loans declined. The tendency to reduce rates paid on savings accounts, large demand de posits, and bankers’ balances has gained m o mentum during the past month in the larger cities of the District. This tendency is a result of easy money conditions in the short-term in vestment markets and the steady reduction of rates charged customers of banks in the larger cities, which rates continued to decline slightly between mid-March and April 15. There were only slight changes in net de mand and time deposits of reporting member banks during the month, while government deposits declined substantially. The decrease in government deposits, as well as an accom panying decline in holdings of government securities, was partly offset as a result of ad ditional Treasury financing in mid-April. Although there was little change in total net demand and time deposits, deposits other than those of bankers and the government rose m od erately during the four-week period. This rise was probably the result of government expen ditures in commercial channels which reduced government deposits and caused funds paid out to be redeposited as ordinary demand or time deposits. Both commercial loans and loans on securities declined slightly while investments in securities other than governments increased somewhat. Daily average discounts at the Federal R e serve Bank of San Francisco were slightly lower during the last half of March and the first half of April, than during the preceding four weeks. City banks secured some additional funds by the sale of acceptances to the Federal Reserve Bank, thus availing themselves of the relatively low Reserve Bank buying rate on acceptances. An average of 14 million dollars of locally purchased bills was held by the R e serve Bank on the first three report dates in 31 April, compared with 10 million dollars during March and Ay2 million dollars during Febru ary. San Francisco banks continued to obtain funds also by employing large amounts of excess reserves of eastern banks on a day-today basis although the volume of such funds averaged smaller than in the preceding month. Considering the four-week period as a whole, there was a moderate outflow of funds from the District through the Gold Settlement Fund. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO (in millions of dollars) •Condition Apr. 15, Apr. 8, Mar. 18, Apr. 16, 1931 1931 1931 1930 Total Bills and Securities.......... 63 64 70 78 Bills Discounted .................... 10 6 6 12 Bills B o u g h t ............................ 18 19 19 31 United States Securities........ 39 39 39 37 Total Reserves ............................ 299 316 280 296 Total Deposits ............................ 184 198 188 183 Federal Reserve Notes in Circu lation ........................................ 162 161 160 157 Ratio of Total Reserves to De posit and Note Liabilities Combined ................................ 86.4 87.8 85.0 82.5 In addition to the slight reduction in borrow ings from the Reserve Bank between March 18 and April 15 there was also a small decline in the net amount of funds of outside banks in use by San Francisco banks. There was little change in the aggregate amount of funds required by member banks, and the reductions in bankers’ balances as well as the other losses through the Gold Settlement Fund were offset by Treasury expenditures in excess of collections, by Mint purchases of new and imported gold, and by a slight decrease in the amount of currency in circulation. REPORTING MEMBER BANKS-Twelfth District (In millions of dollars) -----Con<lition Apr. 15, Apr. 8, Mar. 18 Apr. 16, 1931 1930 1931 1931 Loans and Investments— Total. 1,982 1,967 2,001 1,973 Loans— Total ........................ 1,257 1,360 1,240 1,237 On Securities .................. 343 340 347 450 All O t h e r .......................... 897 910 897 910 Investments— Total ............ 742 730 744 613 372 United States^ Securities.. 379 387 349 Other S ecu rities.............. 363 357 264 358 Reserve with Reserve B ank.. 106 117 111 105 Net Demand D e p o sits ............ 760 752 760 742 Time D e p osits.......................... 1,038 1,035 1,028 1,025 Due from B a n k s ...................... 212 198 208 168 Due to B a n k s .......................... 275 271 287 226 Borrowings at Reserve Bank. 0 0 7 1 Fluctuations in monetary circulation of the Twelfth District as a whole have been similar to changes in national circulation during the past few months, as has been the case over a period of years. Changes in currency circula tion in individual areas served by the several offices of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco have not, however, corresponded closely with each other. These changes are shown in the charts on the following page. The tendency for circulation to increase or decrease steadily in any given area (as, for example, the steady downward movement in Seattle) does not take account of currency carried into or out of such areas by travelers. 32 MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS A p r il, 1931
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