Full text of Federal Reserve Bulletin : May 1925
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FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD AT WASHINGTON Trade and Industry in the First Quarter of 1925 Business Conditions in the United States Business and Banking Conditions in Europe WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD Ex officio members: D. R. CRISSINGER, Governor. EDMUND PLATT, Vice Governm. A. W. MELLON, ADOLPH C. CHARLES S. GEORGE R. EDWARD H. Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman, J. W. MCINTOSH, Comptroller of the Currency, MILLER. HAMLIN. JAMES. CUNNINGHAM. WALTER L. EDDY, Secretary, WALTER WYATT, General Counsel, J. C. NOELL, Assistant Secretary. W. M. IMLAY, Fiscal Agent, WALTER W. STEWART, Director, Divisionjof Research and Statistics, E. A. GOLDENWEISER, Assistant Director, Division of Research and Statistics. E. L. SMEAD, Chief, Division of BanklOperations. J. F. HERSON, Chief, Division of Examination, and Chief Federal Reserve Examiner. FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL District No. 1 (BOSTON) District No. 2 ( N E W YORK) District No. 3 (PHILADELPHIA) District No. 4 (CLEVELAND) District No. 5 (RICHMOND) District No. 6 (ATLANTA) District No. 7 (CHICAGO) District No. 8 (ST. LOUIS) District No. 9 (MINNEAPOLIS) District No. 10 (KANSAS CITY) District No. 11 (DALLAS) District No. 12 (SAN FRANCISCO) II _ _ . CHAS. A. MORSS. PAUL M. WARBURG, President. _ L. L. R U E . GEORGE A. COULTON. JOHN M. MiLLER,!Jr. OSCAR WELLS. FRANK O. WETMORE. BRECKINRIDGE JONES. G. H. PRINCE. ___ E. F. SWINNEY, Vice President W. M. MCGREGOR. HENRY S. M C K E E . OFFICERS OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS Federal Reserve Bank o— f Governor Chairman Cashier Deputy governor Boston New York.. Frederic H. Curtiss. PierreJay W. P. G.Harding.. Benj. Strong W. W. Paddock-.. J.H. Case L. F. Sailer G. L. Harrison E. R. Kenzel Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond R. L. Austin D. C. Wills Wm. W. Hoxton. Oscar Newton Wm. A. Heath... Geo. W. Norris. E. R. Fancher.. George J. Seay.. Wm. H. Hutt M. J. Fleming Frank J. Zurlinden. C. A. Peple R. H. Broaddus J. L. Campbell Creed Taylor C. R. McKay John H. Blair Atlanta Chicago M. B. Wellborn. J. B. McDougal. St. Louis Minneapolis... Wm. McC. MartinJohn R.Mitchell... D. C. Biggs R. A. Young Kansas City.. Dallas San Francisco. M. L. McClure. Lynn P. Talley. John Perrin W.J. Bailey B. A. McKinney.. J. U. Calkins 1 Controller. W. Willett. L. H. Hendricks.1 A. W. GilbarU J. W. Jones.* G. E. Chapin.i Ray M. Gidney.» L. R. Rounds.1 W. A. Dyer. J.C.Nevin. Geo. H. Keesee. John S. Walden, jr.* M. W. Bell. W. C. Bachman.J K. C. Child8.i J. H. Dillard.i D. A. Jones.* O. J. Netterstrom.i Clarke Washburne.i J.W. White. Gray Warren. Frank C. Dunlop.1 O. M. Attebery W. B Geery B.V.Moore Harry Yaeger» C. A. Worthington. R. R. Gilbert Val. J. Grund Wm. A. Day Ira Clerk L. C. Pontious J. W. Helm. R. B. Coleman. W. N. Ambrose. ' Assistant deputy governor. MANAGING DIRECTORS OF BRANCHES OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANES Federal Reserve Bank o— f New York: Buffalo branch Cincinnati branch Pittsburgh branch Richmond: Baltimore branch 1 Atlanta: New Orleans branch Jacksonville branch Birmingham branch Nashville branch.... Chicago: Detroit branch St. Louis: Louisville branch Memphis branch Little Rock branch Managing director W. W. Schneckenburger. L. W. Manning. Geo.DeCamp. A. H. Dudley. Marcus Walker. Geo. R. DeSaussure. A. E. Walker. J. B. Fort, jr. W. R. Cation. W. P. Kincheloe. V. S. Fuqua. A. F. Bailey. Federal Reserve Bank o— f Minneapolis: Helena branch Omaha branch Denver branch Oklahoma City branch Dallas: El Paso branch Houston branch San Francisco: Los Angeles branch Portland branch Salt Lake City branch Seattle branch.. Spokane branch Managing director R. E. Towle. L. H. Earhart. J. E. Olson. C. E. Daniel. D. P. Reordan. Fred Harris. C. J. Shepherd. Frederick Greenwood. R. B. Motherwell. C. R. Shaw. W. L. Partner. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OF BULLETIN is the board's medium of communication with member banks of the Federal reserve system and is the only official organ or periodical publication of the board. It contains, in addition to the regular official announcements, the national review of business conditions, detailed analyses of business conditions, research studies, reviews of foreign banking, and complete statistics showing the condition of Federal reserve banks and member banks. The BULLETIN will be sent to all member banks without charge. To others the subscription price, which covers the cost of paper and printing, is $2, Single copies will be sold at 20 cents. THE FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN in TABLE OF CONTENTS The month: Review of the month—Trade and industry in the first quarter of 1925 Business conditions in the United States Business and banking conditions in Europe Special articles: Indexes of factory employment and pay rolls Turnover of stocks at department stores Official: Changes in State bank membership Fiduciary powers granted to national banks Changes in national bank membership Business statistics for the United States: Industrial activity *. Commodity movements Wholesale and retail trade Foreign banking and business conditions: Annual reports of central banks for 1924 Financial statistics for principal foreign countries Foreign trade of principal countries Price movements in principal countries— Federal Reserve Board wholesale price indexes Wholesale prices in principal countries Retail prices and cost of living in principal countries Banking and financial statistics: Federal reserve banks— Condition of Federal reserve banks Federal reserve note account Holdings of earning assets Discount and open-market operations of Federal reserve banks Gold settlement fund Discount rates of Federal reserve banks Member banks— Condition of reporting member banks in leading cities Bankers' balances at reporting member banks in Federal reserve bank cities Deposits of all member banks Bank debits Money rates in principal cities Money in circulation Gold and silver imports and exports Foreign exchange rates and index IV Page 297 302 323 324 331 333 333 333 334 337 338 340 345 348 349 350 351 352 356 357 358 364 363 359 360 361 362 365 363 366 367 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN VOL. 11 MAY, 1925 REVIEW OF THE MONTH Industrial activity, as reflected in the output of basic industries, has been considerably greater during the first quarter of 1925 than for the first three months of Production and 1 9 2 4 ; a n a has been near the prices of basic record levels of the early commodities. part of 1923. Though production declined somewhat in February and March from the high point reached in January, the volume remained as large as at any time in 1924. The high level of production during the first quarter of this year was the outcome of an advance during the latter part of last year at a rate more rapid than could be sustained, as is indicated by the recent recession and the declines in prices of certain raw materials. During the period of increasing output of basic commodities since the summer of 1924, while production rose to a level as high as at the peak in 1923, prices of these commodities, though they advanced, continued to be considerably below the 1923 level. The demand for commodities, both at home and abroad, has been larger during the first quarter of 1925 than a year ago and has been reflected in a larger volume of distribution to domestic consumers and in increased export trade. Larger foreign demand for American products since the middle of last year resulted in a total value of exports 11 per Foreign demand for American products. c e n t l a r g e r i n t h e l a s t h a l f of 1924 than in the last half of the year before, and 15 per cent larger in the first quarter of 1925 than for the corresponding quarter a year ago. For the period of eight months ending in February the increase in exports has represented principally larger foreign takings of crude materials and foodstuffs, in some cases at considerably higher prices.. Ninety per cent of the net increase in No. 5 the value of exports for the period is represented by the increase in the value of exports of cotton, wheat, and copper. For these commodities, furthermore, the relative importance of the foreign demand as compared with the domestic has been greater for the period since last summer than it was for the corresponding period in 1923-24. Exports of cotton increased 49 per cent in quantity and represented 51 per cent of the American crop, as against 46 per cent a year ago. Exports of copper increased a little more than 17 per cent in quantity, and represented 45 per cent of North and South American production for the period, against 39 per cent a year ago. Exports of wheat increased 153 per cent in quantity and represented 19 per cent of the crop, against 8 per cent a year ago. Except in the case of wheat, the increased value of exports was due almost altogether to an increase in the quantity exported and not to an advance in prices. Increased exports of these products have been in response to a larger demand from a number of important foreign countries. Since the first of August 56 per cent more cotton has been exported to Great Britain, 44 per cent more to Germany, and 45 per cent more to Japan. Copper exports, for the eight months ending with February have been in larger volume to Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; in decreased quantities to Sweden, China, and Japan, and in about the same volume to France and to Great Britain, Copper manufactures have also been exported in somewhat greater volume than a year ago, the most notable increases in demand coming from Great Britain and Cuba, while the demand from Canada, France, and Brazil declined. All the wheat-importing countries of Europe, by reason of short crops, have been under the necessity of importing more wheat than usual, and 297 298 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN have taken larger quantities from the United States; the largest increases, as measured in bushels, were in exports to Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Germany. Increased purchases by most importing countries of Continental Europe have reflected better industrial and financial conditions in these countries, with improved ability to borrow funds abroad, and with some increase in the purchasing power of ultimate consumers. Among the domestic industries, which have been the source of a considerable part of the increase in the domestic deBuilding and m a n d for materials, are the au omo 1 e m- c o n s t r u c t i o n industry and more dustnes. i-i recently the automobile industry. Building activity has been expanding almost continuously since 1921 and has absorbed in recent years about 18 per cent of the annual output of the steel mills, together with large quantities of other building materials, and has been responsible for a considerable part of the increase in railroad shipments. Production of building materials in the third quarter of last year exceeded all previous high records, and during the winter showed no more than a seasonal recession. Recent demand for building and building materials, as indicated by contracts awarded, has been larger than a year ago. For at least two years increased demand for residential construction and for other types of nonindustrial building has represented the bulk of new construction. The record value of awards in March for the country as a whole, which was shown notwithstanding the 50 per cent decline in contracts for residential construction in New York City, reflected large increases in construction in all the other districts of the country. The sustained demand for building materials has helped to maintain production in basic industries at its recent high level. In the automobile industry the recession in demand, which began about a year ago and was accompanied from April through December by a substantial decrease in the rate of production, has recently come to an end, and seasonal expansion in the rate of distribution during the first quarter of this year has been MAY, 1925 accompanied by larger production, both shipments and production, however, remaining substantially below the extraordinary levels of a year ago. Stocks of new cars in the hands of dealers and manufacturers are much smaller than at the end of the first quarter a year ago, and there has been some decrease in the number of producers and dealers. The demand for automobile tires, having had no recession in the first half of 1924, was larger in the second half of that year and for the first quarter of 1925, but prices were somewhat lower than a year ago, notwithstanding the marked increase in the price of crude rubber. Stocks of tires and tubes declined seasonally last summer, but increased somewhat at the end of 1924, and at the end of the first quarter of 1925 were 25 per cent larger than for the corresponding period a year ago, reflecting in part anticipation by producers of a large replacement demand for tires by automobile owners, whose number has increased rapidly during the past two years. The relative importance of the demand for automobiles and tires in the total demand for goods by consumers is indicated by the estimate that in recent years the total outlay for cars and tires has exceeded 10 per cent of the amount spent for merchandise at retail stores. Volume of merchandise distribution, as reflected in sales at wholesale and at retail and in railroad shipments, has been Distribution of at a higher level during the commodities. first quarter of 1925 than for the corresponding period a year earlier. Indicators of trade activity, in contrast to those of industrial activity, have shown much less marked fluctuations in recent years and, in general, have had a continued upward movement. The fact that in 1924 distribution of goods to ultimate purchasers was in more constant volume than the output of basic commodities made it possible for producers, as the year progressed, to dispose of stocks accumulated early in the year when production was in excess of current consumption, and this was a factor in bringing about renewed industrial activity in the latter half of the year. In 1925 299 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 also distribution of commodities has continued in a volume that has not shown a decline corresponding to the recent recession of production from the high point reached in January and the less active demand for certain basic materials. The position of the principal trade indicators during the first quarter of 1925 and their course during the three preceding years are shown in the charts. Check payments, re- Federal reserve districts, have also been as large for the quarter as they were a year ago. Stocks of merchandise at department stores increased more than usual during March, but at the end of the month were no larger than CHECK PAYMENTS ( Seasonally Adjusted ) 1922 100 1923 1924 1925 Combined index of sales by wholesale dealers. Monthly average, 1919=100 for the corresponding date of 1924. Stocks of groceries carried by wholesalers at the prevailDebits to individual accounts at 140 centers outside New York City. ing higher prices were larger in value at the Monthly average, 1919=* 100 end of March than a year ago, while stocks of fleeting the volume of business transactions as shoes, dry goods, and hardware were smaller. measured in dollars, have recently been at a record level, more than 10 per cent above either of the two preceding years. Car loadings of merchandise and miscellaneous freight, which measure railroad shipments in physical volume, were about 5 per cent larger during the first 80 1922 1923 1924 PER CENT 40 140 A 1 120 v/v 1001 DEPARTMENT STORE SALES V ( Seasonally Adjusted \ 120 80 1923 Sales at department stores. 1924 1925 Monthly average, 1919=* 100 100 100 CAR LOADINGS ( SeasonaJly Adjusted ) | 80 1922 80 1923 1924 1925 Total merchandise and miscellaneous less-than-car-load lots. Monthly average, 1919=»100 quarter of 1925 than in 1924 and were, in fact, considerably higher than for the corresponding period of any previous year. Wholesale trade, as indicated by reports from about 750 firms throughout the country, and sales at more than 600 department stores in the different Sales by mail-order houses and by manufacturers of agricultural implements, which are indicative of the extent of the Buying power farmers' demand for goods, of farmers and have been considerably larger industrial workduring the first quarter of this ers. year than for the same period of either of the two preceding years. Increased buying power of farmers has arisen out of the better returns since last June from the crops raised during 1924 and more recently from livestock marketed. The increase has 300 FEDERAL BESERVE BUI^LETIN been particularly large in certain portions of the cotton belt and in those wheat-producing regions where last year's yield was satisfactory. Marketing of agricultural products in general, which was exceptionally heavy in the last half of 1924, continued during the early months of this year in a volume larger than a year ago, and at the prevailing prices has yielded somewhat larger returns to producers. The income of factory workers has also advanced almost continuously during the past eight months and in March w^as more than 20 per cent above the low point of last June. Even at its present level, however, the pay roll of factory workers is lower than in March, 1924. The relatively high and sustained income of factory workers in 1923 and in the early part of 1924, shown on the chart, was the source of a considerable part of the buying PER CENT PER CENT 120 V 100 80 A/ ' / mr 80 \ FACTORY PAYROLL 60 -~^- 60 ... 1922 1923 1924 1925 Index of amount of pay rolls in manufacturing industries. Monthly average, 1919=100 power reflected in the sales of chain and department stores during that period. In the second quarter of 1924 pay rolls declined sharply, but this decline continued for a relatively brief period and was followed by a rapid growth up to the present time. The Federal Reserve Board's index of factory pay roll, described elsewhere in this issue, covers nearly 9,000 establishments in about 50 industries, with 2,800,000 employees and a weekly pay roll of about $75,000,000; fluctuations in the index, therefore, may be regarded as representative of changes in the income of workers in manufacturing industries as a whole, and the index, which primarily reflects changes in extent of MAY, 1925 manufacturing activity, is also an indicator of changes in the current buying power of & large part of industrial and city population. Volume of bank credit during the first quarter of 1925 has continued at the high level reached at the close of last Member bank y e a r L o a n g a n d i n v e s tments and reserve bank ,. , -, 7 , credit member banks in principal cities were larger in April than at the beginning of the year, though demand deposits had declined by about $600,000,000 from the high point in the middle of January. This decline in demand deposits at a time of a sustained volume of borrowing at the banks has been due primarily to the withdrawal of gold for export and to the reduction in balances carried by country banks with their city correspondents. The reduction in these balances, which amounted to about $400,000,000 during the first three months of the year, has been due chiefly to the employment of these balances by the city banks in loans on securities for account of the country banks, rather than to withdrawals of funds from financial centers for use in the interior. With the rise in the rate for call money during the period the country banks have employed a larger proportion of their funds held with city correspondents in making loans in the security market. The figures for loans on stocks and bonds of the reporting member banks reflect this transfer of funds from idle balances to loans on securities. There was a continuous growth of this class of loans until the middle of March and the increase has been chiefly at banks outside of New York City. Since that time, however, with the recession of activity on the btock exchange and the decline in security values, the volume of loans on stocks and bonds has decreased. Loans for commercial purposes have continued throughout the period at about the level reached last autumn and considerably above the amount of these loans a year ago. The banks7 holdings of investment securities, which had been in record volume in the autumn of 1924, declined by about $300,000,000 by the beginning of March, most of the decline MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN being at banks in New York City. Since that time investments have increased by about one-half the previous decline, and, in contrast to the decline, the recent growth has been general throughout the country. At the Federal reserve banks, earning assets in the middle of April were about $100,000,000 above the level of three months earlier, when the seasonal liquidation at the turn of the year had come to an end. This growth of reserve bank credit in use, with relatively little change in demand for currency or in the volume of reserve balances, reflected chiefly borrowing by member banks for the purpose of meeting the export demand for gold. Keserve bank holdings of United States securities and of acceptances declined after the middle of January, but discounts for member banks increased considerably and were in April near the high level for the year reached at the end of February when discounts were larger than at any time since May, 1924. A large part of the growth in discounts was at the Federal 301 Reserve Bank of New York, and the proportion of total discounts for the system held by the New York bank was consequently much larger in the middle of April than in January. During recent weeks the outward movement of gold diminished in volume and the larger part of the gold which was exported represented withdrawals of portions of the gold previously earmarked for account of. the German Reichsbank, and therefore caused no increase in the demand for reserve bank credit. As a consequence of the recent falling off in the demand arising from gold exports and of a smaller demand for currency, earning assets of the reserve banks declined somewhat since the beginning of March, and on April 22 were considerably below the high point reached in the latter part of February. NOTE Conference of governors. On April 6-8 the governors of the Federal reserve banks met in Washington for their semiannual conference. 302 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES Production in basic industries was smaller in March than in the two preceding months, but was as large as at any time in 1924. Distribution of merchandise both at retail and wholesale was in greater volume than a year ago. Wholesale prices, after increasing since the middle of 1924, remained in March at about the same level as in February. Production.—The Federal Reserve Board's index of production in basic industires declined in March to a level 5 per cent below the high point reached in January. Iron and steel production and cotton consumption showed less than the usual seasonal increase during March, and activity in the woolen industry declined. There was a further decrease in the output of bituminous coal. Increased activity in the automobile industry was reflected in larger output, employment, and pay rolls. In general, factory employment and pay rolls increased during the month. Value of building contracts awarded in March was the largest on record, notwithstanding the recent considerable reduction in awards in New York City. Trade.—Wholesale trade in all principal lines increased in March, and the total was larger than a year ago. Sales at department stores and by mail-order houses increased less than is usual at this time of the year. Stocks of shoes and groceries carried by wholesale dealers were smaller at the end of March than a month earlier, and stocks of dry goods, shoes, and hardware were smaller than last year. Stocks of merchandise at department stores showed more than the usual seasonal increase and were somewhat larger than last year. Prices.—Wholesale prices of most groups of commodities included in the index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics declined somewhat in March, but, owing to an advance of food prices, particularly of meats, the general level of prices remained practically unchanged. Prices of many basic commodities, however, were lower at the middle of April than a month earlier. Bank credit.—Volume of loans and investments at member banks in principal cities continued at a high level during the five-week period ending on April 15. Total loans declined, reflecting chiefly a reduction in loans on stocks and bonds, and also some decrease in loans for commercial purposes. Investment holdings, which early in March had been nearly $300,000,000 below the high point of last autumn, increased by the middle of April by about half this amount. Demand deposits, after declining rapidly between the middle of January and March 25, increased during the following weeks, but on April 15 were still $633,000,000 below the maximum reached in January. PER CENT PERCENT 150 150 ir\r\ J HV A \r k PER(:ENT 200 PER CENT 200 N •a 150 150 100 10O 50 PRODUCTION IN BASIC INDUSTRIES o WHOLESALE PRICES | 1922 0 1923 1924 1925 1 o 1922 Q 1923 1924 1925 Index of 22 basic commodities adjusted for seasonal variations. (1919= Index of "United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1913=100, 13ase 100.) Latest figure, March, 120 adopted by bureau.) Latest figure, March, 161 MAY, 1925 303 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ULLIONS OF DOLLARS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 2 10 1922 1923 1924- 1925 1922 Weekly figures for 12 Federal reserve banks. Latest figures for April 22 1924- 1923 1925 Weekly figures for member banks in 101 leading cities. Latest figures April 15 At the reserve banks the volume of earning assets on April 22 was about $75,000,000 below the high point at the end of February, but continued above the level of a year ago. Discounts for member banks were about twice as large in April as at the exceptionally low point in the middle of January, while total United States securities and acceptances held were in smaller volume than at any time during the year. Somewhat easier money conditions in April were indicated by a decline of one-eighth of 1 per cent in the open-market rate on 90-day acceptances to 3J-6 per cent and by sales of prime commercial paper at below 4 per cent. BUSINESS INDEXES OP THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD [Monthly average 1919=100] Year and month January February March April September October.. November Decemb i January February.March Production in basic industries i Factory Building Kailroad- Wholecontracts car sale awarded1 loadings» trade ment D epar tm ent-stor e sales 1 Department-store stocks 1 Unadjusted Unadjusted Adjusted Adjusted Bank debits outside of New York City 1 1924 ._ 120 120 116 114 103 109 107 117 100 101 101 99 91 93 93 94 108 114 113 111 99 103 101 106 170 163 164 150 150 166 196 180 118 125 115 121 117 120 116 124 110 102 115 133 119 141 141 210 126 128 115 131 131 124 126 131 115 127 138 140 137 147 148 124 131 135 137 136 128 132 131 133 105 110 108 111 107 112 107 112 103 109 110 168 159 178 123 125 117 109 101 121 124 131 121 119 127 138 134 135 137 120 121 120 1925 127 124 120 1 The indexes of production in basic industries, building contracts, car loadings, and bank debits are adjusted to allow for seasonal variations; the indexes of department-store sales and stocks are shown both with and without seasonal adjustments. 304 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN BANK CREDIT After increasing almost continuously from the middle of last year, loans of member banks in leading cities declined between March 11 and April 15, and on the latter date were in about the same volume as at the beginning of the year. Commercial loans of the banks have remained practically constant since last autumn, and the changes in total loans since that time have reflected chiefly changes in the volume of loans secured by stocks and bonds. After a continued advance until the middle of March, these loans declined by about $121,000,000 and on April 15 were only slightly above the opening of the year. The decrease was almost entirely in the Boston, New York, and Chicago districts. Investment holdings of the banks, which were declining during the first two months of the year, increased considerably after the beginning of March. Net demand deposits in the middle of April were $336,000,000 lower than at the beginning of the period and $633,000,000 below the high point reached on January 14. The following table shows the principal resources and liabilities of member banks in leading cities for each week between March 11 and April 15, as well as changes for the five weeks and for the year ending April 15: LOANS, I N V E S T M E N T S , AND D E P O S I T S O F BANKS IN LEADING CITIES MEMBER MAY, 1925 tricts, however, discounts were higher on April 22 than at the end of February and in all districts were above the level of the opening weeks of the year. United States security holdings, which had declined since the autumn of last year, showed a slight increase from the low point for the year which was reached at the end of • March. Acceptance holdings declined somewhat during the period. The principal resources and liabilities of the Federal reserve banks for the period between March 25 and April 22, 1925, and changes for this period and since April, 1924, are shown in the following table: P R I N C I P A L R E S O U R C E S AND L I A B I L I T I E S O F F E D E R A L RESERVE BANKS [In millions of dollars] Earning assets Date Federal reGov- Total Total serve Purrede- note ernDisTotal* counts chased ment serves posits circuaccept- securlation ances ities 1925 Mar. 25 1,041 Apr. 1 1,086 Apr. 8 . 1,076 Apr. 15 1,039 Apr. 22 1,053 Increase (+) or decrease (—): Four weeks ending Apr. 22 +12 Year ending Apr. 22 +166 307 316 311 274 276 344 358 +34 -31 +9 -61 +136 378 400 391 395 412 358 353 +79 3,008 2,983 2,977 2,986 2,986 2,184 2,196 2,187 2,208 2,218 -22 +34 -21 -229 +217 -253 1,709 1,710 1,714 1,698 1,688 fin millions of dollars] 1 Loans and investments Date Total 1925 Mar. 11 Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr. 1..... ... Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Increase (+) or decrease (—): Five weeks ending Apr. 15 Year ending Apr. 15 _ 1 18,619 18,729 18,618 18,704 18,621 18,610 -9 +1,9 Loans secured by stocks and bondsi All other loans, Investlargely ments commercial Deposits Net demand deposits Time 4,954 4,973 5,034 5,053 5,055 5,052 8,265 8,182 8,140 8,228 8,215 8,220 5,374 5,518 5,478 5,498 5,484 5,482 13,058 12,879 12,588 12, 756 12,635 12, 722 -72 -45 +108 -336 +823 +243 4,980 5,000 4,978 4,922 4,908 +932 +1,382 +801 Including loans secured by United States obligations. At the Federal reserve banks during the four weeks ending April 22 discounts for member banks increased and on that date were nearly at the high point for the year. In all except the New York and Cleveland dis- Including foreign loans on gold and all other earning assets. MONEY RATES Money conditions in the New York market were slightly firmer near the first of April, with the movement of funds to the interior, but later in the month rates declined somewhat. Commercial paper continued to be quoted generally at 4 per cent, but a growing volume was sold at 3% per cent. Dealers lowered their rates on 90-day bankers' acceptances early in April, and after a temporary return to the former offering rate of 3% per cent they declined further to S}4 P$ r cent and were quoted for a few days as low as 3 per cent. Prices of short-term Government securities to some extent reflected the decline in money rates and Government bonds showed a slightly lower average yield for April than for March. The renewal rate on call loans again fluctuated about 33^ per cent after the first of the month rise. The table below shows the rates prevailing in the New York market during the past three months: MAY, 30-day bills, 3H~3M per cent bid and 3-3 K per cent offered on 60 and 90 day bills, and 3^-3:^8 per cent bid and 3%-3f2 per cent offered on the longest maturities. MONEY RATES IN NEW YORK [Per cent] Yield Prime Prime on cer- Average com- bank- tificates yield mercial ers' ac- of in- on4M paper, cept- debted- per cent 4-6 ances, ness, Liberty months 90 days 4-6 bonds months February, 1925 March, 1925 Average for week e n d i n g Apr. 4, 1925 Apr. 11, 1925 Apr. 18, 1925... Apr. 25, 1925 _ 1 2 4 4 4 4 4 12.62 3H 1 2.78 3H-3J4 2 2.80 3 ^ | 2 2.84 3 -V/% 2 2 79 3H 12.75 CAPITAL ISSUES call 4.02 4.02 3.60 3.97 3.96 3.97 3.95 3.95 4.40 3.94 3.60 3.80 Issues maturing June 15, 1925. Issues maturing Sept. 15, 1925. In the London money market rates declined after hardening over the first of the month and Treasury bills were tendered at an average rate of 4.167 per cent the second week in April, compared with 4.393 per cent the second week in March. Bill rates declined comparably from 4 ^ per cent to 4 ^ per cent. ACCEPTANCE MARKET During the first week of the period from March 19 to April 15 relatively quiet conditions prevailed in the acceptance market, with the supply of bills somewhat in excess of the demand. Later both the supply and demand for bills slackened in New York, although Boston reported an increasing demand from out-oftown banks. On April 1 some New York dealers reduced their rates on 30 and 60 day bills, and on April 2 on 90-day bills, by y% per cent. Their portfolios increased to the highest point for the year on April 8, however, and similar increases were reported from Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago in spite of a seasonal falling off in the volume of new bills in the market. This reduction in the supply of bills, with some uncertainty as to rates, made a very quiet market in the latter part of the period. Over the whole reporting period New York dealers' purchases and sales were smaller than for any similar period since September. Their portfolios on April 15 were 70 per cent larger than a month previous. Boston dealers, on the other hand, reported only slightly smaller purchases and larger sales than during the four weeks ending March. 18, with portfolios somewhat smaller. In both cities dealers7 sales to Federal reserve banks were only half as large as during the preceding period. Rates in the New York market on April 15 were Z% per cent bid and 3 per cent offered on 305 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN 1925 According to the compilation of the Commercial and Financial Chronicle about $460,000,000 of new domestic securities were issued in the United States in February, 1925, which is less by $74,000,000 than the issues in January. This decline was entirely in the flotation of farm loan and municipal securities, the volume of corporate securities brought out in February being practically equal to the January issues. While the volume of new bonds and notes was somewhat smaller than in January, the volume of new stocks was larger. Railroad issues account almost entirely for the increase, for public-utility offerings were considerably less than those of January, which included the unusually large single issue of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., and industrial issues also declined. The total volume of corporate refunding operations was smaller in February than in January. The following table shows the domestic securities issued in February, 1925, as compared with those of the previous month and of February, 1924: DOMESTIC CAPITAL ISSUES [In millions of dollars] February, 1925 January, 1925 February, 1924 New Refund- New Refund- New ing ing Total corporate Long-term b o n d s and notes Short-term bonds and notes Stocks Refunding 374.2 48.2 373.4 85.1 227.3 19.3 254.1 44.3 261.4 20.4 137.6 12.4 24.2 95.9 3.0 .9 44.0 68.0 62.4 2.3 31.0 58.7 6.7 .2 Farm loan issues Municipal 75.3 3.0 36.9 122.8 2.1 94.3 .4 Total 458.9 51.2 533.1 87.2 326.3 19.7 9.4 4.7 The total volume of securities issued in the United States was considerably augmented in February by foreign flotations, which amounted to $152,500,000, according to the compilation of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This is twice the amount of those issued in January, but less than in February of last year or in September, October, or December, 1924. The largest single issues were $35,000,000 Canadian National Railway bonds, $35,000,000 306 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN M A Y , 1925 AGRICULTURAL CREDIT BANKS Republic of Poland bonds, and $25,000,000 Argentine Government bonds. In March the Intermediate credit banks closed direct loans volume of foreign securities floated here was amounting to $2,941,605 during March, 1925, much reduced, amounting to $69,350,000, the as compared with $1,442,866 during February, smallest total for any month since last June. and rediscounts of $6,099,875 as compared with $3,607,068 in February. The increase in loans SECURITY PRICES was chiefly in the Baltimore district, while reDuring April the prices of representative discounts increased in eight out of the twelve common stocks recovered slightly from the districts, that is, in all except Springfield, Louislow points reached at the end of March. ville, Wichita, and Spokane. The following The price index of 233 stocks, computed by table shows the volume of direct loans outthe Standard Statistics Co., was 4.5 points standing on the latest available date, April higher on April 20 than on March 30, but still 18, compared with those outstanding on 5.4 points below the highest figure reached in March 14, classified by the commodities on 1925. Nearly all groups of stocks except which the loans were based. It will be obmetals and sugars shared in this rise, the served that loans outstanding based on cotton most pronounced advance occurring in the and tobacco were reduced between these dates. automobile stocks. Market activity dimin- A similar comparison is given for rediscounts, ished and the number of shares sold daily showing a considerable increase during the in April averaged 500,000 below the average period, particularly in rediscounts for agriculfor March or February. Bond prices were tural credit corporations. stable in April, with a slight rise toward the end of the month as money rates weakened. INTERMEDIATE CREDIT BANKS The following table gives indexes of stock [In thousands of dollars] prices computed by the Standard Statistics Co. of New York, the average prices of 40 Apr. 18, Mar. 14, 1925 1925 bonds computed by Dow, Jones & Co., and the average number of shares of stock sold daily on the New York stock exchange for the Direct loans outstanding o n 2,994 6,884 Cotton 19,433 22,875 last four months: Tobacco 4,000 4,000 INDEX NUMBER OF SECURITY PRICES Price indexes of l — 200 31 indus- railtrial stocks stocks Average for— January, 1925,_. February, 1925. March, 1925 April, 1925 Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. 6,1925... 13,1925.. 20,1925.. 27, 1925.. Average price of 40 2 stocks bonds Average number of shares of stock sold 3 daily (000 omitted) 125.8 127.5 123.9 112.6 112.9 110.3 122.0 123.2 119.9 90.91 91.55 91.35 91.62 1.774 1,688 1,651 1,088 123.5 123.2 123.9 122.9 107.9 107.0 108.5 107.5 118.9 118.4 119.4 118.4 91.23 91.34 91.54 91.93 1,187 1,048 1,159 1,193 1 For the industrial stocks, the average of 1917-1921 prices equals 100; for the rails the average of the high and low prices made in the 10 years, 1913-1922, equals 100. The indexes are weighted by the number of shares of 2 each stock outstanding. Prices used are closing quotations on Monday. Arithmetic average of daily peak and low prices, as published in the Wall Street Journal. Weekly averages are for week ending with Saturday, preceding date given. 3 Saturdays omitted. Weekly averages are for five days ending with -Friday, preceding date given. Raisins _ Wheat.. . . Prunes Canned fruit and vegetablesPeanuts Rice-_ All other Total . _ Rediscounts outstanding for— Agricultural credit corporations _ National banks State banks Livestock loan companies.. Savings banks and trust companies _ Total _ _. 1,019 1,216 201 337 256 75 1,518 1,216 297 313 350 97 29, 531 . 37, 550 17,842 8 666 10,006 96 12, 218 16 690 8,873 151 28,618 21,948 Federal land banks increased their mortgage loans during March by $9,270,336 to $954,265,312 and joint-stock land banks by $12,208,045 to $477,081,816. AGRICULTURE In March and early April weather conditions continued very favorable for agricultural developments throughout the country except in sections of the Kansas City and Dallas Federal reserve districts, where the effects of the drought were still serious. In these districts, FEDEKAL, RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 however, rains were more general late in April, but a lack of sufficient moisture was evident for this season of the year. Early crop reports by the Department of Agriculture indicate that the condition of the winter wheat crop at the beginning of April was the lowest on record for that date except in April, 1917. The supply of farm labor is somewhat larger than last year, but average farm wages are at about the same level as in 1924. Marketing of the 1924 crops was in slightly smaller volume in March than in February and was 6 per cent greater than in the corresponding month last year. Receipts of animal products, fruits, and vegetables increased in March, while all other groups declined. Prices of livestock, cotton, fruits, and vegetables advanced in March and the Department of Agriculture's index of farm prices reached the highest level since the autumn of 1920. The chart shows the movement of farm prices since January, 1922. PERCENT PERCENT 160 I 1 160 INDEX OF FARM PRICES ( AUGUST, 1909-JULY, 1914-100 ) 150 150 140 140 130 130 120 120 110 1OO 1922 1923 1924- 1325 Exports of all groups of agricultural commodities except cotton, which showed a seasonal decline, were larger in March than in February, and grains and cotton continued to exceed the volume of last year. For the first quarter of 1925 total exports of farm commodities have exceeded the volume of the corresponding period in 1924, 1923, or 1922 and compare favorably with the volume exported in the first three months of 1921 and 1920. Grain. The condition of the winter wheat crop on April 1, as reported by the Government crop reporting board, was 68.7 per cent of normal, 12.5 points below the 10-year average and 14.3 below the corresponding figure in 1924. On 307 the assumption of an average abandonment, a crop of 474,255,000 bushels was forecast, which is about 20 per cent less than the crop harvested last year. A report from Kansas on April 10 indicates an abandonment of about 24 per cent as compared with an abandonment of 4 per cent in 1924, and 15.9 per cent, the average for the five years, 1914-1920. The prolonged drought in the Southwest is a condition favorable to heavy abandonment in that region also. The condition of rye was reported as being 84 per cent of a normal, which is half a point above the condition a year ago and 3.1 per cent less than the 10-year average. The seeding of spring grains has progressed at a rapid rate, and by April 15 practically all spring planting was completed save in the northern parts of the Minneapolis Federal reserve district. The weather has been favorable for the sowing of large oats and corn acreages. Some of the abandoned winter wheat area is being planted to these two crops. All grains except corn were marketed in smaller volume in March, and the combined index of the movement of all grains in March was the smallest for that month sinoe 1919. Although corn receipts increased in volume over February, they were 18 per cent less than the amount marketed in March, 1924. The most drastic decrease occurred in the shipments of rye, which declined 70 per cent from the February figure. The month of March was marked by the large volume of future trading in grain on the Chicago Board of Trade, which amounted to total sales of 3,200,000,000 bushels, the largest on record. Wheat exports continued relatively large in March, and for the season to April 11 have been over two and one-half times as large as during the corresponding period in 1924. Flour exports, however, have been about one-fifth less in 1924-25, so that the total wheat and flour exports have exceeded the 1923-24 figures by only 73 per cent. Wheat prices continued to fluctuate widely during March and April. They declined durthe greater part of March, reaching a low level of $1.49 a bushel on April 3. Following the publication of the Government report on crop conditions on April 9, they recovered, reaching $1.73 on April 17. This price movement was also reflected by the other grains. Cotton. With the exception of the drought, which has continued in the greater part of Oklahoma and Texas since last autumn, weather conditions were generally favorable in other sections of the Cotton Belt during the winter and early 308 FEDERAL. RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 spring months and preparations for the new 1924. For the eight months ending with March crop were advancea rapidly. Rains late in exports of raw cotton were 2,300,000 bales, or March and early in April were very beneficial 49 per cent larger than for the same period in to some sections of Texas, but there is still a the previous year. All of the principal imdeficiency of moisture for this season of the porting countries of American cotton have year in the greater part of the cotton-growing taken more cotton than in 1924, but the greatterritory in the Southwest. Planting was est increases have been by the United Kingdom, largely completed in the southernmost areas of Germany, and Japan. Despite the fact that the belt by the middle of April and the plants the 1924 crop was the third largest in the are coming up in sections where the crop was history of American cotton production, it has seeded early. Fertilizer sales in eight cotton- been marketed at an exceptionally steady level growing States during the eight months ending of prices. The accompanying table shows the March 31 indicate that the amount of fer- production and distribution of cotton for the tilizer that is being used this year is larger than eight months ending March 31, 1924, and 1925* in 1924. Early reports by the Department of Agriculture show that the number of boll Tobacco. weevils that survived the winter varies conIn March and the early weeks of April siderably in different sections, but that the marketing by the growers of the 1924 tobacco emergence of weevils in South Carolina, crop was practically completed and many looseGeorgia, and southern Louisiana was heavier leaf markets and cooperative receiving stations than in 1924 or 1923, but lighter than in 1922, were closed. Sales at all markets showed more when the number that lived through the winter than a 70 per cent decline from February and was the largest on record. were 40 per cent smaller than in March of the previous year. The Virginia crop amounted PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, EXPORTS, AND STOCKS to 136,391,000 pounds and sold for nearly OP COTTON $28,000,000, as compared with a crop of 151,303,000 pounds in 1923 which sold for Percentage $30,000,000. The crop was marketed at an change 1924-25 1923-24 average price of $20.48 a hundred pounds as from last year compared with $19.75 a hundred pounds in the previous year. In the St. Louis Federal Bales Bales reserve district loose-leaf warehouses closed in Production33.9 10,170,694 13,618,751 Consumption: i March except in the dark-fired district, where -27.4 357,455 August 492,483 -10.4 about 15 per cent of the crop remains to be deSeptember _ 485,665 435,216 -2.0 543,260 October 532,629 livered. Exports of tobacco since the begin532,702 492,233 November -7.6 463,789 532,047 December 14.7 ning of the marketing season last August have 1.9 589,725 578,468 January been in considerably smaller volume than in 550,132 February. 508,677 8.1 582,674 March 19.9 the previous season, and the decline during 485,840 -.5 4,090,884 4,072,111 the first quarter of this year was more rapid than during the closiiig months of 1924. Exports: August— 13.6 Preparations for the new crop made good 244,415 277,647 7.0 737,485 September 689,435 774,320 946,506 October. . 22.2 progress in March and April under favorable 70.3 1,306,550 November 767,289 Plant beds are in good 27.2 weather conditions. 1,075,923 845,731 December 1,076,075 96.8 condition in the St. Louis district, but in the 546,853 January 811,838 68.4 482,146 February. _. 734,697 March _. 121.2 Richmond district insects are reported to have 332,168 6,966,721 48.8 damaged many of the young plants. 4,682, 357 The output of all tobacco products was Stocks, Mar. 31: 9.4 seasonally larger in March than in February 1,644,793 1,503,852 At mills 11.8 2,000,552 2, 237,115 At warehouses and the production of cigarettes was larger 10.8 than in the corresponding month of any pre3,881,908 3,504,404 vious year. The demand for cigars in the early i Excludes linters. weeks of April, as reflected in reports from Marketing of the 1924 crop continued at a manufacturers in the Philadelphia Federal rerapid rate during the first quarter of 1925, and serve district, was about the same as in March, by the end of March the supply of cotton but it was smaller than a year ago. Stocks of remaining on farms and at small interior both finished goods and raw materials at the towns of the South was about the same as a factories are moderate and at about the same year earlier, despite the much larger crop in levels at the end of March. MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN Fruits and vegetables. 309 April 1, except in New Mexico, where a gain of 1 point was reported. The condition of sheep also declined in Texas and New Mexico. Range cattle in the San Francisco, Minneapolis, and northern parts of the Kansas City Federal reserve districts are in relatively better flesh because of a larger feed supply and better moisture conditions. Their condition on April 1 was uniformly below that on the same date in 1924, however, except in California, where a 10 point gain was indicated. The demand for summer pastures in the Kansas City Federal reserve district was reported as much keener than last year because of the lack of precipitation in the Southwest. Shipments of cattle from the latter region into Kansas and northern Oklahoma will greatly exceed those of last year according to railroad reports of cars ordered. Orders this year call for 12,600 cars, compared with 8,730 cars last year. Flockmasters in the Kansas City district were preparing for a heavy lamb crop, and the bulk of the spring wool clip was under contract at prices well above those received for last year's spring crop. The short corn crop is reflected in both the hog and cattle situation. Market receipts of hogs declined 23 per cent in March from the preceding month, a decrease that is over 20 per cent greater than the average for the same period during the last five years. Receipts of cattle and calves during March were relatively large, but a recent estimate by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics showed that the number of cattle on feed in 11 Corn Belt States was 12 per cent less than in 1924. The shipments of stockers and feeders from 33 markets during November, December, January, and February of the current season were also 12 per cent less than last year. Indications that the consuming public has been turning from pork products at recent prices to cheaper substitutes has been reflected in the Total Total decline of the price of hogs. The high level this last season season of $13.80 reached on March 20 was not mainto Apr. 4 to Apr. 5 tained, and by April 24 the price had fallen to Beef 132,459 $12.10, in spite of light runs of hogs. 98,788 Apples 15,322 prices have centered about the $11 mark ever Grapefruit. 16,116 4,712 5,159 Lemons 40, 850 Oranges. __ 48,170 since the latter part of January, save for a small decline during the latter part of March. On April 3 the old level was again reached and Livestock. continued to the middle of the month. The Except for a few scattered rains, the drought price a year ago was $9.50. Sheep prices in the range country of the Southwest remained continued to fall during April and March. unbroken up to the middle of April, and the situation was becoming critical in many sec- Dairy products. In March, the butter trade was characterized tions. The condition of range cattle in this region declined several points from March 1 to by a reduction of stocks, a seasonal increase Up to April 14 there appeared to have been no material harm to the deciduous fruits as a result of premature blooming. The greatest damage reported was to the peach crop in the central part of the Richmond Federal reserve district and the northern sections of the St. Louis district. Early cherries in the Yakima Valley of Washington and plums and cherries in Virginia have been damaged also to a considerable extent. The condition of citrus fruits improved during the month of March in California, but showed an unusual decline in Florida. Oranges in the latter State declined 6 points to 85 per cent of normal, while grapefruit declined 5 points to 85 per cent. These figures are 8 and 4 points, respectively, lower than the condition on April 1, 1924. The general movement of spring produce from the South has been one to three weeks earlier this year than uusal. Strawberries from Louisiana and Alabama, Bermuda onions from Texas, and cabbage from Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina were coming in volume by mid-April. Shipments of old and new cabbage, southern onions, new potatoes, and strawberries were greatly in excess of the movement during the same month of 1924, but receipts of old onions, tomatoes, and northern potatoes fell considerably below last season's corresponding figures. Fruit moved to market during March 35 per cent larger in volume than in February, but at a slightly lower rate than last year. Receipts of grapefruit increased over last year, while the receipts of lemons, oranges, and apples were considerably lower. The following table compares the carload shipments of the principal fruits during the current season with the corresponding period last year: 310 FEDERAL. RESERVE BULLETIN in production, a marked increase in imports, and a small decline in price. Butter in storage decreased from 28,800,000 pounds on March 1 to 10,900,000 on April 1. The latter figure is only slightly over 1,000,000 pounds larger than the five-year average for that date. In addition to clearing the market of excessive stocks, the trade absorbed a large increase in imports. During January and February, imports and exports practically canceled each other, there being an excess of imports of only 53,000 pounds. In March, however, the net imports were considerably over 1,000,000 pounds. Production, as indicated by the receipts at five principal markets, was seasonally larger than in January or February. Under the pressure of heavy imports and increased production, the price declined from the 48-cent level reached in the middle of March to 44 cents in the middle of April. That figure, however, is still 8 cents above the price paid on the corresponding date in 1924. The production of cheese continued during March at about the same rate that has prevailed during the last four months. Stocks continued to decline as is usual at this time of year. While they were slightly below the amount in storage on April 1, 1924, they were still 45 per cent larger than the five-year average. Prices were firm and averaged a fraction of a cent above the February quotations. MINING Coal and coke. Bituminous coal markets have felt the effects of spring weather, and the recession in both production and prices which started in January has continued through the latter half of March and the first half of April. As compared with $1.99 on March 16, the Coal Age index of spot prices for bituminous coal on April 13 stood at $1.95, and at that level was just under the low point reached in July, 1924. Output has also fallen off, so that in spite of the greater number of working days, the total March production of bituminous coal, reported as 37,626,000 net tons, was somewhat under the February figure and below the corresponding month of last year as well as any month since September, 1924. Average production of bituminous coal per working day continued MAY, 1925 to fall during the four weeks ending April 11, and for that week was 1,315,000 net tons, as compared with 1,440,000 tons four weeks previous. Output per working day during the first two weeks in April, however, for the first time since early January, was above that for the corresponding weeks of 1924. Production of anthracite coal during March was 7,058,000 tons, a figure well below March of last year and the lowest monthly output since November, 1924. Following the spring reduction in company prices, the market stiffened somewhat and output for the week ending April 11 rose to 1,723,000 tons, the highest total since the third week in February. Total production of by-product coke during March reached 3,468,000 net tons, a new high record for monthly production, but output of bee-hive fell off somewhat to 1,006,000 net tons. Total coke production for March of 4,474,000 tons was about 300,000 'tons above February and above any month since March, 1924, with the exception of January of this year. Further price recessions from the high levels of the first of the year occurred during March. Weekly production of bee-hive coke continued to fall off during the four weeks ending April 11, output for that week totaling 214,000 tons, as compared with 243,000 for the second week in March. Petroleum. In the first quarter of 1925 output of crude petroleum was slightly larger than during the last three months oi 1924 and larger than production in the corresponding period a year ago, but less than during the second and third quarters of 1924. Prices of crude oil have advanced rapidly since the low level of last December, and at the end of March they were about as high as at the end of March, 1924. Since the first of April, however, they have declined somewhat, and the paying of premiums for stored oil in the mid-continent field has practically ended. While stocks of petroleum at the end of March were smaller than the high levels of the last quarter of 1924, they were 3 per cent larger than in the spring of last year. Further analysis of the fluctuations in the production, stocks, and price of crude petroleum is made possible by the following table: MAY, PRODUCTION, STOCKS, AND PRICE OF CRUDE PETROLEUM Produc- Stocks at Average tion end of price during per quarter quarter (in thou- barrel fin thou- sands of during sands of barrels) quarter l barrels) 1924 First quarter Second quarter. Third quarter Fourth quarter | I I 57,213 60,175 60,875 57,621 338, 531 351,218 363,700 351,950 $2.13 2.33 1.81 1.59 57,867 348,180 2.11 1925 First quarter j 1 Prices are the average of the representative price computed by the Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter. Late in 1924 prices of gasoline began to advance, and in December and the early months of 1925 production increased rapidly. At the end of February stocks were 8 per cent higher than a year earlier and were the largest since the end of May, 1924. Under the influence of this rapid expansion in production and its subsequent increase in stocks, gasoline prices declined slightly in March, but the^ were still higher than during the corresponding month in 1924. Stocks of other refined products are also higher than last year, but more favorable weather than in 1924 has resulted in an early demand for gasoline and other oils from motorists. Metals. 311 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN 1925 blister copper, on the other hand, increased and on March 31 were estimated at 523,256,000 pounds, as compared with 475,056,000 pounds at the end of December. Production of lead during March was 12 per cent above the high January output, while zinc production in March made a new high and for the first time since last July exceeded shipments from refineries, with the result that stocks at the end of the month increased to slightly over 17,000 tons. Silver production during March was estimated to be 5,236,000 ounces, the lowest daily output since last July. With only moderate demand from India, the silver market reacted further and on April 2 quotations for bar silver in New York dropped to 66% cents, 23^ cents under the high for 1925 reached at the end of January. Subsequent advances carried prices over 67 cents, and on April 15 quotations were 673^ cents, as compared with 68 cents on March 18. Deliveries oi tin in the United States during March were slightly under January and February, but above any other month since April, 1924, while stocks in New York at the end of March increased from 3,949 to 5,184 tons. Prices continued to recede and on April 15 straits tin was quoted at 5 0 ^ cents, as compared with 53 cents on March 18 and 60 J^ cents on January 3. MANUFACTURING Food products. The production of flour and pork products Further recession in prices characterized the continued to decline in March, but the melting nonferrous metal markets during the last half of sugar and the slaughter of beef and mutton of March and the first half of April, and quota- showed seasonal increases over the, February tions for copper, lead, zinc, tin, and silver all figures. In the case of flour production, made new lows for the current year during the data indicate a 9 per cent decline over Febperiod. This movement, which started in Jan- ruary, in spite of the greater number of workuary, is in contrast to the general advance ing days. Reports indicate that this decline which took place during the closing months of has continued for at least the first two 1924. The price of refined electrolytic copper weeks in April. An important factor in limitdelivered at New York, which stood at 14)4 ing milling activity has been the erratic fluctuations of the prices of both wheat and flour. cents on March 18 as compared with 15 Y% on January 14, was quoted at 133^ cents on April Flour stocks during January and February 15. This drop of % cent took place in the were about the same size as in 1923 and 1924. closing week in March and was nearly equal Flour exports, which averaged 963,000 barrels to the total decline during the preceding two during the first two months of the quarter, months. Copper production in the United increased to 1,387,000 barrels in March. The effect of the short corn crop on the States for March is estimated at 150,766,000 pounds, or 2,000,000 pounds over the January supply and price of pork products became output, which was the previous high month. evident during the first quarter of this year. Stocks of refined copper in North and South There has been a decline in the slaughtering of America at the end of March were estimated hogs during each succeeding month following to be 244,696,000 pounds, or 28,000,000 pounds the high mark in December, which set a record under the figures for the end of December, for monthly killing since Federal inspection 1924. This is the third successive quarter in was first begun. The slaughter for the whole which these stocks have declined. Stocks of quarter was 11 per cent less than for the same 312 FEDEEAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 quarter in 1924. Additional data on the pork ported to be sold up through May and into situation are given in the table below: June or July on certain cloths. Mill consumption of raw cotton totaled 582,674 bales in March as compared with 483,928 in March, 1925 1924 1924. The daily average consumption and the 54,234,000 Hogs on farms, Jan. 1 (number) 66,130,000 number of spindles active were both smaller Hogs slaughtered in March (number) 3,299,344 4,536,372 than during February, and the percentage of Average price of live hogs in March (cents per pound) 13.68 | 7.38 spindle hours active to total single-shift Average price of lard in March (cents per 16.89 11.24 capacity declined from 100.0 to 99.6. Among pound) Average price of smoked hams in March 26.90 18.90 New England mills, on the other hand, more (cents per pound) 85,722,000 spindles were active than in February, and Lard in storage, Apr. 1 (pounds) 150,094,000 Pork in storage, Apr. 1 (pounds) 827,403,000 932,408,000 Lard exported in March (pounds) 63,280,809 100,726,290 consumption of cotton was larger than in any Pork exported in March (pounds) 64,643,468 month since June, 1923. Prices of cotton 51,886,632 goods and yarns have slowly declined since The slaughter of cattle, calves, and sheep the middle of March. The Fairchild cottonwas seasonally larger in March than in Febru- goods index for the week ending April 25 was ary, but less than in January except in the case 15.565, compared with 15.822 in the week of of calves. When the three months are con- March 14. The yarn index in the same period sidered, the calf slaughter was also the only fell from 44.75 to 41.96. The goods index one to differ greatly from that of the first was the lowest since December and the yarn quarter in 1924. The 1925 total was 13 per index has not been lower, except during one cent greater than for the previous year. week in September, since 1922. Stocks of both beef and mutton continued Dullness in woolen and worsted markets their customary decline at this time of the continued during March and April, buying year, although they were still larger than the was cautious, operations were decreased, and amount in cold storage a year ago. This was prices were reduced. The raw wool and top especially true of beef, where the holdings were markets have been particularly weak and 30 per cent larger in March than on the same prices have declined almost steadily since the date in 1924. first of the year, when the highest levels since The increase in the volume of beef exports 1920 were reached. The following table shows which began in January, continued in March. the Fairchild indexes of prices in the wool The exports during each month of 1925 have industry for certain dates. been consistently larger than for the same months in 1924 and 22 per cent larger for the Apr. 25, Mar. 14, Jan. 17, Apr. 26, Index 1924 1925 1925 1925 quarter as a whole. Refined sugar production in the United States 112.344 134.729 144. 772 115.119 increased sharply in volume over February. Domestic wool 125.803 Foreign 130.943 156. 728 158. 604 Data from leading refining centers indicate Worsted wool.. 204. 833 yarn. 204.500 206.833 225.166 123. 500 130. 450 141.650 145.150 an increase of approximately 75 per cent. Tops... goods Worsted 2 278.125 278.125 276.493 2 275. 740 2 258. 750 260.416 248. 333 2 231.250 Stocks at the end of March also increased Woolen goods1 about 34 per cent over the previous month. 1 2 All-year numbers. Quotation on nearest available date. The higher prices received in March were not maintained. The decline continued through Domestic raw-wool prices have fallen about the middle of April. 22 per cent from the high point of the year Textiles. and are lower than they were a year ago. Yarns Textile markets have been generally quiet and tops have also declined considerably since since February. Buying of most textile fabrics January, and the former are lower than in April, and materials has been rather light, production 1924. Woolen and worsted suitings are mo#re has been reduced, and prices have declined. stable, but prices of woolens have been much The silk industry, on the contrary, has been higher this season than during 1924. Figures more active, and the demand for hosiery also for April, however, indicate a cessation in the advance of both woolens and worsteds. Mill has been considered satisfactory. Practically all branches of the cotton goods activity decreased further during March, and, and yarn markets have been dull for several despite the difference in working days, conweeks. Although mill operations were slightly sumption of raw wool was smaller than in decreased during March, production has con- February. The percentage of active hours to tinued at a fairly high rate to fill orders pre- total single-shift capacity declined for looms, viously booked. Some mills, in fact, are re- combs, and worsted spindles, but increased in MAY, 1925 the case of carpet and rug looms, cards and woolen spindles. Clothing manufacturers have recently opened new fall lines of suits and overcoats at prices a little higher than those of the preceding season, and early reports indicate fairly active buying. In February there was a seasonal increase in the number of men's suits and overcoats cut by clothing manufacturers and figures also exceeded those of February, 1924. Employment declined during March in the men's clothing industry but increased in women's clothing. Silk products have been in especially good demand recently, and the industry is operating at a high rate of activity. Deliveries of raw silk to American mills in March totaled 45,157 bales, the largest monthly figure on record. Imports were fairly large but did not equal deliveries, and the unusually large stocks in warehouses were considerably reduced. Mills have had to rush production in order to supply the demand for certain goods, and some throwing and weaving mills are reported to be working night shifts. The rawsilk market has also been fairly active; prices fell during March but rose again in the early part of April. Demand for knit goods in recent months has been considered satisfactory and mills have been actively producing to fill orders. During April some slackening in buying was noted, but orders are sufficient to continue operations. Employment and pay rolls in the knitgoods industry have increased steadily since last summer. Preliminary statistics for March indicate further increases in production, shipments, and orders of hosiery, following those of February. In the East, the heaviest demand is apparently for full-fashioned silk hosiery for women. An important manufacturer recently announced prices on silk hosiery as unchanged for the remainder of the year. Buying of underwear for the fall season has been generally greater than a year ago. Production and shipments during February were larger than in any of the preceding three months. New orders were smaller than in the earlier months, but exceeded shipments, and unfilled orders were further increased. Stocks of the most important lines were reduced. Iron and steel. New buying of iron and steel is well below production and shipments, producers are rapidly filling orders previously booked, and consumers .are busily engaged using these shipments. 313 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN Orders have been small for several weeks, and prices have declined. Daily average production of both pig iron and steel ingots, however, was larger during March than during February. The ingot output averaged 160,782 tons per day, almost equaling the March, 1924, figure of 161,075, the largest on record. Pig-iron production averaged more than a year ago, but less than in the most active months of 1923. Ten furnaces were blown out of blast between March 1 and April 1. During April additional furnaces were closed down, and operations of steel mills were reduced to an average of below 75 per cent for the industry, as compared with 92 per cent in March. Unfilled orders of the United States Steel Corporation were reduced during March by 421,000 tons to 4,863,564 tons, as compared with 4,782,807 tons a year before. Iron and steel prices have been declining almost steadily since February, and the Iron Trade Keview's composite on April 22 was $39.05, as compared with the February maximum of $41.22 and the low point reached early in November of $38.56. The following table shows the Iron Age indexes for pig iron and finished steel for certain dates. It will be noted that both prices are only slightly above the low points of the last two years. Finished steel (cents per pound) Apr. 21, 1925-... Mar. 24,1925 Maximum, 1925 Minimum, 1924 Maximum, 1924 Minimum, 1923 Maximum, 1923 -- . . 2.474._ 2.531 2.560 (Jan. 6) 2.460 (Oct. 14) 2.789 (Jan. 15) 2.446 (Jan. 2). 2.824 (Apr. 24) Pig iron (dollars per ton) 20.75. 21.88. 22.50 (Jan. 13). 19.21 (Nov. 3). 22.88 (Feb. 26). 20.77 (Nov. 20). 30.86 (Mar. 20). Iron-ore prices were announced by a large producer on April 4 at a reduction of about 50 cents a ton below last year's quotation. Quotations were reduced 80 cents last year, and the present price is the lowest since 1916. Building construction and automobile production have in recent weeks been relatively the most active sources of demand for iron and steel products. Increased production of automobiles since the first of the year has been reflected in greater demand for sheets. Structural steel orders increased during March, and shipments were larger than in any month of last year except July. Weekly figures for April also indicate rather large awards. Purchases by railroads continue to be much smaller than in the past two years, although some fairly large orders for locomotives were placed early in April. 314 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN Automobiles and tires. Improvement in the automobile industry continued during March and April. The small volume of production during the latter part of 1924 resulted in a considerable decrease in the stocks of cars held by both dealers and manufacturers. In recent months dealers have demanded a large number of cars to supply actual demand and also to prepare for the usual spring sales. Production has increased rapidly. The output by American companies in the United States during March totaled 319,000 passenger cars and 43,000 trucks, an increase of nearly one-third over February. The passenger car figure was 7 per cent below that of March, 1924, but the production of trucks was the largest for any month on record except May, 1923. Reports indicate that production in April has been at an even higher rate. Employment and pay rolls in the automobile industry have increased rapidly in recent months, but are still considerably below the level of a year ago. Increases in retail sales of automobiles during March are indicated by the figures of sales of the General Motors Corporation cars by dealers to consumers, which totaled 70,492 in March, 39,579 in February, and 57,205 in March, 1925. Sales by the company to dealers totaled 75,585 in March, considerably more than in February and about the same as a year ago. Reports of Middle Western dealers to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago showed substantial increases in sales of both new and used cars during March. Stocks of new cars at the end of the month were only about one-half of the number on hand a year before. Sales by dealers, reporting to the Chicago bank, were of practically the same volume as their receipts from manufacturers. Consequently their inventories showed little change between February 28 and March 31. Automobile tires and tubes have been in good demand, and manufacturing activity is at a high rate. Production and shipments increased considerably in March and almost equaled the most active months of last year. Stocks held by manufacturers were the highest on record. Reports indicate that supplies of high-pressure inner tubes are particularly heavy. The cruderubber market has been exceedingly active and prices have risen rapidly, reaching 45 cents a pound about the middle of April. A slight recession was noted the following week. MAY, 1925 and was somewhat above production in March of last year. It was below production in March of 1923 and considerably in excess of production in March of 1922. It was also somewhat in excess of shipments in March, after running below shipments during the four preceding months. Although production ran above shipments in March of last year also, it fell below shipments in March of 1923 and slightly below in March of 1922. For the period of 15 weeks beginning with the week of January 3 and ending April 11, shipments as reported by eight associations to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association exceeded, and orders fell slightly below, production. From incomplete reports it appears that during the week ended April 4 shipments were running above, and in the week of April 11 below orders. On a percentage basis shipments in the earlier of these weeks amounted to 106 per cent and in the week following to 97 per cent of cut. In both weeks orders as reported by the mills covered were keeping even pace with production, being equal in each week to 100 per cent of cut. Production of southern pine in March exceeded production in the four preceding months and in March of last year, and exceeded shipments in March, as in January and February of this year, and in March of last year. Stocks of southern pine increased from 909,851,000 feet at the close of December to 992,809,000 feet at the close of March. In March this year, as in February, production of Douglas fir exceeded shipments by a small margin, although production in March this year (396,496,000 feet) was less by nearly 100,000,000 feet than in March, 1923. March shipments of 391,421,000 feet were in much smaller volume than in March, 1923, when they totaled 566,902,000 feet. A general resumption of building operations in large cities during the two weeks ended April 10, with the advent of favorable weather, is noted by the Lumber Manufacturer and Dealer as having quickened actual distribution from retail yards and as being reflected in increased wholesale demand for softwoods, but without material effect upon the price situation. Hides, leather, and shoes. Hide and leather markets were not particularly active during March and April, although sales and prices compared favorably with those of a year ago. Cattle-hide prices at the Chicago market remained steady in April, with sales rather small until the middle of the Lumber. month. The calf-skin market was weak. Lumber production in March exceeded pro- Stocks of raw hides and skins changed only duction in any preceding month since October, slightly during February. Supplies disposed MAY, FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN 1925 of were generally smaller than in February, 1924. Prices of upper leathers generally declined in April, while quotations on sole leather advanced somewhat. Production of sole leather during March was larger than in either January or February and exceeded figures for March, 1924. Furthermore, stocks in process have increased considerably since the first of the year and at the end of March were larger than at 7any time since December 31, 1923. Tanners finished stocks have changed little in recent months. Stocks held by shoe manufacturers, however, were larger at the end of February than on any date in the last four years. Production of cattle upper leather in February was the largest for any month since February, 1924, and finished stocks increased. Shoe manufacturers during March were in the midst of their usual pre-Easter period of activity. Production increased about 9 per cent as compared with February and was slightly larger than a year ago. Output in the St. Louis district reached a high point in February and declined during March. Spring business was considered to be fairly satisfactory. Salesmen have started out with fall lines, but it is too early to determine the character of the demand. Sales by wholesale shoe dealers were slightly smaller in March than in March, 1924. Wholesale stocks increased between February 28 and March 31, but were considerably smaller than a year earlier. BUILDING In considering activity during the first quarter of the year in the building industry, the large fact to which attention is very generally directed is the decline from the high level of last year in volume of building operations in the New York district. This decline is of course largely determined by operations in and around New York City. It is principally in volume of residential construction and is sufficient to affect materially the totals for the country as a whole and for all classes of construction. To take one measure of building activity, by way of illustration, the value of building contracts awarded for all classes of construction during the first quarter of the year in 10 Federal reserve districts increased from $1,029,000,000 in 1924 to $1,070,000,000 in 1925. But this net increase of $41,000,000, or 4.1 per cent, covered a decrease of $124,000,000, or 32.2 per cent, for the New York district (from $383,000,000 to $259,000,000), and an increase of $165,000,000, or 25.5 per cent (from $646,000,000 to $811,000,000), in the nine 315 remaining districts for which comparable data are available covering the two periods. Contracts awarded in these months for residential construction in the New York district fell off from $250,000,000 in 1924 to $123,000,000 in 1925, the decrease for this class of construction in the first quarter of the year, 1925 compared with 1924, amounting to $127,000,000. This considerable shrinkage is offset in a small amount by an increase of $4,000,000, or 3 per cent, for all other classes of construction combined. Building contracts awarded in 11 Federal reserve districts during March represented an aggregate value of $491,000,000, exceeding the corresponding value for February of $311,000,000 by 57.9 per cent. Increase for March, which is normally the peak month of the year, over February is shown for each of the 11 districts covered by the data, except the Dallas district, in which the March total falls slightly below that for the preceding month. Exclusive of the Dallas district, for which data are not available covering March, 1924, the value of building contract awards in 10 districts amounted to $478,000,000 in March of this year, being substantially in excess of the total of $431,000,000 in these districts for the same month last year. Except for the very considerable decrease in the New York district (from $169,000,000 in March of 1924 to $87,000,000 in March of this year), and a slight decrease in the Minneapolis district, an increase for March this year over last is shown for each of these districts. March awards of building contracts in 27 Northeastern States, according to compilations of the F. W. Dodge Co., called for 64,400,000 feet of construction, the corresponding figure for February being 38,650,000 feet and for March of last year 68,425,000 feet.. The increase over February amounts to 66.6 per cent, and the decrease in comparison with March of last year to 5.9 per cent. Each class of construction shows an increase for March over February, and each class of construction except "educational" and "social and recreational" shows a decrease in comparison with March a year ago. In March a total of 73,037 building permits, representing an aggregate value of $348,000,000, were issued in 168 selected cities. In comparison with the preceding month the value of permits issued in these cities was greater in March by 40.2 per cent. In comparison with March of last year it is less by 18.8 per cent, but this decrease is attributable entirely to the effect of the decrease shown for cities of the New York district. For the cities of this dis- 316 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN trict the value of permits issued fell off from $217,000,000 in March of 1924 to $112,000,000 in March of this year, giving a decrease of $105,000,000. Increases are shown for the cities of each other Federal reserve district, excepting Dallas, the net increase for these eleven districts amounting to $81,000,000. No considerable shifting of building costs was apparent in March in consequence of changes in wage scales, but a slight decrease is indicated by the Bureau of Labor index of wholesale prices of building materials, which declined from 182.8 in February to 179.8 in March. As reported on April 17, however, prices of lumber, cement, and bricks were substantially at the same level as in the middle of March. TRANSPORTATION For all classes of freight combined, March loadings were running in nearly the same volume this year as last, the total of 4,002,374 cars exceeding the corresponding total for March a year ago by 39,369 cars, or 1 per cent. I n comparison with earlier years, March loadings fell short of the total for March of 1923 by 119,000 cars, but exceeded the March totals for the four preceding years, the excess over 1922 being 316,000 cars; over 1921, 889,000 cars; over 1920, 187,000 cars; and over 1919, 987,000 cars. This year, as last, the Federal Reserve Board's index of total freight-car loadings adjusted for seasonal variations and for the extra day in February of last year fell off sharply in March. The drop this year was from 124.9 in Februarv to 116.5 in March and last year from 125.2 to 115.4. The net increase of 39,369 in March car loadings this year over last covered decreases aggregating 106,268 cars for grain and grain products, livestock, coal, coke, and forest products; increases aggregating 144,448 cars for merchandise in less-than-carload lots and miscellaneous freight, and an increase of 1,188 cars for ore. I n explanation of the decline in loadings of agricultural products, it is noted that these products were moving in large bulk during the last quarter of 1924 and in January of this year, each month showing considerable excess over the corresponding total for the previous year. For all classes of freight combined March loadings this year in the Pocahontas, southern, central western, and southwestern districts exceeded, and in the eastern, Allegheny, and northwestern districts fell below last year's totals. Loadings for the first quarter of 1925 totaled MAY, 1925 11,613,257 cars. Actual loadings for these three months exceeded the corresponding total for 1924 of 11,590,418 cars and make a new high record for this season of the year. Computations by the Bureau of Railway Economics show that loadings in the week ended April 4 were running 18.5 per cent and in the week ending April 11 21.3 per cent above the six-year average for these weeks, and well in excess of last year's figure. For the year to date April 11 loadings ran 15.3 per cent above the six-year average. During March the roads maintained an average surplus of 310,223 cars (105,030 box and 161,140 coal cars) which exceeds the surplus reported for any month since July, 1924. In the first quarter of April this large surplus increased to 344,258 cars. A total of 185,047 bad-order cars was reported for March 1, which is below the number reported for any month since May, 1924. Net ton mileage in January of 37,039,784 exceeded the figure for any preceding January of the past six years excepting 1923, when the roads reported for January 37,706,628 net tonmiles. In the first two months of the year gross revenues of the roads totaled $939,752,112, exceeding the Bureau of Railway Economics six-year average by 8.5 per cent. Expenses for the same period totaled $754,349,637, being 2 per cent below the six-year average. On property investment the roads earned a rate of 4.76 per cent, the rate of return being 5.43 per cent in the eastern, 5.67 per cent in the southern, and 3.72 per cent in the western districts. Increased activity in the construction of new railway mileage indicated in applications of several roads to the Interstate Commerce Commission for authority permitting construction in Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, Kentucky, and Indiana is noted by the Railway Age as being of particular interest at this time. The applications noted cover a total of 485 miles of new line. TRADE Wholesale trade. Aggregate sales at wholesale firms in the first quarter of 1925 were in approximately the same volume as last year. Slight increases occurred in the sales of meat, but these were offset by reductions in the sales of groceries, dry goods, and shoes. Sales in all principal lines were larger in March than in February, and the Federal Reserve Board's combined index of wholesale MAT, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN trade increased 10 per cent, the greater part of which increase was due to more selling days than in February. Increases in all lines were general throughout most Federal reserve districts, but shoe sales showed the largest increase, which varied from 22 per cent in the Richmond district to 67 per cent in the Philadelphia district. Substantially larger sales than in March last year were indicated in all leading lines, except groceries and shoes, and the total volume of trade was 5 per cent larger. Grocery sales were larger in all southern and western Federal reserve districts, but declined in the Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland districts. Sales of agricultural implements continued larger than last year for the country as a whole, but they were smaller in the Dallas Federal reserve district. Machine tool sales were about 12 per cent smaller than last year. Wholesale stocks of groceries and shoes were smaller at the end of March than a month earlier, but stocks in all other lines increased in March, and total stocks for all principal lines were 3 per cent heavier than a month earlier. As compared with March, 1924, stocks of groceries, meats, and drugs were larger, but dry goods, shoes, and hardware showed substantial decreases. Larger stocks of meat than last year are due to both higher prices and a larger physical volume. Outstanding accounts at the end of March were larger than at the end of February for all lines, except groceries, and were larger for hardware and drugs than last year in nearly all Federal reserve districts from which reports were received, except Minneapolis, where accounts receivable at all wholesale firms, except shoe firms, are smaller than a year ago. Retail trade. Trade at department stores in the first quarter of 1925 was in slightly larger volume than in 1924. Declines in sales in the Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Atlanta Federal reserve districts were more than offset by increases in nearly all the other districts. Sales at mail-order houses were 11 per cent larger than in the first three months of 1924 and buying at all reporting chain stores except cigar chains exceeded the volume for the same period a year ago. Sales at department stores, as measured by the Federal Reserve Board's index, were 20 per cent larger in March than in February, and increases occurred in all Federal reserve districts. After adjustment is made, for the greater number of business days in March, however, the increases were less than usually 317 occur in that month in all Federal reserve districts except Philadelphia. As compared with March last year, buying at these stores was approximately 5 per cent larger. A considerable part of this increase may be attributed to the earlier Easter trading season and to the more favorable weather this year. Statistics reflecting sales by departments indicate that buying of silks and velvets, woolen dress goods, men's clothing, boys7 wear, women's coats and suits, misses', girls', and infants' ready-to-wear, and women's and children's shoes was substantially larger than in March last year and that sales of notions, women's skirts, furs, and furniture showed the greatest declines from the previous year. Merchandise stocks at department stores showed more than the usual seasonal increase in March, but were no larger than at the end of March last year. Increases over February were reported from all Federal reserve districts, but heavier stocks than at the end of March, 1924, in the New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Dallas districts were offset by reductions in practically all other districts. Departments carrying cotton dress goods, ribbons, women's suits and skirts, furs, waists and blouses, and sweaters had substantially smaller stocks than a year ago, while those selling toilet articles, handkerchiefs, leather goods, infants' wear, negligees and house dresses, musical instruments, and radio outfits showed the largest increases. During the first three months of this year average stocks were slightly smaller than for the corresponding period in 1924, and the average rate of stock turnover at department stores was higher than last year. Goods moved faster in all Federal reserve districts except in the Boston and San Francisco districts, the greatest increases being in the Richmond, Atlanta, and Dallas districts. Outstanding orders at the end of March were generally smaller than at the end of February, averaging for all districts 6.8 per cent of total purchases in 1924, as compared with 7.8 per cent at the end of February. EMPLOYMENT Factory employment and pay rolls showed small, rather general increases during March, according to the Federal Reserve Board's revised index of employment and new index of pay rolls in manufacturing industries. These indexes are presented and described in this issue of the BULLETIN (pp. 324-330). The charts given there show that both employment and earnings of factory workers have increased 318 FEDERAL. RESERVE BULLETIN since last summer, but that they are still below the level of a year ago. According to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from which these indexes are almost entirely computed, increases in employment were noted in the more important manufacturing sections of the country, and pay rolls increased in all but the west north central section. By industries, the greatest increase in employment and pay rolls occurred in automobile manufacturing. Furthermore, weekly figures from Detroit indicate continued rapid growth in that industry. The iron and steel, paper and printing, and stone, clay, and glass groups of industries also showed increases m both employment and pay rolls. In textiles, larger figures in silk, dyeing and finishing, knit goods, and women's clothing were largely offset by declines in woolen goods and men's clothing. Employment in the lumber industry declined but pay rolls increased. Food products showed seasonal decreases in both number employed and earnings. Because of a more rapid augmentation of pay rolls than of employment, per capita weekly earnings increased in most industries during March, and were also larger than a year ago. No wage changes of significance occurred in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, and also there were no changes in average per cent of full-time or full-capacity operations. SAVINGS DEPOSITS The total of savings deposits reported by 893 banks distributed throughout the United States was $7,785,682,000 on April 1, 1925, as compared with $7,743,790,000 on March 1, 1925, and $7,285,294,000 on April 1, 1924. This represents an increase of one-half of 1 per cent during March and of 7 per cent during the year ending April 1, 1925. During March, SAVINGS DEPOSITS, BY FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS [In thousands of dollars] Number of banks Boston New York.... PhiladelphiaCleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago St. Louis Minneapolis. . Kansas City.. Dallas San Francisco Total... 64 30 79 67 87 94 197 31 14 54 105 71 Mar. 1,1925 Apr. 1,1924 1,310,807 2,083, 503 521,040 823,401 336,126 239, 589 938,709 140,968 93,814 108,326 98,719 1,090,682 1,302,424 2,063,855 519,289 818,954 334, 520 239,155 937,274 141,164 92,413 107,357 96,958 1,090,427 1,241,474 1,948,347 485,844 765,143 302,960 225,477 910,641 136,244 89,688 102,437 91,339 985,700 7,785,684 7,743, 790 7, 285,294 MAY, 1925 as during the month preceding, savings deposits increased in all Federal reserve districts except St. Louis. A comparison of savings deposits on April 1, 1925, with a month and a year previous is shown, by Federal reserve districts, in the accompanying table. In the Boston and New York districts thefiguresrepresent only deposits of mutual savings banks; in all other districts, where there are but few mutual savings banks, savings deposits of other banks are included. PRICES Wholesale prices in March, according to the index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, remained at about the same level as in February. The index number for March was 161.0, as compared with 160.6 for February. Only two of the nine groups of commodities shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics increased during the month, namely, foods, which rose 1.3 per cent, and miscellaneous commodities, which increased 0.7 per cent, largely because of the advance in the price of rubber. Prices of fuel and lighting declined 1.7 per cent, those of building materials 1.6 per cent, those of metals 1.4 per cent, and those of housefurnishings 1.4 per cent. Prices of housefurnishings were lower in March than at any time since 1919. On the basis of a classification of all commodities into agricultural and nonagricultural, the former show an increase for the month and the latter a decrease, with the consequence that in March these two groups were not as close to each other and to the general average as in February. As compared with a year ago, wholesale prices are now 7.4 per cent higher, the prices of farm products, foods, miscellaneous commodities, and chemicals and drugs being higher, while the prices of other commodity groups declined. When regrouped by stage of manufacture, raw materials show a rise of 0.3 per cent, reflecting an advance of 8.5 per cent in animal products, while crops declined 5.4 per cent, and smaller decreases occurred in forest products and mineral products. Producers7 goods declined 1 per cent and consumers7 goods rose nearly 1 per cent. Compared with a year ago all groups, except mineral products and producers7 goods, are on a higher level. In the following table are shown index numbers of wholesale prices in the United States, as grouped by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and as regrouped by the Federal Keserve Board: MAY, 1925 WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES [1913-100] 1925 March All commodities Bureau of Labor Statistics groups: Farm products Foods Cloths and clothing Fuel and lighting Metals Building materials Chemicals and drugs House furnishings Miscellaneous Federal Reserve Board groups: Raw materials.._ Crops _ Animals products Forest products Mineral products. _ Producers' goods Consumers' goods February 1924 January March 161 161 160 150 161 159 191 174 134 180 134 170 125 161 157 191 177 136 183 134 173 124 163 160 191 167 136 179 135 173 127 137 141 191 181 144 182 130 175 113 183 148 196 173 135 169 193 136 201 175 136 167 167 196 133 193 172 134 169 154 165 118 194 179 137 153 In April the prices of grains continued to decline. Declines also occurred in hogs, cotton, wool, butter, sugar, coal, coke, pig iron, and nonferrous metals, while prices of rubber and newsprint advanced. Retail food prices remained at the same level in March as in February, according to the index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and are about 5 per cent higher than a year ago. Prices of eggs, potatoes, canned salmon, oleomargarine, milk, and bread declined, while prices of pork chops, butter, cheese, bacon, oranges, ham, and rice advanced. COMMERCIAL FAILURES AND BANK SUSPENSIONS During the month of March 1,859 commercial failures, involving liabilities amounting to $34,004,731, were reported by R. G. Dun & Co. The number was larger than in the shorter month preceding, in which only 1,793 failures were reported, and was somewhat in excess of the total for March, 1924. The total indebtedness in default was less in March than in February and, with the exception of November, 1924, was lower than in any month since September, 1923. Failures during the first quarter of the year numbered 5,969, as against 5,655 for the same quarter of last year. With the exception of the first quarter of 1922, the total was higher than that in the first quarter of any year since 1915. In contrast, the aggregate liabilities involved in failures during the quarter just ended, amounting to $128,481,780, as against $184,865,571 for the same period last year, was lower than in the same quarter of 319 FEDEKAL, RESERVE BULLETIN any year since 1920. The marked decline between this year and last was due chiefly to the occurrence in March last year of one large commercial failure in Virginia, involving $40,000,000. Of the total number of failures during the first three months of this year, 1,318, with liabilities of $40,617,985, were manufacturing enterprises, and 4,387, with total liabilities of $63,316,412, were trading concerns. Comparing this quarter with the last quarter of last year, insolvencies were more numerous for poth classes of enterprise. In the case of trading concerns, total liabilities also were larger in this quarter, but for the manufacturing class they were somewhat smaller. In the Boston, Cleveland, Richmond, and Chicago districts the number of failures was larger in March than in either the preceding month of this year or the same month of last year, and in the New York, Kansas City, and San Francisco districts the number of failures, although less than in March last year, was larger than in February this year. The total amount of indebtedness involved in suspensions exceeded the totals for February this year and March last year in only the Boston, Cleveland, and Minneapolis districts; in the Atlanta, Chicago, and Kansas City districts total indebtedness, although less than in March last year, was larger than in February. Comparative data, by districts, for the month of March are presented in the following table: FAILURES DURING MARCH Number Liabilities Federal reserve district 1925 Boston New York Philadelphia.. Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago St. Louis Minneapolis.. Kansas City.. Dallas San Francisco. 205 Total... 1,859 348 58 173 127 116 309 86 82 1924 1925 163 $4,203,160 363 6, 543,180 83 1, 639,315 144 3,132,010 105 2,640,261 128 1,802,227 251 6,805, 675 100 531,515 77 1.924,921 113 1,782,243 74 682,936 216 2,317,288 1,817 1924 $2, 729,443 26,870,199 1, 724, 650 3,037,892 42,232,527 5, 111, 223 8,296,645 1,313, 655 979,270 1,851,517 950, 677 2, 553,328 34,004,731 ! 97,651,026 During March there were 41 banks, with capital and surplus aggregating $1,881,000, which were reported to the Federal reserve banks as having been declared insolvent or closed. Both totals were considerably lower than for last month, during which 62 banks, with total capital and surplus of $3,372,000, were reported. Of the total number reported in March, 34, with capital and surplus of 320 FEDERAL. RESERVE BULLETIN $1,366,000, were nonmember banks, and 7, with capital and surplus of $515,000, were member banks. One of the latter was a member State bank and the remainder were national banks. Five banks, which had previously been reported closed, were reported as resuming operations during the month—two in the Chicago district and one each in the Atlanta, St. Louis, and Minneapolis districts. In contrast to commercial insolvencies, fewer bank suspensions were reported in the first quarter of this year than during the same quarter of last year. The respective totals were 199 and 302. The figures for bank failures represent so far as could be determined banks which had been declared insolvent or were closed by order of supervisory authorities, and it is not known how many of the latter institutions may ultimately prove to be solvent. BANKS CLOSED DURING MARCH, MAY, 1925 $170,000,000 in merchandise, of $148,000,000 in gold, and of $700,000 in silver, giving an aggregate increase of $318,000,000 in visible exports. Net exports for the first three months of the current year were 7.7 times as great a& for the earlier period. MERCHANDISE TRADE BALANCE STATES OF THE UNITED [In thousands of dollars] Month Imports Exports Excess of .imports Excess of exports 295,506 332,323 320,482 324, 291 302,988 274,001 278, 594 | 254, 542 I 287,144 310,752 296,148 I 333,192 395,172 365,775 339,755 346, 936 335,099 306, 989 276, 649 330,659 427,460 527,172 493, 573 445, 748 Year... 1925 [Amounts in thousands of dollars] 1924 January February March April May June July August September... October November... December 3,609,963 | 4,590,987 981, 024 446,430 370, 740 453,434 100, 265 37, 059* 67, 947 99,66633,452, 19,273 22, 64632, 111 32, 9881,945 76,117 140, 316 216, 420 197,425 112,556 1925 All banks Member Nonmember Num- Capital Num- Capital Num- Capital and and and ber surplus surplus ber surplus ber All districts Cleveland Richmond Chicago..St. Louis Minneapolis Kansas City Dallas San Francisco 41 __ 1,881 17 515 1 7 5 9 9 4 3 3 29 516 156 476 253 88 202 161 1 2 29 251 i 1 1 1 35 66 32 1 102 34 265 156 441 187 56 202 59 1 Includes 1 State member bank with capital and surplus of $35,000. FOREIGN TRADE Imports of merchandise during March were valued at $385,487,000, an increase of $51,806,000 over February, of $65,002,000 over March, 1924, and the largest figure shown, for any month since March, 1923. Merchandise exports amounted to $453,434,000, an increase of $82,694,000 over February, of $113,679,000 over last March, and the largest figure shown since last November. Net exports were $67,947,000, as compared with $37,059,000 for February. The visible trade balance for the first three months of 1925 as compared with the similar period of last year shows on the import side an increase of $117,000,000 in merchandise, a decline of $99,000,000 in gold, and a decline of $1,000,000 in silver, which works out as an increase of $17,000,000 in visible infports. On the export side there is shown an increase of 346,165 333,681 385,487 TRADE BALANCE OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH, 1924 AND 1925 [In thousands of dollars] 1,366 5 5 8 8 3 3 2 January February March Merchandise Gold 948,311 1,100, 702 114, 569 1,603 25,441 1,082,981. 1,127, 746 +152,391 -112, 936 +5,340 +44, 765 15, 978 149,408 18, 928 26,142 1,100, 239s 1, 446,154 +205, 271 +133,430 +7, 214 +345, 915 Silver Total 1924 Imports Exports Net imports (—) or exports (+) Imports Exports 20,101 1925 1, 065,333 1, 270,604 Net imports (—) or export (+) GOLD MOVEMENT UNITED STATES Net gold exports for March were $17,767,000,. slightly less than 38 per cent of the amount shown for February. Total gold imports into the United States during March were $7,337,000, slightly more than twice as large as during the preceding month, and comparing with $34,322,000 during March of last year. As compared with February, the greatest increase was shown in imports from Great Britain, which rose from $2,000 to $2,935,000, and compared with $19,327,000 in March, 1924. Slight increases were also shown for MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN 321 Canada and for Mexico. Total gold exports England, and considerable declines were also during March were $25,104,000, slightly less shown for France, the Netherlands, Canada, than one-half as large as in February, and com- and Argentina. Gold exports rose from paring with $817,000 during March of last $1,603,000 during the three months of 1924 to year. The greatest decreases were shown in $149,230,000 in 1925. The largest amounts, exports to British India, which declined by both absolutely and relatively, were shown for $16,000,000, and to Australia, which declined British India, Germany, and Australia, which, by $14,000,000. The largest item was the ex- taken together, received 83 per cent of all the port to Germany, which amounted to about gold exported during the first three months of 60 per cent of the total and showed an increase 1925. of $2,500,000 over February, as against Imports of silver during March were $6,661,$2,360,000 of imports from Germany in March 000, as compared with $4,929,000 during of last year. Gold exports to Germany in February, $3,767,000 coming from Mexico and March were out of the gold previously ear- $1,263,000 from Paraguay. Exports of silver marked and, therefore, had no effect on the were $7,917,000 during March as compared gold position of the reserve banks or of the with $6,841,000 during February. The largest German Reichsbank. Exports to England item was $4,598,000, sent to British India, and declined from $1,032,000 during February to somewhat more than $1,000,000 were sent $50,000 during March. There were no gold both to Germany and to England. exports to the Netherlands in March, while in the three preceding months exports to that GREAT BRITAIN country had aggregated $5,643,000. Total gold imports into Great Britain during For the three-month periods ending March, 1925 and 1924, gold imports declined from February were £4,414,000, compared with $114,569,000 to $15,978,000, about 14 per cent £2,266,000 during January and with £3,293,000 of the figure shown for the earlier period. The during February of last year. The greatest ingreatest decline was shown in imports from crease was shown in imports from the United States, which rose by £1,552,000, more than GOLD IMPORTS INTO AND EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED doubling the amount for January and comprisSTATES ing about two-thirds of the total February imports. Since the beginning of the inflow of [In thousands o dollars] f gold from the United States in December, imThree months end- ports from that country have made up about 60 1925 ed March— per cent of all the gold imported into Great Britain during those three months. Imports March February 1924 1925 from the Transvaal during February almost doubled as compared with January, and imIMPORTS FROM— ports from West Africa rose by about £43,000. 3,066 2,936 61,972 England Exports of gold during February were 8,517 France 71 2,882 Germany 5,917 £3,823,000, as compared with £4,799,000 durNetherlands.. 2,412 8,309 2,777 17,284 ing January and £7,157,000 during February Canada 1,424 394 1,443 513 Mexico The largest actual amount ex4,487 of last year. Argentina 722 20 China ported as well as the largest increase was 1,450 9 7 Egypt 9,895 shown in exports to India, which made up 88 795 3,079 1,104 All other 7,337 3,603 15,978 114, 569 per cent of the February total, were £1,243,000 Total _ greater than in January, and compared with EXPORTS TO— £1,048,000 for February of last year. Ex1,032 6,160 50 England ports to the United States during February 31 1,339 France "l5,"l20 12, 510 45,130 Germany of last year were £5,399,000, compared with 1,035 4,318 Netherlands 1,104 1,104 Poland and Danzig _ no exports since last November. Exports to 230 1,233 Sweden 49 59 178 386 Egypt also showed a decline, from £70,000 in Canada 397 461 1,201 644 Mexico January to £66,000 in February, as compared 110 5,050 5,260 Argentina 52 802 Uruguay with £300,000 in February of last year. Net 63 16,228 52,757 British India 540 2,594 1,113 Hongkong 56 imports during February were £591,000, com25,905 2,758 16,793 Australia pared with net exports of £2,534,000 during 1,249 430 "517 Allother January, and of £3,864,000 during February, 25,104 50,600 149,230 1,603 Total.. 1924. 112,966 Net imports.. For the first two months of the current year 46,997 Net exports.. 17,767 133,252 imports declined by about £1,000,000 as com- 322 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 pared with the corresponding period a year ago. all the exchange rates were narrower than A decline of £5,000,000 in imports from the they have been during any month since the Transvaal was offset by a gain of £4,000,000 in official "pegging" was removed early in 1919. imports from the United States. Exports for The advance in sterling, which began in the same period declined by £5,000,000, a de- August of last year has continued almost withcrease of £9,500,000 to the United States being out interruption since that time, and on April 29, nearly offset by an increase of £4,000,000 to following the announcement of Great Britain's India. The most notable change in the move- return to the gold standard, the pound crossed ment of gold during the two periods was the $4.84. The French and Belgian franc and cessation in exports to the United States and the Netherlands florin stood at about the same the very large increase in imports from the average level as during March. The NorweUnited States. gian krone made considerable advance, from an average of 15.43 cents during March to a GOLD IMPORTS INTO AND EXPORTS FROM GREAT high of 16.37 cents on April 18. BRITAIN Of the South American exchanges, Argentine pesos, Brazilian milreis, and Uruguayan Two months ended pesos declined somewhat as compared with 1925 February— March, while Chilean pesos advanced slightly. Since the middle of March the Mexican peso 1925 1924 February January has averaged a little above parity. In the Far East, the Shanghai tael and the Indian IMPORTS FROM— rupee showed slight recessions, while the Japan£28,387 £28,387 France. £ 1 1 , 758 ese yen rose from the March average of 40.97 £17,150 47,893 Netherlands 30, 743 404,864 cents per yen to 42.19 cents on April 16. 186,362 Rhodesia 191, 721 7,011,053 1,190,938 Transvaal 615,857 1,806,795 5,092 United States... 2,88C, 548 1, 328,301 4, 208,849 As compared with April, 1924, all the leading 177, 758 240,007 West Africa HO, 544 67,214 31,802 18,391 European exchanges except the French and 28,282 3,520 Allother 7, 691,165 the Belgian francs and the Italian lira showed 4,413, 824 2,265, 743 6,679,567 Total. considerable advances. The South American EXPOItfTS TO— countries, with the exception of Brazil, stood 88,453 ! 9,841 78, 612 34,256 Belgium 3,371,939 2,128,576 5,500,515 I 1, 646,145 at higher levels, as did also the exchanges of British India 135,461 i 1,000,000 the Far East. 65, 703 69, 758 Egypt 34,114 79,221 12, 669 21,445 France 468,369 327,052 32, 752 9,500 3,500 779,211 231, 741 58, 772 15,566 2,000 236, 628 268,280 17,186 7,500 3,500 13,271 41,166 24, 656 1,943,216 1,8 Total.. 3,822,668 4, 799, 357 8, 622,025 13,438,550 Net imports.. Net exports.. 591,156 2,533, 614 1,942,458 5,747,385 Netherlands _ Russia _._ Spain and Canaries Straits Settlements Switzerland United States West Africa _... Allother - 37,927 50 111, 529 132,384 9,532,004 5,770 117,980 EXCHANGE RATES [In cents] April, 1925 March, 1925 Exchange FOREIGN EXCHANGE Continued narrowing in ranges of fluctuation, slightly higher levels than in March, and considerably higher than in April of last year characterized the foreign exchanges during the first three weeks of April. Ranges of nearly FOREIGN Sterling French franc German reichsmark Italian lira... Netherlands florin.. Swedish krona Swiss franc Canadian dollar Argentine peso Shanghai tael 486. 65 477.62 484.47 476.20 478.86 477. 63 429.06 19.30 5.13 5.26 5.05 5.32 5.18 4.68 23.82 23.80 23.80 23.80 23.80 23.80 4.07 "~4.~28 19.30 4.09 4.12 3.99 40.20 39.84 40.13 39.83 39.99 39.92 37.07 26.80 26.78 26.95 26.941 26.! 26.95J 26.29 19.30 19.28 19.39 19.22 19.29 19.26i 17.29 100.00 99.91 100.00 99.83 99.91 99.87! 96.96 1 96.48 85.66 87. 5 87.38 90.63 89. 711 76.55 66.85 73.02 73.63 72.85 74.44 73.36! 70.00 MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN 325 BUSINESS AND BANKING CONDITIONS IN Compared with the first quarter of 1924,. British imports rose by £50,000,000 to £352,EUROPE International trade.—The improvement noted in European trade in 1924 and especially in the last half of the year has been maintained during the first quarter of 1925. The tonnage of ships entered and cleared during the second semester showed a substantial increase not only over the first half year (an increase which might be interpreted as seasonal), but also over the corresponding period of 1923. For the first two months of the current year, France and Germany (Hamburg) report entrances and clearances not only greater than in the same period last year, but well above the figures for 1913. For England the same fact holds true as to ships entered, but clearances, although about the same as in 1924, are somewhat below 1923 and 1913, reflecting reduced coal shipments. This growth in shipping reflects an increase in the volume of international trade. The increase in imports into various European countries was especially marked in the last half of 1924. In that period British imports were £682,000,000, compared with £598,000,000 in the first half-year and £559,000,000 in the last half of 1923; German imports were 4,840,000,000 gold marks, compared with 4,408,000,000 gold marks for the preceding six months and only 2,898,000,000 gold marks in the last half of 1923; and substantial gains were reported in the import figures of other European countries. These larger figures of international trade, however, reflect advances in commodity prices as well as growth in the physical volume of trade. Exports also increased for most European countries in the last half-year. British exports increased from £388,465,000 to £406,900,000, or 5 per cent compared with the first half. French exports for the same period, however, showed a small decline. German exports rose from 2,827,000,000 marks in the first half to 3,721,000,000, a gain of over 30 per cent, while imports in the same period increased less than 10 per cent. Italian exports rose from 6,672,000,000 lire to 7,646,000,000, or 14 per cent; those of Czechoslovakia by 17 per cent; those of the Netherlands by 19 per cent; and those of Sweden by about 46 per cent. The growth in exports in the last half of the year is partly seasonal, but the exports of the last half of 1924 were also materially larger than in the corresponding period of the year before. In the early months of the current year the volume of trade has remained at high levels. 000,000, a gain of 16 per cent, while exports increased £15,000,000 to £209,000,000, or 8 per cent, the exports for March having been exceeded only twice since January, 1921. French exports for the quarter are approximately the same as a year ago, but as imports are materially lower, the trade balance is more favorable than in the early months of 1924. Figures for only the first two months are available for Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and for all these countries trade is much larger than in the corresponding periods of each year. German imports were almost twice as large, and exports 50 per cent larger than in 1924. Swedish and Dutch exports have each risen about 15 per cent above the first two months of last year. Several causes have contributed to this increase in international trade. The remarkable improvement in German trade is the result of the betterment in the country's international relations, the stabilization of the currency, and the large foreign loans and credits made available to the Crerinan Government and industry. In a number of other European countries also currency stabilization has increased the confidence of foreign investors and has facilitated the flotation of loans, the proceeds of which have been used to meet the demand for foodstuffs and raw materials. The rise in the price of several raw materials, and especially of cereals, has had the effect of increasing the purchasing power of areas which in previous years had been suffering from depression. It is to this increased purchasing power of industrial Europe and of agricultural communities in many parts of the world that the marked increase in international trade is chiefly attributable. Industrial activity.—While foreign trade of European countries has increased, some industries have not shown a corresponding improvement. The British coal and iron industries, which during the period of passive resistance in the Ruhr experienced a period of considerable activity, have had a decided setback with the resumption of German production. British coal production was nearly at Capacity in the first quarter of 1923 and 1924, but recently has been running below either of those years, with prices about onehalf what they were in the spring of 1923 and about 30 per cent below the spring of last year. In Germany both coal and lignite production is substantially larger than last year, but there are indications that stocks of coal are accumu- 324 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN lating. British pig-iron production, which ran up to 714,000 long tons in May, 1923, has since been steadily declining, dropping to 569,000 tons in January of this year. During the same period the French output was steadily rising, from 306,000 metric tons in February, 1923, to 669,000 metric tons in January, 1925. The rate of output of pig iron for England and France combined is thus about what it was €arly in 1923, as the increase in French production has approximately offset the decline in British production. Both countries, however, show a moderate decline in February compared with January. Monthly German figures for the period are not available; but in the first half of 1923 the output of the Rhineland was very small, while now it is a material factor in the world market. The slump in the output of British pig iron and the current reports of keen competition for orders among the continental producers are thus the result in part of increased production on the Continent. Credit conditions.—The growth in European trade and production in recent months has been reflected in increased demand for credit to finance current operations, and money has CENTRAL BANK! DISCOUNT RATES 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 been tight on the Continent except in Switzerland and the Netherlands. In other countries rates are either still at very high levels or have recently been advanced. Within recent months there have been some reductions in the discount rates of central banks in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland, but the rate in Germany is still 9 per cent and in the other three countries it is even higher. In France the bank rate was advanced from 6 to 7 per cent in December, and since the first of the current year five other European countries M A Y , 1925 have raised their rates—Lithuania from 6 to 7 per cent on February 8, Greece from 7J^ to 8J^ per cent on February 15, and the Bank of England from 4 to 5 per cent on March 5; following the raising of the Bank of England's rate, that of the note issuing department of Czechoslovakia was raised from 6 to 7 per cent on the 25th and of the Bank of Italy from 5J^ to 6 on the 9th. The present position of central bank rates in European countries is shown by the chart. The high rates prevailing at many continental central banks, together with various practices in effect in different countries for rationing and restricting credit, indicate, that, though progress has been made toward improvement of monetary and financial conditions, there is still a widespread scarcity of working capital in continental Europe. INDEXES OF FACTORY EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS Wages paid to factory workers are an important factor in the consumers' demand for commodities, and changes in the aggregate amount of such payments indicate, although they do not of course accurately measure, fluctuations in the volume of manufacturing production. These changes are also one factor in the shifting demand for currency as well as in the credit requirements of current business. A measure of the fluctuations in factory pay rolls will, therefore, it is believed, furnish a useful addition to existing indicators of changes in business conditions, and the Federal Reserve Board has accordingly compiled an index of the amount of pay rolls in manufacturing industries, similar to the index of factory employment which has appeared currently in the BULLETIN for over a year. The employment index itself has been revised in some respects on the basis of data which have recently become available. The new index of pay rolls and the revised index of employment are presented in this article. In many respects changes in amount of pay rolls are more responsive to changes in business activity than are changes in number employed. In times of decreased production, establishments often retain workers on their pay rolls at part-time, and in time of expansion the increased production may be affected in part by additions to the hours of labor rather than to the working force. Changes of this character, though they do not affect employment figures, are reflected in decreases or MAT, 1925 325 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN increases of wage payments. The pay-roll index, therefore, is at times a better indicator of changes in the volume of industrial activity and in the purchasing power of consumers than is the employment index, which reflects primarily changes in the number of persons employed in factories. Aggregate pay rolls, furthermore, are affected by changes in wage rates and in this respect take account of one factor in purchasing power of consumers which is not covered by the employment index. This increases the usefulness of the pay roll index as an indicator of changes in purchasing power but decreases its value as an index of business activity. The new indexes of employment and pay rolls are shown together on Chart A, and monthly figures since 1919 for the general indexes and for certain group indexes are given in Tables II and III. The statistics from PERCENT Data and methods.—In general, the data and methods employed in constructing the index of factory pay rolls are similar to those used in making the board's index of employment, the data and methods of construction of which were described in the FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN for December, 1923. Until recently no single agency collected employment data which satisfactorily represented the entire country either industrially or geographically. To secure a sufficiently broad basis for the index it was necessary to combine data from several sources. Statistics compiled by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the United States Employment Service, the New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa departments of labor, and the Federal Reserve 6ank of Philadelphia were combined to make indexes for 33 different industries. CHART A. i A / \\ ~^ \ \ , A Payrol 100 Employr \ PER CHART B. 150 Earn HA,,-' V 100 I Emplo /ment 50 50 FACTORIES RAILROADS 0 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924- 1925 which these indexes are constructed were secured, particularly in the earlier years, from a wide variety of sources. For the period since 1923, however, they have been composed almost entirely of data compiled by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. These statistics are now collected from nearly 9,000 establishments in 52 industries and cover about 2,800,000 employees, with a weekly pay roll of about $75,000,000. figures are used from 45 of these industries reclassified into 33 industries, which are in turn divided into 11 groups. The indexes may be considered as representative of conditions in manufacturing industries as a w;hole, which during 1923 employed on the average 8,800,000 workers and paid out weekly wages averaging over $200,000,000. The indexes for railroad workers shown on Chart B cover figures for about 1,800,000 workers with average weekly earnings of nearly $60,000,000. 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 The source data from which the indexes were constructed were in terms of monthto-month percentages of change, or link relatives, which were multiplied together in order to secure for each industry continuous series or chains of relatives from the various sources. In combining these chains into industry indexes, the series for each State were weighted in accordance with the relative importance of that State in the particular industry. The data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, which covered several sections of the country, were given the greatest weights which, furthermore, were increased as these statistics.became more comprehensive. The resulting indexes were expressed in terms of relatives with the monthly average for 1919 as the base or 100. The general index was a weighted average of these relatives for individual industries. This second set of weights was based upon the relative importance of the several industries as indi- 326 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN cated by the figures for total wages paid from the 1919 and 1921 census of manufactures. Comparisons later made with similar figures from the 1923 census showed no changes large enough to make necessary a revision of weights. By this method of weighting, indexes were secured for 11 industrial groups and for a few subgroups as well as for a combination of all industries. Table I gives a list of industries, groups, and subgroups, together with their respective weights used botn in the employment and in the pay-roll indexes. Census adjustments.—Indexes thus derived were adjusted as to level on the basis of data from the biennial census of manufactures. Partly because of the inadequacy of the statistics in many cases and to a certain extent because of the tendency toward a mathematical bias in the method of combining the links, the industry chain relatives, although reflecting MAY, 1925 making later adjustments in the employment index. It was found advisable, however, to vary from the standard methods in some cases in order to secure a better agreement with census figures in levels and trends. Whenever adjustments were made in the figures for an industry, therefore, this was done with consideration of the particular nature of the discrepancies in the index in question. Revisions in the employment index.—The indexes of employment in different industries have also been adjusted to bring them into agreement with 1923 census figures, and at the same time important changes in the composition of the indexes have been made. Since the statistics of the 1923 census of manufactures have become available it has been possible to make careful tests of the representativeness of the employment data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for individual industries in 50 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 with a fair degree of accuracy month-to-month changes, tend over longer periods of time to depart from the general trends of employment in the given industries. This bias or trend, when it appeared in a given industry, was corrected by the use of figures from the biennial census of manufactures, which show for 1919, 1921, and 1923 the average number employed each month and the total yearly wages paid in each industry. The standard procedure for making the necessary adjustments in employment between 1919 and 1921 were described and illustrated in some detail in the December, 1923, BULLETIN. In general, if the index for 1921 was below the relatives (on a 1919 base) for the census figures of that year, the index was raised, beginning in 1919 with a small increment of increase, which was enlarged each month until the end of 1921. This same general procedure was followed in the pay-roll index and in 1919 1921 1925 1923 and to determine whether, with the recent expansion of scope of these data, they are adequate without being supplemented by additional information previously obtained by the Federal Reserve Board from other sources. These tests showed, in the first place, that the bureau's figures on the whole agreed fairly well with the census figures and that the bureau's figures and those of the Federal Reserve Board were constantly becoming more closely similar. It was found advisable, therefore, to compute the board's revised index for some industries from the bureau's data alone, beginning as early as January, 1923, while in other industries greater agreement with the census figures was obtained by including data from some of the State agencies in 1923. In 1924, however, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' relatives and the board's more complicated indexes for corresponding industries were in such close agreement that the former were MAY, FEDERAL RESERVE substituted for the latter in every industry except two. Series from the Labor Bureau representing stamped and enameled ware and from the New York Department of Labor for brass, copper, and aluminum products were combined to secure an index for nonferrous metals. Likewise, figures for piano and organ manufacturing as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics were combined with data for musical instruments collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from Pennsylvania and New Jersey in order that the New Jersey manufacturers of phonographs, who do not report to the Labor Bureau, might be included. Chart C shows indexes of employment and pay rolls and census relatives for the iron and steel and textile groups. Comparison with the census curves gives some idea of the extent to which the indexes are representative of their respective industries. As a result of these revisions in the employment index and the use of similar data and methods in constructing the pay-roll index, the board's indexes substantially agree with those of the Bureau of Labor Statistics since the beginning of 1923 and agree almost exactly since January, 1924. In addition to the two exceptions noted above, however, there are further differences between the two sets of indexes. Some of these are due to omission by the board of data from certain industries included by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These omissions w e r e m ^de in cases where there were no continuous series going back to 1919. The most important of the industries omitted are sugar refining, petroleum refining, automobile tires, and shipbuilding. The effects of these differences in composition upon the movements of the two indexes are in fact insignificant. Slight differences between the two sets of indexes are also due in some cases to differences in grouping. For example, the board's indexes for the lumber and products group include musical instruments, and for iron and steel products include electrical machinery and agricultural implements, while the bureau placed these industries in the miscellaneous group. Another difference between the indexes of the board and the bureau is in the base period. The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the year 1923 as a base, partly because it was a representative year industrially, but largely because it was the only full year for which the bureau's 327 more comprehensive data were available at the time the employment index was first computed. The board's indexes, on the other hand, are expressed as relatives of 1919. The chief purpose of using 1919 as a base year has been to retain comparability with the board's other business indexes, which use 1919 as a basis. Final adjustments by means of census figures have improved the board's indexes considerably in the direction of making them more representative both of industrial activity as a whole and more especially of activity in individual industries. For individual industries, therefore, the board's indexes are in most cases fairly reliable indicators of conditions for the entire postwar period, including the period from 1919 to July, 1922, as well as that from July, 1922, to date, which is covered both by the board's indexes for individual industries and by those of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other employment and pay-roll indexes.— Employment and pay-roll indexes are published by most of the State agencies collecting such statistics. Their results are comparable with national indexes in broad fluctuations, but in month-to-month movements there are important variations caused by local peculiarities in business conditions and by differences in relative importance of industries. In Chart B are shown indexes of the number and earnings of employees of Class I railroads. Only annual figures were available for 1919, and earnings were reported only quarterly in 1920 and the first half of 1921. These indexes show movements, varying in detail, but fairly similar to those noted in the corresponding indexes for factory workers. Other measures of employment and pay rolls have been computed by Prof. W. A. Berridge, of Brown University, who assisted the board in constructing its first employment indexes, and have been published by the Harvard Review of Economic Statistics, the Brown Bureau of Business Research, a*id in some of Professor Berridge's published studies.1 These are comparable in general features with the board's indexes, but differ considerably in detail owing to greater comprehensiveness of the board's data and the biennial adjustments made by the board on the basis of census returns. i "Cycles of Unemployment in the United States, 1903-1922," W. A. Berridge (Pollak Foundation for Economic Research; Houghton, Mifflin Company, 1923) and "Purchasing Power of the Consumer," Berridge, Winslow, and Flynn (A. W. Shaw Company, 1925). 328 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN M A Y , 1925 Table I.—INDUSTRIES INCLUDED AND WEIGHTS USED IN EMPLOYMENT AND PAY-ROLL INDEXES Weights for employment index Industries Weights for payroll index 34.5 33.0 IV.—18. RAILROAD VEHICLES 22.5 26.0 8.0 13.0 0.5 1.0 2.0 34.0 10.5 14.0 0.5 1.0 2.0 30.0 13.5 7.0 3.5 2.0 1.0 10.5 3.0 3.0 1.0 2.5 1.0 12.0 9.0 2.0 1.0 11.0 5.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 9.0 2.0 3.0 0.7 2.5 0.8 10.0 7.0 2.0 1.0 Weights for employment index Industries I. METALS AND PRODUCTS—weight for group A. Iron and steel products—weight for subgroup 1. Iron and steel, crude and intermediate 2. Machinery 3. Hardware 4. Heating apparatus.. B. 5. Nonferrousmetals II. TEXTILES AND PRODUCTS—weight for group.. A. Fabrics and materials—weight for subgroup 6. Cotton 7. Wool 8. Silk _ 9. Dyeing and finishing B. Textile procucts—weight for subgroup.. 10. Knit goods 11. Men's clothing 12. Men's furnishings. 13. Women's clothing 14. Millinery and lace goods III. LUMBER AND PRODUCTS—weight for group.. 15. Sawmills and planing mills— 16. Furniture.. 17. Musical instruments Weights for payroll index I X . STONE, CLAY, AND GLASS—weight for group. 29. Lime, stone, and cement 30. Clay products 31. Glass X.—32. TOBACCO PRODUCTS XI.—33. CHEMICALS AND DRUGS Total . 8.0 4.5 8.0 2.0 1.0 5.0 7.5 3.0 0.5 2.5 1.5 4.5 1.0 3.5 3.5 0.5 2.0 1.0 3.0 1.5 10.0 6.0 8.0 2.0 0.5 5.5 7.5 3.0 0.7 2.6 1.2 4.0 1.0 3.0 3.5 0.7 1.8 1.0 1.5 1.5 100.0 V.—19. AUTOMOBILES VI. PAPER AND PRINTING—weight for group 20. Paper and pulp 21. Paper containers 22. Printing and publishing VII. FOOD AND PRODUCTS—weight for group 23. Animal products 24. Flour and gristmill products 25. Bread and bakery products 26. Confectionery and ice cream VIII. LEATHER AND PRODUCTS—weight for group. 27. Leather, tanning, etc 28. Boots and shoes 100.0 Table II.-REVISED INDEX OF EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES [Monthly average, 1919=100] | Textiles and products General index Group index Iron and steel Products 100.0 98.5 96.7 98.1 110.0 95.9 I 100.0 103.0 94.4 101.7 104.4 94.7 100.0 96.2 80.6 102.2 108.1 102.6 100.0 107.0 77.9 77.4 105.7 90.3 100.0 102.3 62.0 83.3 116.1 108.0 100.0 110.5 95.9 99.1 104.7 104.2 100.0 95.9 87.1 88.0 95.1 92.3 100.0 91.7 81.9 91.1 99.2 88.0 100.0 104.5 88.4 104.6 122.0 119.5 100.0 98.9 97.8 94.8 93.7 88.8 100.0 101.0 76.5 73.0 81.0 74.0 Group index Fabrics 100.0 100.5 95.7 99.7 107.5 95.4 ChemI/tale icais and products Lumber and products RailPaper road and Autovehi- mobiles printcles ing Foods Leather Stone, clay, and and and prod- prodglass ucts ucts Tobacco products 1919 average— 1920 average 1921 average 1922 average 1923 average 1924 average 100,0 103.2 82.1 90.4 104.0 95.0 100.0 110.3 66.7 77.5 98.6 87.3 100.0 110.4 66.5 76.8 98.4 86.9 1919 January. February... March April -May June July August September.. October November.. December... 98.0 95.0 95.2 95.7 96.4 97.5 99.6 101.7 103.8 102.8 105.5 108.4 106.5 102.6 99.8 97.9 95.2 94.1 96.6 101.1 103.0 94.2 100.9 108.0 92.7 107.8 103.5 86.5 100.5 89.3 98.4 93.2 95.2 97.1 93.9 100.3 96.1 I 104.5 100.6 i 104.5 102.8 106.1 93.1 107.3 100.3 107.8 107.9 110.1 93.0 82.6 86.4 92.5 99.7 104.2 106.8 106.8 105.7 106.0 106.4 110.0 92.4 91.5 93.1 94.0 93.7 95.3 101.4 101.6 106.6 108.9 109.5 110.4 88.4 89.2 92.2 92.6 95.0 96.0 98.6 103.1 107.9 111.1 112.2 113.4 104.6 101.7 99.6 97.4 97.1 96.5 98.4 98.0 100.3 101.0 102.1 103.4 85.7 86.6 88.4 92.0 93.7 98.1 102.4 105.0 110.0 113.1 113.2 110.6 97.8 97.4 97.8 96.8 95.6 98.0 99.5 100.8 101.8 101.9 104.3 107.8 104.8 101.4 100.3 96.4 94.5 95.6 97.3 98.8 100.5 101.7 103.6 105.8 97.2 97.4 96.7 95.4 96.8 97.6 98.4 101.3 102.6 103.5 105.7 107.5 77.7 74.2 80.3 95.1 107.6 112.2 106.4 112.9 107.3 109.6 106.4 104.1 111.7 110.4 110.6 108.4 106.8 98.5 86.5 77.9 86.2 91.5 106.1 105. 6 117.7 116.2 107.7 100.8 95.4 94.6 91.5 91.5 93.9 94.6 96.9 99.2 1920 January February-.. March April May -.— June ... July August September.. October November.. December—. 109.8 108.6 110.6 109.1 107.1 105.9 102.8 102.6 101.4 98.9 93.8 87.2 113.5 113.2 116.0 114.8 111.5 113.5 113.8 111.8 110.9 108.4 102.9 93.3 113.7 113.5 115.8 114.7 111.4 113.3 113.7 111.6 110.7 108.1 103.3 94.7 111.9 110.9 113.4 112.6 110.4 106.6 98.1 95.7 96.0 92.6 83.0 74.5 111.3 109.4 110.6 109.6 108.4 105.8 94.6 91.6 92.2 90.2 82.5 75.4 112.7 112.8 117.0 116.3 113.0 107.7 102.6 101.0 100.8 95.7 83.7 73.3 110.6 111.1 112.1 105.8 99.5 93.4 86.6 95.4 91.9 89.1 82.5 76.4 104.6 102.2 104.0 103.5 106.1 108.6 107.6 111.4 111.3 111.6 109. 5 103.7 115.6 117.4 117.9 116.0 112.4 109.3 109.7 102.6 96.0 84.7 75.5 71.1 109.5 108.2 110.0 109.7 109.6 109.6 111.6 111.8 112.3 112.8 112.0 108.9 100.7 97.0 97.4 95.1 95.2 96.0 96.5 96.3 96.2 95.3 94.5 91.2 108.8 106.7 107.3 104.8 101.8 97.1 89.3 87.3 78.6 76.0 72.2 70.4 ; 99.7 95.5 99.1 104.5 112.2 112.2 110.1 106.5 104.9 102.3 105.3 101.3 102.5 97.5 99.5 100.1 96.7 97.3 94.9 94.7 99.5 99.0 102.6 103.1 100.0 99.2 100.0 100.0 98.5 99.2 102.3 103.9 102.3 106.2 103.1 96.9 329 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN MAT, 1925 Table II.—REVISED INDEX OF EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES—Continued [Monthly average, 1919=100] Metals and products General index Group index Textiles and products Iron and steel uc°ts" Group index Lumber and products RailPaper road Autoand vehi- mobiles printcles ing Tobacco products Foods Leather and and prod- products ucts Chemicals and products 1921 January February... March April May June July August September.. October November. . December... 79.8 81.6 82.3 81.6 81.7 81.0 79.6 80.8 83.0 84.5 85.0 84.3 82.5 78.8 75.3 69.9 67.5 63.5 57.6 58.9 59.4 61.0 62.7 63.5 83.5 80.1 76.2 70.2 67.4 63.2 57.1 58.0 58.4 59.8 61.6 62.6 73.4 86.5 91.9 95.5 96.5 97.3 97.4 98.5 103.2 104.2 102.2 101.8 73.1 87.1 91.0 95.4 98.6 99.9 100.6 101.2 103.5 103.8 103.4 103.0 73.8 85.6 93.0 95.7 93.8 93.8 93.2 95.1 102.8 104.8 100.6 100.2 75.3 77.9 79.9 80.3 81.2 81.2 78.5 79.0 80.6 82.5 85.5 85.0 92.8 83.1 74.9 68.5 69.6 68.6 71.5 75.8 79.1 82.8 85.3 83.4 36.8 44.8 54.4 67.4 71.4 68.2 68.3 68.7 68.4 68.0 65.8 61.9 103.9 102.5 101.0 95.5 89.9 90.4 90.8 92.0 93.5 95.4 97.4 98.0 83.2 84.2 84.9 81.8 83.7 84.4 86.3 86.7 90.7 94.2 95.1 90.3 69.0 75.0 77.7 77.1 80.1 83.1 84.8 88.0 88.0 86.8 85.8 87.7 83.6 72.6 78.5 88.2 94.5 95.1 94.6 91.5 93.5 91.3 89.6 88.0 96.5 93.0 90.0 95.7 97.9 99.8 96.8 97.4 101.5 103.0 101.6 100.7 90.8 85.4 83.9 79.2 76.9 75.4 72.3 70.0 69.2 72.3 73.1 69.2 1922 January February... March April May June July August. September.. October November.. December... 83.8 85.6 86.6 86.2 88.4 89.8 86.9 89.6 92.5 96.2 98.7 100.4 63.4 66.1 69.0 72.2 75.2 77.5 78.2 79.5 82.0 85.6 88.9 92.3 62.7 65.5 68.3 71.8 74.7 76.9 77.4 78.5 81.2 84.7 88.1 91.6 101.5 103.3 99.9 96.5 95.1 94.5 94.0 96.4 100.0 102.4 104.8 107.6 102.1 100.1 92.6 89.7 90.9 91.6 92.3 94.2 99.5 103.2 108.6 112.0 100.7 107.5 109.2 105.3 100.5 98.3 96.2 99.2 100.7 101.4 99.9 101.8 91.7 96.1 99.9 99.0 103.8 106.8 105.5 106.0 104.2 105.1 105.2 102.4 77.3 76.8 78.5 77.3 79.1 82.3 39.2 52.8 70.6 92.2 99.8 103.0 61.0 65.2 69.9 75.7 84.0 89.4 91.4 92.6 91.6 91.3 92.8 95.1 100.1 99.2 97.9 95.1 97.2 96.6 96.7 98.8 100.2 101.4 102.3 104.3 84.6 84.9 85.6 81.2 82.3 83.9 87.0 89.9 89.8 93.6 96.9 96.0 89.5 90.4 88.3 84.2 83.9 85.4 88.9 93.1 95.4 95.9 98.0 100.1 81.3 79.7 90.3 100.9 112.2 113.8 112.5 113.5 113.8 112.9 113.3 111.4 88.1 92.3 93.9 88.5 91.5 92.2 97.3 96.5 99.0 100.0 99.3 99.1 68.5 68.5 70.0 70.0 70.8 70.0 72.3 73.9 75.4 77.4 79.6 80.2 1923 January February... Mareh April May June July August September.. October November.. December... 101.4 103.1 105.3 105.3 105.4 105.5 104.1 104.2 104.2 104.2 103.2 101.6 99.8 100.7 101.1 101.6 100.1 100.0 99.4 98.4 96.7 94.6 93.0 109.3 96.2 110.6 99.0 112.4 99.9 111.6 100.7 110.3 101.6 108.4 100.0 | 104.8 100.3 ! 104.5 99.8 105.3 98.7 105.0 97.1 103.9 94.5 104.1 113.0 113.5 114.6 114.5 114.1 112.3 107.7 105.7 106.0 105.4 105.9 106.7 104.6 107.0 109.5 107.8 105.3 103.4 101.0 103.0 104.4 104.5 101.4 100.7 103.8 105.9 107.6 108.5 108.7 110.3 110.3 109.7 109.1 108.7 108.2 106.6 104.6 103.8 105.8 104.5 106.0 108.2 108.0 108.7 107.2 106.9 105.4 99.3 101.2 109.0 114.3 119.2 121.2 120.1 117.3 117.8 118.0 118.5 118.9 118.1 103.8 104.2 105.4 105.4 104.4 104.9 104.4 103.5 103.9 105.0 105.4 106.1 90.9 91.3 92.4 89.4 90.5 93.4 95.9 96.8 99.0 102.0 101.1 98.8 103.1 104.9 105.0 102.2 100.0 95.6 94.7 99.0 98.2 97.8 96.6 110.2 111.0 115.9 123.5 127.6 128.4 126.7 127.4 126.3 125.1 122.5 119.3 95.8 95.2 96.1 93.3 93.2 93.1 90.8 89.0 93.5 94.6 95.6 94.7 81.7 82.3 83.0 80.7 81.0 80.1 79.5 79.9 80.0 81.0 81.1 81.2 1924 January February... March April May June July August September.. October November.. December... 100.2 101.2 101.2 99.1 95.7 92.6 89.1 89.6 91.3 92.9 92.6 94.3 95.7 96.9 95.5 89.6 85.0 80.3 79.1 80.5 82.5 82.8 85.7 93.5 95.2 96.2 95.1 89.3 84.8 80.0 78.9 80.2 82.1 82.4 85.2 103.9 105.4 103.7 98.9 94.8 91.9 85.7 87.4 90.5 93.6 93.1 96.2 104.0 104.5 102.3 98.1 94.9 92.0 85.8 87.4 90.8 95.4 96.1 100.0 103.9 106.5 105.4 99.8 94.7 91.8 85.4 87.4 90.2 91.4 89.2 91.2 103.5 105.7 105.4 105.9 104.6 101.7 99.7 99.9 100.9 101.9 101.1 101.0 94.1 91.3 90.7 91.5 91.1 89.6 89.1 88.4 88.8 89.8 89.1 89.7 123.6 126.4 128.8 123.4 111.6 99.8 95.1 96.4 97.2 98.6 96.3 99.3 105.7 105.3 105.2 104.6 104.1 103.3 101.5 101.5 104.0 104.5 105.2 105.9 94.8 94.8 93.3 89.9 88.8 90.7 90.8 91.0 93.4 94.0 92.6 93.2 93.4 93.8 94.1 89.1 85.1 80.5 80.7 84.8 88.0 89.2 88.7 87.9 113.6 113.8 119.7 125.0 126.4 124.1 118.1 121.3 119.3 118.8 117.7 116.1 91.0 91.6 90.3 87.2 87.0 86.9 88.0 87.4 89.7 83.3 91.8 91.1 80.5 80.3 79.4 78.2 75.0 69.1 68.5 68.7 69.9 71.9 72.5 74.1 1925 January February... March 94.6 95.9 96.4 87.5 89.6 90.1 87.1 89.1 89.5 97.4 99.9 100.0 100.6 101.4 101.0 93.4 97.9 98.6 99.8 100.4 99.6 89.3 89.8 89.9 103.8 105.1 112.7 105.1 104.9 105.7 90.2 89.6 86.8 90.9 92.5 92.5 109.7 110.7 116.8 87.0 87.7 88.5 74.0 74.6 75.5 I Table III.—INDEX OF PAY ROLLS IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES [Monthly average, 1919=100] Metals and products General index 1919 average 1920 average 1921 average 1922 average 1923 average 1924 average 100.0 123.5 83.6 89.2 113.2 104.1 Textiles and products | Group index Iron and steel 100.0 127.0 60.7 69.5 102.3 90.3 100.0 126.5 60.0 68.4 101.9 89.9 Group index Fabrics 100.0 121.4 102.6 102.5 117.5 102.5 Products 100.0 123.3 104.9 108.1 114.6 101.4 Lumber and products. 100.0 125.2 79.3 93.3 112.8 109.9 RailPaper Auto- • and road vehi- mobiles printing cles 100.0 123.2 83.1 81.4 111.7 94.9 100.0 120.0 64.0 88.0 134.6 124.1 100.0 135.3 114.5 118.5 131.3 134.6 Foods Leather and and prod- products ucts 100.0 112.6 97.3 93.7 105.8 104.9 Chemicals and products 330 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY. 1925 Table HI.—INDEX OP PAY ROLLS IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES—Continued [Monthly average, 1919=100] General index 1919 January February March April May June July August September... October November... December.... 1920 January February March April.... May June July... August September... October November... December 1921 January, February March April May June July August September... October November. _. December.... 1922 January February March.. April... May June _ _ July August September._ October November. _. December... 1923 January February. _. March April May... June _. July August September.. October November. _ December. _. 1924 January February. _. March _ April May June _ _ July August _ September.. October November. _ December. _. Metals and products Lumber and prodGroup Prod- ucts index Fabrics ucts Textiles and products RailPaper road Autoand vehi- mobiles printcles ing Group index Iron and steel 102.7 108.2 103.6 109.7 119.2 109.3 103.5 99.4 94.3 89.6 87.2 89.3 101.3 106. 9 95.9 106.1 117.4 109.4 103.7 100.0 94.7 89.5 88.0 89.8 102.3 106.6 94.4 105.1 116.9 81.9 72.3 77.8 83.6 89.6 99.0 107.5 112.3 115.9 113.4 115.6 130.8 85.1 66.4 71.7 83.6 95.7 108.1 111.4 112.5 112.1 110.2 110.9 132.4 79.5 85.2 83.6 82.1 87.9 102.7 112.1 120.6 117.4 121.3 128.8 84.5 84.0 85.7 89.6 94.5 101.3 104.2 107.8 112.1 105.8 112.8 118.6 125.1 102.2 102.4 99.1 98.2 92.7 92.5 87.6 95.3 94.9 103.6 106.6 123.7 121.7 130.3 127.2 129.4 131.0 125.3 127.7 125.9 122.4 113.4 104.5 124.0 123.6 134.4 130.2 128.7 133.9 131.1 130.9 131.9 128.3 120.4 106.9 123.8 123.4 133.9 129.4 128.1 133.1 130.1 130.1 130.7 127.5 120.3 108.1 136.1 134.7 142.2 139.3 136.4 134.2 120.8 118.8 116.1 106.2 91.0 81.4 135.1 130.7 135.1 135.2 135.7 137.3 120.6 118.8 118.2 100.5 90.0 81.9 137.4 139.5 150.9 144.3 137.3 130.4 121.0 118.8 113.6 113.1 92.2 80.7 128.9 128.4 137.0 130.9 130.1 130.1 125.1 130.6 126.5 122.2 110.3 102.1 88.9 87.8 88.6 86.0 84.4 82.9 79.0 81.3 81.3 81.0 79.9 82.1 89.5 80.0 75.0 66.7 62.9 55.4 47.5 49.2 48.0 49.6 51.3 53.4 90.3 80.7 75.6 66.4 62.4 54.3 46.3 47.7 46.6 48.0 49.7 52.1 77.5 94.9 104.2 106.4 104.5 105.8 104.9 107.8 111.1 105.1 101.2 107.3 73.5 90.2 96.6 102.8 106.9 108.9 106.2 104.1 107.5 101.9 100.8 108.3 82.4 100.8 113.5 110.8 101.6 102.1 103.3 112.3 115.5 109.1 101.7 106.1 77.6 80.6 82.9 81.4 85.2 88.4 85.1 89.9 94.3 97.9 102.2 105.0 51.4 54.8 58.3 60.8 64.9 68.5 67.2 71.9 76.2 81.8 86.8 91.6 50.1 53.8 57.1 59.7 63.7 67.4 65.9 70.6 74.9 80.8 85.8 90.7 103.0 107.4 103.2 95.0 94.2 95.7 98.4 101.2 105.3 105.1 109.3 112.3 102.2 99.8 89.3 86.3 89.4 90.3 92.8 94.6 101.3 101.5 112.4 116.0 103.9 107.5 112.7 113.5 117.5 117.5 113.3113.6 114.1 117.1 114.8 113.3 90.9 95.6 100.7 102.7 108.2 102.6 104.4 103.8 105.7 102.6 101.3 94.7 99.4 101.5 107.7 108.7 102.3 104.6 104.2 106.2 102.9 101.1 115.6 119.2 123.8 120.6 123.7 120.9 115.1 114.0 114.8 116.7 111.6 113.9 108.3 113.8 113.4 110.6 105.5 99.9 96.1 99.3 102.8 101.0 105.8 97.4 103.1 104.8 102.4 94.9 85.1 75.4 78.6 80.7 84.9 85.1 91.6 97.0 102.5 104.0 102.0 94.7 84.9 75.0 78.3 80.1 84.7 84.5 91.1 103.1 108.9 110.4 92.9 96.3 99.2 92.6 95.8 96.5 97.3 91.3 91.8 91.5 92.3 94 7 97.6 92.3 79.8 85.6 87.2 90.5 Foods Leather Stone, To- Chemclay, bacco icals and and and prod- prodprod- prod- and ucts ucts ucts ucts 92.3 97.5 100.0 111.7 123.6 120.9 115.6 94.0 93.6 94.5 94.2 93.2 98.8 101.0 104.6 110.6 93.4 98.0 124.4 98.3 97.2 98.2 94.2 94.1 96.5 96.2 99.0 102.3 102.8 108.0 113.6 95.8 92.4 90.9 87.8 91.5 94.8 98.3 104.7 106.1 108.1 110.6 119.2 76.9 72.8 80.8 89.4 95.3 110.3 105.3 109.8 113.4 114.3 116.9 110.9 102.9 98.3 102.3 95.8 100.2 90.8 83.9 79.1 95.0 98.8 124.8 128.3 111.4 104.8 97.1 92.9 90.1 91.0 92.1 90.9 99.2 105.3 111.7 114.0 103.8 102.2 110.2 111.1 123.1 127.6 116.6 140.2 136.3 138.2 136.2 132.7 128.9 126.2 134.8 129.5 136.8 129.7 129.0 128.5 122.7 116.6 82.2 74.6 128.1 126.5 134.1 130.8 135.1 135.6 135.7 138.8 139.7 143.3 141.5 134.9 110.5 105.6 111.9 102.8 114.6 118.3 117.1 115.7 115.9 115.9 114.6 108.7 122.2 115.8 121.9 120.3 118.0 118.5 110.1 106.9 92.7 85.5 81.0 79.4 110.3 102.3 110.0 124.0 137.6 142.0 138.8 137.9 137.3 138.9 140.4 132.6 117.7 107.3 120.2 117.8 120.2 121.2 110.7 109.9 116.0 117.4 120.8 117.8 116.0 113.6 120.7 122.2 122.4 126.2 128.2 132.5 128.6 136.0 132.0 116.9 79.8 82.4 84.6 82.3 80.1 83.0 73.7 79.8 76.9 75.3 75.5 78.6 110.7 95.9 88.3 77.6 75.1 73.6 70.7 77.4 76.6 83.8 84.1 83.6 32.2 36.6 50.4 75.8 81.4 79.6 79.6 76.5 72.9 65.8 60.6 56.1 127.5 121.6 120.8 114.0 105.6 108.3 108.9 109.7 111.6 113.3 114.1 118.1 100.2 100.0 99.6 92.3 96.2 94.5 95.7 94.6 98.5 102.6 98.7 94.6 73.6 87.4 86.5 83.1 84.3 90.2 90.2 95.2 93.3 89.2 85.9 95.6 100.7 81.3 87.0 96.7 102.2 101.4 93.5 95.7 93.5 92.4 90.7 91.0 102.4 95.5 95.3 96.7 104.0 105.7 98.6 98.2 101.8 97.4 89.9 93.9 107.8 94.7 94.0 88.6 85.9 83.4 81.2 75.5 74.2 78.7 79.2 75.6 103.9 116.8 120.2 105.7 100.1 102.3 105.3 109.3 110.2 109.6 105.5 107.8 80.4 85.3 90.2 88.8 92.0 94.8 92.2 96.8 96.7 99.0 101.5 101.5 72.4 73.1 79.9 75.4 80.1 86.2 50.9 65.7 83.0 96.9 105.0 108.2 40.8 61.5 66.2 79.5 90.5 97.4 97.3 104.9 101.3 102.8 105.4 108.1 115.1 111.3 116.7 114.0 116.5 116.5 115.2 117.8 121.8 123.5 125.2 129.0 88.9 96.8 87.5 97.5 89.1 92.0 82.9 86.0 88.7 • 85.3 91.8 88.2 93.7 91.0 93.4 96.6 98.1 98.2 101.0 97.0 106.1 100.5 103.5 105. 5 78.5 73.3 80.2 90.0 105.8 111.3 113.1 114.3 116.9 115.7 118.2 119.1 81.7 80.3 86.3 75.3 87.1 91.9 96.9 96.5 99.7 99.7 105.1 104.4 74.8 73.9 75.6 76.1 76.8 76.6 80.8 84.3 85.6 89.4 92.2 94.9 116.1 117.6 120.2 121.5 130.0 125.9 118.3 115.9 119.1 117.7 115.9 120.3 115.1 121.2 128.1 119.5 116.0 114.7 111.2 111.7 109.6 115.4 106.4 106.1 102.8 107.4 111.3 114.8 117.2 115.6 114.4 116.2 118.3 119.1 116.8 104.1 103.5 110.2 109.8 113.8 117.7 113.4 115.8 112.7 118.3 114.8 105.8 102.9 122.5 133.4 140.2 143.2 137.9 133.3 136.5 134.3 145.7 145.8 139.7 127.7 128.3 131.7 132.4 133.5 132.7 130.7 125.8 129.9 132.5 133.5 136.5 98.7 98.0 101.0 97.9 103.6 107.5 108.9 106.3 110.7 112.2 114.0 111.5 107.9 110.2 111.8 106.9 106.4 100.7 98.0 104.9 104.5 104.1 98.8 99.7 114.1 115.1 128.2 141.6 151.7 152.2 147.3 151.6 151.5 154.9 152.1 146.6 98.0 94.6 98.1 94.2 93.3 96.0 92.8 84.6 94.2 101.1 101.1 103.5 95.2 95.8 98.8 99.6 102.0 101.9 102.0 100.8 101.2 107.6 106.0 105.6 114.1 118.0 113.7 105.8 9§.7 94.0 85.8 92.3 98.3 103.0 99.1 107.5 115.1 117.4 111.6 105.4 100.0 93.4 85.3 91.5 97.5 105.6 104.5 113.9 112.9 118.6 116.3 106.3 97.2 94.7 86.4 93.4 99.3 99.8 92.5 99.7 106.9 113.9 114.3 114.4 112.1 109.6 102.1 105.0 107.8 111.2 110.2 111.9 93.5 96.3 96.1 99.1 97.1 97.1 88.6 91.6 90.3 97.6 94.6 97.4 125.3 156.6 154.3 149.2 132.5 109.3 99.9 107.6 111.8 116.8 111.4 114.5 136.1 106.1 136.1 106.4 136.9 105.1 136.7 101.6 135.2 101.9 133.3 104.2 128.2 104.8 128.0 102.6 133.4 107.8 135.6 105.5 136.0 , 105.1 139.9 107.2 99.9 101.0 100.0 90.9 86.1 81.7 80.7 91.0 95.9 96.2 87.9 91.5 137.6 142.9 149.0 156.3 158.3 157.1 142.0 148.4 146.0 149.6 145.1 143.6 95.8 95.2 87.5 89.8 92.8 90.4 90.2 93.9 85.5 97.9 100.0 102.3 103.8 104.6 102.8 98.6 90.6 87.9 89.9 91.1 95.4 95.5 98.2 108.6 113.4 114.4 112.9 114.2 114.2 103.3 112.4 114.7 103.1 108.5 109.7 91.5 100.0 100.2 99.9 132.1 142.9 138.2 137.5 139.4 95.3 99.7 100.0 128.8 136.4 143.4 93.5 87.0 88.3 07.0 ©9.7 101.6 77.9 95.2 192S January February. _. March 102.8 105.4 103.5 MAT, 1925 331 FEDERAL EESEEVE BULLETIN TURNOVER OF STOCKS AT DEPARTMENT mond districts. In 1921 the volume of sales declined somewhat less than stocks, with the STORES The rate at which stocks of merchandise are sold and replenished is an important factor affecting the expenses of operating retail firms and in determining the amount of credit that is required to finance retail trade. In view of the importance of this relationship between stocks and sales at department stores the Federal Reserve Board, in cooperation with the Federal reserve banks and the Controllers' Congress of the Retail Dry Goods Association, decided to add to the regular retail trade reports data showing the rate of turnover each month and the cumulative rate from the beginning of the year through the current month. The rate of turnover for each month is computed by dividing total sales by average stocks during the month, and the rate of turnover for the period from the beginning of the year through the current month is calculated by dividing total sales for the period by average stocks. Since 1919 more than 300 department stores distributed throughout the United States have reported statistics on sales and stocks regularly to the Federal reserve system. These firms represent about 27 per cent of the total department-store business, which approximates $5,500,000,000 a year, and the data from them for a number of years makes it possible to study the relation between the volume of sales, the size of stocks, and the number of times that stocks were turned over each year. Sales during each month and stocks of merchandise on hand at the end of the month are expressed in dollars and the annual rate of turnover has been computed for each Federal reserve district by dividing total sales for the year by average monthly stocks. These district data were weighted according to the relative importance of retail trade in each district to obtain the average turnover for the entire country. The results of this analysis show that in 1919 stores turned over their stocks 3.47 times, a higher rate than for any year since that time. In 1920 sales did not increase in proportion to stocks and as a result the rate of turnover declined to 3.08, which was a lower average rate than for any other year for which data are available. Stocks were moved more slowly in 1920 in all reporting Federal reserve districts, though the greatest slowing down was in the Cleveland and Rich- result that the rate of turnover increased to 3.41 and goods moved at about that same rate in 1922 and 1923. In 1924, on the other hand, average stocks increased more than sales and the rate of turnover dropped to 3.33. The following table shows the average rate of stock turnover each year since 1919: ANNUAL RATE OF STOCK TURNOVER AT DEPARTMENT STORES. Rate of turnover Year 1919 1920._. 1921 1922 _ 1923 1924 3 47 3.08 3 41 3 38 3.38 3.33 While fluctuations in the rates at which goods flowed through retail channels after 1919 have followed somewhat the same general course throughout the country, a comparison of these data by different sections of the country shows that the rate of turnover is highest in the New York, Boston, and Chicago Federal reserve districts, followed by the Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Richmond districts, and is slowest in the San Francisco, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Atlanta districts. In 1923 the average annual turnover of stocks at department stores varied from 3.92 times in the New York district to 2.53 times in the Atlanta district, and in 1924 stores in the New York district turned over their stock 3.96 times, while those in the Atlanta district turned over their stock only 2.53 times. The following table shows the average rate of turnover for stores in the different Federal reserve districts in 1923 and 1924: ANNUAL RATE OF STOCK TURNOVER , RESERVE DISTRICTS BY FEDERAL Rate of turnover District 1923 Boston New York Philadelphia Cleveland _ __ Richmond Atlanta, __ Chicago Minneapolis Dallas San Francisco 3.79 3.92 3.39 3.37 3.07 2.54 3.55 2.79 2.82 3.07 1924 3.73 3.96 3.27 3.18 3.13 2.53 3.44 2.76 2.84 2.98 332 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN Although the average rate of stock turnover is highest in the eastern and the Chicago Federal reserve districts, and lowest in the southern and western districts, there is considerable variation in the rate for the different cities of the several Federal reserve districts. Generally the rate is most rapid in the larger cities and slowest in the smaller centers, where merchants can not replenish stocks so quickly from wholesalers. In 1924 the highest rate of turnover was in the cities of Indianapolis, Des Moines, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, New York, and Newark, in all of which stocks were turned over more than four times. In order to analyze the rate of turnover for stores at which there is a considerable variation in the volume of sales, the firms were grouped according to the size of the annual volume of sales, and an analysis of the data shows that there is a direct relation between the volume of sales at each establishment and the rate of stock turnover. In 1924 stores with a volume of sales of more than $25,000,000 had an average stock turnover of 4.02 times, while firms selling less than $500,000 worth of merchandise turned over their stocks only 1.77 times. Variations in the rate of stock turnover for stores with annual sales ranging from less than $500,000 to more than $25,000,000 are shown in the following table: ANNUAL RATE OF STOCK TURNOVER, BY DIFFERENT SIZED FIRMS Rate of turnover 1923 Firms selling— Under $500,000 $500,000 to $1,000,000 $1,000,000 to $2,000,000-. $2,000,000 to $5,000,000$5,000,000 to $10,000,000. $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 Over $25,000,000 1.90 2.40 2.51 3.16 3.41 3.82 4.06 1924 1.77 2.42 2.50 3.15 3.32 3 69 4.02 Detailed statistics showing the rate of stock turnover by Federal reserve districts and cities within each district since 1919 are given in the following table: , 1925 RATE OF STOCK TURNOVER BY FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS AND CITIES WITHIN EACH DISTRICT, SINCE 1919 Federal reserve district Boston: Boston Outside District New York: New York and Brooklyn Bridgeport. Buffalo Newark... Rochester Syracuse. Other cities District Philadelphia: Philadelphia Lancaster _ Other cities District Cleveland: Cleveland Akron. Canton. _ Cincinnati Columbus Dayton Pittsburgh Toledo Wheeling Other cities District Richmond: Baltimore Richmond Washington All others.. District Atlanta: Atlanta Birmingham Nashville New Orleans Savannah Other cities District Chicago: Chicago Detroit Des Moines Indianapolis Milwaukee Other cities District Minneapolis: Minneapolis. Helena St. Paul... Other cities District Dallas: Dallas. Fort Worth Houston Other cities District San Francisco: San Francisco Los Angeles Salt Lake City Seattle Spokane. Oakland District United States 1924 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 3.90 3.60 4.23 4.04 2.91 3.22 3.50 2.91 3.64 3.50 4.03 3.75 4.14 3.59 3.97 4.03 3.09 3.06 3.13 3.00 2.95 2.76 3.12 3.20 3.44 2.99 3.72 3.81 2.83 2.49 3.22 3.55 2.87 2.57 3.13 3.43 2.36 2.27 2.32 2.36 3.86 3.38 3.82 3.88 4.07 2.95 3.79 4.04 2.83 3.73 4.08 3.25 3.32 3.87 3.67 3.63 2.27 3.92 4.19 3.20 3.23 4.04 3.55 3.48 2.33 3.96 4.73 2.89 2.99 3.68 4.88 2.89 2.81 3.65 4.84 2.62 3.10 3.68 4.51 2.46 2.73 3.38 4.56 2.51 2.69 3.39 4.15 2.58 2.72 3.27 4.63 3.80 1.76 2.62 3.45 2.81 3.15 2.46 2.30 2.87 3.25 4.16 3.36 1.44 2.41 3.15 2.80 2.92 2.19 2.14 2.64 2.99 4.13 2.98 1.59 2.48 3.54 3.08 3.13 2.52 2.50 2.75 3.13 4.07 3.16 1.62 2.57 3.48 3.40 3.39 2.76 2.71 2.99 3.29 3.91 3.33 1.83 2.76 3.48 3.26 3.50 2.81 2.83 3.25 3.37 3.70 3.15 1.67 2.99 3.49 3.03 3.20 2.39 2.75 3.26 3.18 3.52 3.89 3.68 2.89 3.50 3.03 3.26 2.89 2.51 2.93 3.57 3.44 3.68 2.88 3.48 3.41 3.50 3.18 2.52 3.21 3.30 3.21 3.05 2.38 3.07 3.39 2.94 3.24 2.27 3.13 3.06 2.44 2.42 2.69 2.47 2.58 2.59 2.70 2.38 2.52 2.85 2.22 2.26 2.59 2.36 2.45 2.48 2.65 2.11 2.35 2.47 2.65 2.77 2.55 2.63 2.25 2.34 2.54 2.78 2.81 2.56 2.58 2.36 2.23 2.53 4.14 3.47 5.09 4.19 4.28 2.47 4.15 4.17 4.55 4.18 4.22 2.42 3.66 4.15 4.36 4.76 3.15 3.27 2.52 3.55 4.24 4.25 4.60 4.69 2.88 2.42 3.44 3.44 1.97 2.40 2.10 2.65 3.73 2.10 2.59 2.21 2.86 3.80 2.52 2.43 2.19 2.82 3.81 2.38 2.37 2.25 2.79 3.68 2.25 2.37 2.22 2.76 2.82 2.59 2.68 2.85 2.77 2.81 2.61 2.66 3.05 2.82 2.84 2.58 2.77 2.88 2.78 2.80 2.63 3.03 2.82 2.82 i 2.76 2.65 2.98 2.95 2.84 2.69 2.71 3.20 2.51 2.23 2.29 2.61 3.08 2.88 2.95 3.30 2.90 2.18 2.51 2.84 3.41 2.93 3.19 2.62 3.19 2.06 2.34 3.02 3.38 2.95 ! 2.91 3.45 ! 3.27 2.72 2.25 3.14 3.17 2.15 2.05 2.45 2.45 3.07 2.98 3.33 3.95 2.33 2.61 2.24 2.92 2.98 2.78 3.58 3.05 2.59 2.36 2.84 3.47 333 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 Changes in State Bank Membership The following list shows the State banks and trust companies which were admitted to membership in the Federal reserve system during the month ended April 21, 1925, on which date 1,533 State institutions were members of the system; also other changes affecting State bank membership: ADMISSIONS Capital Surplus Total resources $200,000 Longacre Bank, New York, N. Y Community Trust Co., Middleport, 100,000 N.Y $75,108 $2,887,332 District No. 2 10,000 5,572,930 10,000 516,625 During the month ended April 21, 1925, the Federal Reserve Board approved applications of the national banks listed below for permission to exercise one or more of the fiduciary powers named in section 11 (k) of the Federal reserve act as amended, as follows: (1) Trustee; (2) executor; (3) administrator; (4) registrar of stocks and bonds; (5) guardian of estates; (6) assignee; (7) receiver; (8) committee of estates of lunatics; (9) in any other fiduciary capacity in which the State banks^ trust companies, or other corporations which come into competition with national banks are permitted to act under the laws of the State in which the national bank is located. 362,927 400,000 Fiduciary Powers Granted to National Banks District No. 3 Excelsior Trust Co., Philadelphia, Pa.. 300,000 Location District No. 11 Central State Bank, Sherman, Tex 100,000 CHANGES District No. 2 District No. Maiden, Mass N o r t h Attleborough Mass. Charlestown, N. H Bellows Falls, Vt $800,000 $36,225,224 Enosburg Falls, Vt West Orange, N. J Highland Falls, N. Y... Dallastown, Pa DuBois, Pa 25,000 25,000 1,007,797 Erie, Pa Scranton, Pa Strasburg, Va Yorkville Bank, New York, N. Y. (merged with Manufacturers Trust Co., New York, N. Y., a member) $200,000 District No. 5 Liberty Bank of Baltimore County, Baltimore, Md. (absorbed by a nonmember bank) _ District No. 6 Bank of Cave Spring, Cave Spring, Ga., (voluntary withdrawal) American State Bank, Athens, Ga. (closed) _ $25,000 $25,000 $188,724 100,000 20,000 954, 255 District No. 7 Citizens State Bank, Early, Iowa (consolidated with State Bank of Early, Iowa, a member) Orlando, Fla Seabreeze, Fla Vincennes, Ind Salina, Kans Kansas City Oakland, Calif 30,000 5,000' 329,476 25,000 2,000 120,736 60,000 1,941,975 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 3 5 6 6 8 10 10 12 Powers granted Name of bank First National Bank.... Manufacturers National Bank. Connecticut River National Bank. National Bank of Bellows Falls. First National Bank do .. do do Du Bois National Bank. Second National Bank.. First National Bank... Massanutten National Bank. First National Bank do . . . do Farmers National Bank. New England National Bank & Trust Co. New First National Bank. Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 4 to 9 Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 land 4 Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 Ito9 5 and 8 Ito9 Ito9 District No. 8 Commercial Bank, Bertrand, Mo. (voluntary liquidation) District No. 11 Farmers & Mechanics State Bank, Childress, Tex. (succeeded by a national bank) 50,000 First State Bank, Wills Point, Tex. (converted into a national bank) 100,000 Como State Bank, Como, Tex. (converted into a national bank) 25,000 Lubbock State Bank, Lubbock, Tex. (converted into a national bank) 200,000 Security State Bank, Lubbock, Tex. (converted into a national bank) 100,000 Farmers State Bank, Olney, Tex. (converted into a national bank) 40,000 First State Bank, Sylvester, Tex. (converted into a national bank) 35,000 First State Bank, Bay City, Tex. (ab75,000 sorbed by a nonmember bank) Citizens National Bank, Longview, Tex. 100,000 (absorbed by a member bank) District No. 12 Farmers & Merchants Bank, Filer, Idaho (absorbed by a national bank).. Citizens State Bank, Gooding, Idaho (closed) Yakima Trust Co., Yakima, Wash, (voluntary liquidation) 50,000 629,926 25,000 205, 375 20,000 2,601, 390 10,000 953,774 8,500 763,610 2,000 220,910 Changes in National Bank Membership The Comptroller of the Currency reports the following increases and reductions in the number and capital of national banks during the period from March 21 to April 17, 1925, inclusive: 3,000 494,657 336,230 Number of banks New charters issued Restored to solvency Increase of capital approved Aggregate of new charters, banks restored to solvency, and banks increasing capital Li quidations Reducing capital 25,000 1,000 159,406 25,000 15,000 195,222 200,000 50,000 1, 559,710 Total liquidations and reductions of capital.. Consolidations of national banks under act of Nov. 7, 1918 Aggregate increased capital for period Change of title.—The First Guaranty State Bank, Seymour, Tex., has Reduction of capital owing to liquidations, etc changed its title to First State Bank. Net increase The Chattanooga Savings Bank, Chattanooga, Tenn., has changed its title to Chattanooga Savings Bank & Trust Co. Amount of capital 26 $2,295,000 0 0 18 7,075,000 44 9,370,000 16 3 1,320,000 130,000 19 1,450,000 1 100,000 9, 370,000 1,450,000 7,920,000 834 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 BUSINESS STATISTICS FOR THE UNITED STATES INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY Business activity during March, when allowances are made for seasonal variations, was probably somewhat less than during February. Exact comparisons of March statistics with those of other months, however, are complicated by the fact that March this year had five Sundays, which reduced the number of working days; furthermore, the usual seasonal changes in some lines were probably affected by the fact that Easter this year was later than usual, but at the same time was earlier than a year ago. Production in basic industries, which is adjusted for seasonal changes, declined to 120 in March, as compared with 124 in February and 127 in January. On the other hand, the preliminary figure for the unadjusted manufacturing index increased to 133 over 126 in January. The difference on trend of the two indexes is due primarily to three factors—(1) the seasonal adjustments, (2) the influence of the sharp decline in coal output on the basic production index, and (3) the influence of increases in production of automobiles, shoes, and building materials in the manufacturing index. The mineral index declined from 140 in January to 123 in March, and the index of agricultural movements has also tended downward. The iron and steel industry continued to , operate at a high rate during March. Silk deliveries to American mills were the largest on record, and total cotton consumption was fairly large, although the daily average was less than in February. The woolen industry showed decreases in wool consumption, spindle activity, employment, and pay rolls. Output of food products was somewhat smaller than in February. Automobile production has shown the most rapid increase in recent months, but in March was still smaller than a year earlier. Among minerals, decreases in amount of coal mined has been most marked. Production of nonferrous metals, on the other hand, has continued rather high. Receipts of livestock and grains showed seasonal declines in March and were less than a year ago. Cotton sight receipts on the other hand, have been unusually well maintained, and were much larger in March than a year earlier. Vegetable and fruit shipments have shown the usual seasonal increases, while tobacco sales have declined. INDEXES OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY ( MONTHLY AVERAGE, 1919 = 100 ) PERCENT 175 PER CENT 1175 150 150 125 100 75 50 50 — — MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION - - - - M I N E R A L PRODUCTION 25 25 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 335 FEDERAL BESERVE BULLETIN MAT, 1925 INDEX OF PRODUCTION IN BASIC INDUSTRIES I [Index and relatives for each industry adjusted for seasonal variations. Monthly average 1919=100} Iron and steel Year and month General index Food products Textiles Animals slaughtered Pig iron Steel ingots Cotton Wool Wheat flour Lumber Sugar meltings Cattle Calves 1924 January February... March April May June. July August September.. October November. _ December.. 120 120 116 114 103 94 95 94 103 109 107 117 120 132 132 127 101 81 70 71 80 93 97 119 131 146 146 119 92 74 67 87 99 104 109 133 112 102 92 97 80 70 71 72 93 109 105 111 83 82 91 100 102 102 100 107 105 105 107 122 100 110 97 84 82 127 124 120 134 143 136 150 150 146 115 114 110 100 99 95 94 103 94 1925 January February... March Coal Year and month January February March April May June July August. September October November December January. February March 100 101 97 97 127 115 115 109 111 125 104 141 141 111 95 94 90 98 107 86 95 94 93 94 91 132 104 133 100 96 100 133 137 112 116 111 108 117 118 128 143 129 155 90 102 109 102 99 91 91 140 157 138 136 130 124 127 117 104 106 105 108 120 116 128 90 91 102 121 107 > 96 145 127 125 Tobacco products Nonferrous metals Sole leather Newsprint Cemen 1 Petroleum Bituminous Anthracite Copper 126 127 104 94 90 85 89 87 103 110 104 116 111 118 111 97 101 100 106 95 105 95 91 100 132 134 123 127 125 124 133 132 130 133 140 137 126 112 122 114 121 111 109 106 104 108 108 121 107 108 103 111 116 103 102 101 107 110 104 103 192 187 169 172 173 193 190 186 183 187 182 183 189 186 189 192 187 185 190 191 185 183 182 125 109 95 104 116 96 147 3 147 142 128 119 131 106 108 110 243 193 199 192 191 187 Zinc 87 119 116 132 136 124 116 141 136 132 121 122 130 Cigars Cigarettes Manufactured tobacco 1924 -- 94 90 88 95 91 98 95 100 97 96 92 176 140 143 157 173 163 155 157 162 158 145 170 113 93 91 91 96 94 97 93 188 171 170 105 97 89 94 1925 91 1 This table contains for certain months the index numbers of production in basic industries which are shown in the chart at the bottom of page 302, together with the series of relatives used in constructing the index. In making the final index the relatives are adjusted to allow for seasonal fluctuations and are weighted. The methods of construction were described in detail and all relatives for each series since January, 1913, were published on pages 1414-1421 of the BULLETIN for December, 1922. a Revised. 336 FEDEBAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAT, 1925 INDEXES OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY * [No seasonal adjustment. Monthly average 1919—100] 1 Agricultural movements Year and month AniLive- mal Total stock prod- Grains Cotton ucts Mineral production An- BituVegeTo- ! Tfttnl thra- mi- Petro- .Pig tables Fruits baccoi lotal cite nous leum iron coal coal 1924 105 January February _ ... 96 _ 81 March 77 April 87 May 87 June 100 July 121 August 152 September 189 October 160 November 143 December 123 101 98 97 98 95 96 90 109 123 120 132 98 101 90 129 148 165 166 127 107 100 105 121 91 120 87 54 62 67 118 218 195 230 156 120 83 41 33 34 34 19 21 38 175 278 271 231 120 123 138 113 119 146 137 107 165 226 136 86 90 102 92 93 178 140 148 144 163 248 157 86 1925 January February March 122 94 91 93 92 109 112 »76 73 127 79 71 130 121 128 74 58 93 118 2 87 86 Copper Zinc Lead Silver 238 133 ; 75 i 17 20 6 i 2 j 63 i 127 1 165 148 | 184 138 130 128 110 114 111 113 116 124 134 122 130 108 104 110 93 106 105 106 97 106 105 92 101 135 122 106 78 83 81 86 92 109 125 108 119 179 176 189 189 196 191 194 196 189 190 179 180 118 121 136 127 103 79 70 74 81 97 99 116 132 130 129 131 130 127 129 132 126 137 136 135 126 112 122 114 121 111 109 106 104 108 109 121 114 124 134 125 137 143 138 139 146 148 145 143 111 115 121 97 123 111 95 104 116 119 119 120 292 161 53 140 119 123 101 98 96 134 100 97 188 171 191 132 126 140 143 138 150 128 119 131 148 141 165 117 107 111 Manufacturing production Year and month Total 1924 January.. February March April May June July ... August.— September October... November December .. ._ - .... 1925 January... February... March 1 Iron and steel Automobiles Food products Lum- Paper Leather Petro- Cement Toand and and ber printing shoes leum brick bacco Rub ber tires 122 123 127 122 112 97 97 104 112 123 112 116 126 131 145 122 96 75 67 87 96 108 108 124 196 228 237 231 193 151 163 172 178 178 141 126 116 106 100 98 89 77 81 83 98 113 105 111 109 105 105 98 100 97 103 102 112 114 108 117 128 132 141 149 162 139 136 142 143 160 132 122 122 117 120 126 120 113 102 107 109 126 116 117 98 96 94 89 83 76 75 84 90 101 84 90 172 166 180 181 171 176 176 182 180 186 185 196 118 123 140 154 167 156 154 166 157 169 148 138 118 103 109 106 122 123 127 123 126 132 114 106 152 154 162 152 144 126 125 158 175 191 155 163 126 119 133 145 132 147 142, 169" 223 121 114 122 118 98 96 145 134 150 122 i 2 114 127 89 92 199 278 111 107 136 118 105 116 171 176 «138 For description and early figures see BULLETIN for March, 1924. INDEX OF EMPLOYMENT The indexes of employment in manufacturing industries usually presented at this place have beenrevised. A full explanation of the revisions and new monthly figures for all industrial groups from 1919 to date are given on pages 324-330 of Textiles 2 Revised. 8 Preliminary. this BULLETIN. Corresponding indexes of factory pay rolls are presented for the first time in the same article. Monthly figures for the pay-roll indexes, as well as for the employment indexes, will be regularly published in this space in future issues of tne JBULLETTN. COMMODITY With the March issue the publication in the BULLETIN of detailed statistics regarding movements and stocks of commodities was discontinued. Certain figures compiled by the board's division of research and statistics are still published in order that users of these data may continue to have comparable series of data. Information as to current figures for any of the discontinued series will be furnished upon request. March, February, 1925 S 1925 Grain and Flour Receipts at 17 interior centers (000 omitted): Wheat (bushels) Corn (bushels) Oats (bushels) Rye (bushels) Barley (bushels) Total grain (bushels) Flour (barrels) Total grain and flour (bushels) _ . . | Shipments at 14 interior centers (000 omitted): Wheat (bushels) Corn (bushels) Oats (bushels) Rye (bushels) _ Barley (bushels) ._ Total grain (bushels). Flour (barrels) March, 1924 16,969 23,815 14,733 833 3,359 19,428 21,191 14,903 2,823 4,210 59,709 2,133 62,555 2,184 69,309 72,384 18,393 12,428 16,625 361 1,912 15, 770 10, 676 13,245 362 3,186 49,719 2,831 139,119 148,400 14,338 570 2,381 1,219 1,445 13, 931 891 1,817 848 1,999 19,954 2,482 19,486 2,109 31,121 28,978 11,028 834 1,298 7,978 1,589 10,904 955 1,518 9,583 1,834 4,171 1,772 902 1,082 1,532 22,727 I 24,793 9,458 9,307 10,189 10,578 670 736 4,251 6,114 9,500 16,907 15,062 2,352 2,599 3,858 6,240 8,653 Total grain (bushels). Tobacco sales at loose-leaf warehouses (pounds, 000 omitted): I Dark belt Virginia J Bright belt Virginia | North Carolina Burley . Western dark Total Building permits issued in 168 cities, grouped by Federal reserve districts: Number of p e r m i t s Boston (14 cities). New York (22 cities) 46, 665 Philadelphia (14 cities).. _ 3,194 Cleveland (12 cities) Richmond (15 cities) 61,039 Atlanta (15 cities) Chicago (19 cities) St. Louis (5 cities). Minneapolis (9 cities) 53,717 Kansas City (14 cities) 20,263 Dallas (9 cities) 14,413 San Francisco (20 cities) 18,804 1,352 TotaL. 108,549 Value of permits (dollars, 000 omitted)— Boston (14 cities) New York (22 cities) 12,482 Philadelphia (14 cities) — 3,894 Cleveland (12 cities) 1,414 Richmond (15 cities) 877 Atlanta (15 cities) 1,274 Chicago (19 cities) St. Louis (5 cities) 19,940 Minneapolis (9 cities) 2,105 Kansas City (14 cities) Dallas (9 cities) 29,414 San Francisco (20 cities). 44, 726 27,018 64,208 9,906 2,542 Wheat flour production (barrels, 000 omitted) i 3,619 3,963 955 827 177 678 501 579 286 854 748 175 585 460 529 267 978 836 171 633 512 569 263 3,619 3,963 3,036 13,398 4,030 6,561 4,299 3,887 12,886 3,164 1,712 4,073 2,764 13,227 1,458 6,179 1,908 3,892 2,991 3,. 538 8,238 2,525 816 2,782 2,461 10,021 2,599 20,247 3,682 5,241 3,832 3, 740 12, 610 3,110 1,721 2,773 2,783 13,562 73,037 46, 809 75,900 14,114 112,331 30,716 25,283 19,024 11,480 60,016 10,474 6,023 11,377 7,280 40,216 9,153 67, 537 14,162 20,500 14,547 12,653 46,463 10, 313 3,201 11,013 6,290 32,649 13,290 217,146 23,335 23,511 15, 790 8,099 58,862 8,709 4,231 8,353 8,474 39,360 BUILDING STATISTICS 40,656 28,784 56,779 10,190 2,710 Total grain and flour (bushels) 177 132 708 58 354 51 1,086 1,397 4,002 12,450 15,675 15,461 1,026 2,052 169 123 679 53 320 45 976 1,255 "4,002 Classified by geographical divisionsEastern Allegheny Pocahontas . Southern Northwestern . Central western Southwestern 161 119 637 54 351 52 1,125 1,503 79, 743 62,458 Stocks at 8 seaboard centers at close of month (000 omitted): Wheat (bushels) Corn (bushels) Oats (bushels) Rye (bushels) Barley (bushels) Grain and Flour—Continued Revenue freight loaded and received from connections (cars loaded, 000 omitted): Classified by nature of products— Grain and grain products Livestock Coal Coke Forest products Ore Merchandise, 1 c 1 Miscellaneous 70, 722 2,005 Total grain and flour (bushels) _ _. Total grain (bushels). Flour (barrels) March, February, March, 1925 1924 1925 18,289 29,059 18,704 1,677 2,993 Stocks at 11 interior centers at close of month (000 omitted): Wheat (bushels) Corn (bushels) Oats (bushels) _. Rye (bushels) Barley (bushels) _ Receipts at 9 seaboard centers (000 omitted): Wheat (bushels) Corn (bushels) Oats (bushels) Rye (bushels) Barley (bushels) MOVEMENTS Total 43,240 3,157 57,444 Total grain (bushels). 337 FEDEKAL RESERVE BULLETIN M A Y , 1925 Total 2,676 10,474 i 348,334 248,480 429,160 Building contracts awarded, by Federal reserve districts (dollars, 000 omitted): Boston New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond _ Atlanta Chicago _ St. Louis Minneapolis 1 Kansas City Dallas. 32,284 87,050 48,902 68,857 59,809 34,274 90,305 32,136 10,490 14,085 12,819 23,113 62, 810 24,398 40,267 28,972 168,895 27,015 43,311 25,409 29,422 60,406 24,826 10,828 12,150 Total (11 districts) . 491,011 310,883 1 32,438 52,305 25,000 6,173 7,719 12,972 District No. 10, excluding Colorado. 2 Total, 10 districts. No figures available for Dallas district. 2 431,234 338 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAT, 1925 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE WHOLESALE TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES, BY LINES 1 [Average monthly sales 1919=100] General index 1924 January February... March April....... May June July August September.. October November. . December.. 80 78 80 78 77 76 78 83 92 95 84 79 Dry HardGroceries Meat goods Shoes ware Drugs 80 77 80 79 81 83 83 83 93 100 89 83 66 63 62 61 64 64 67 68 71 78 69 66 97 98 90 81 72 70 79 102 116 104 88 77 49 49 65 69 56 52 44 56 69 67 57 57 91 90 104 108 104 96 93 93 106 110 98 99 116 109 118 114 110 105 110 107 117 128 109 109 CHANGE IN CONDITION OF WHOLESALE TRADE, BY LINES AND DISTRICTS—Continued Percentage change in March, 1925, sales compared with— February, 1925 March, 1924 Percentage change in stocks at the end of March, 1925, compared with— February, 1925 March, 1924 Hardware: 3.0 3.9 18.3 United States. -4.0 New York district 20.2 2.5 -19.9 Philadelphia district... 31.0 2.4 2.3 -1.1 11.3 5.4 Cleveland district.. 15.6 Richmond district 2.6 -2.6 -1.7 5.4 Atlanta district — 15.2 33.9 4.1 Chicago district 8.2 4.8 1925 9.5 St. Louis district 7.8 0.2 -11.5 82 116 71 43 89 80 79 January 8.2 Minneapolis district— -0.6 109 February __. 17.7 Kansas City district... 76 73 69 88 46 91 20.4 121 March 84 79 74 96 63 107 2.5 Dallas district 16.7 -0.9 13.1 -6.8 San Francisco district.. i For description of the wholesale trade index see FEDERAL RESERVE Drugs: 2.9 11.3 0.1 United States BULLETIN for April, 1923. 6.8 -0.1 New York district CHANGE IN CONDITION OF WHOLESALE TRADE, BY LINES 9.0 7.2 Philadelphia district... AND DISTRICTS 10.4 -2.4 Cleveland district 7.9 2.2 Richmond district 12.2 5.8 Atlanta district Percentage change Percentage change 19.1 in stocks at the 3.3 -0.4 Chicago district in March, 1925, end of March, 8.0 11.2 St. Louis district sales compared 1925, compared 12.9 9.7 Kansas City district... with— with— i 0.4 0.9 Dallas district 19.9 17.1 San Francisco districtMarch, FebruMarch, FebruFurniture: 1924 1924 -10.7 ary, 1925 ary, 1925 -8.3 1.4 -0.5 Richmond district 15.5 14.8 Atlanta district 7.3 1.9 -20." I 27.2 St. Louis district Groceries: 32.2 33.9 Kansas City district... 6.3 -2.3 -0.7 8.6 2.6 -2.7 United States. San Francisco district.. 4.8 Agricultural implements: -3.4 -0.7 B oston district 6.6 28.6 48.1 United States 2 11.7 -7.0 -10.2 4.4 New York district 4.1 -4.2 3.1 -4.7 Philadelphia district 41.8 50.1 Atlanta district -3.5 10.4 Cleveland district 74.0 67.7 Minneapolis d i s t r i c t 7.6 5.6 Richmond district -5.2 I 14.2 -26.9 -32.1 Dallas district -5.9 6.2 1.1 Atlanta district 53.3 24.0 San Francisco district.. 13.3 0.1 12.2 2.6 Chicago district 3.4 Stationery and paper: 3.7 1.7 8.8 St. Louis district -6.4 3.6 New York district 9.2 5.2 Minneapolis district -4.7 12.8 —0.6 —0.7 Philadelphia district... 11.9 0.2 Kansas City district -10.0 -11.0 Atlanta district 3.0 1.6 5.9 -2.9 Dallas district -4.5 15.7 San Francisco district.. 19.0 5.4 San Francisco district Automobile supplies: Dry goods: 0.2 6.8 9.2 -12.1 -17.3 14.3 United States San Francisco district.. Clothing: 26.2 11.7 New York district 5.8 25.0 New York district 0.2 -3.7 -19.6 15.5 Philadelphia district 80.5 95.1 St. Louis district -2.6 7.5 Cleveland district 0.4 6.0 -22~2 Cotton jobbers:district. 5.2 Richmond district 2.8 -8.2 7.1 New York -16.2 21.7 25.8 Atlanta district -12.3 Silk goods: 3 2.1 11.0 -4.1 Chicago district 32.4 -8.2 12.7 New York district -14.4 3.0 -16.8 -17.5 11.2 St. Louis district Machine tools: -3.1 20.1 Minneapolis district -12.3 30.1 New York district 3.0 12.3 Kansas City district 13.9 -12.0 -19.2 Diamonds: 1.6 Dallas district 12.9 -18.9 New York district -8.1 22.3 San Francisco district Jewelry: Shoes: -14.7 4.3 14.0 9.1 New York district -15.4 -0.5 -3.1 35.5 United States 9.0 -6.6 1.2 0.6 Philadelphia district. _ Electrical supplies: -6.7 2.0 2.0 38.3 Boston district.-__ -10.5 -7.0 -1.1 Philadelphia district.. -5.1 -10.9 -2.1 j 44.4 -6.1 New York district 0.3 Atlanta district 7.3 -10.7 67.4 —O. o 17.5 Philadelphia district 11.9 St. Louis district "T3 42.2 4.4 Cleveland district. Millinery: -2.5 21.8 -2.3 -16.2 9.2 Richmond district 1.5 Kansas City district.. 26.6 6.0 Atlanta district _. _ 17.6 44.0 -2.8 -25.1 Stoves: -11.3 Chicago district-— 25.0 -33.3 -20.0 St.'Louis district 77.8 10.0 11.9 -3.6 St. Louis district-4.6 27.1 19.0 Minneapolis district 23.2 2 -9.3 San Francisco district Sales of agricultural implements for the United States are compiled i Changes in total stocks for the United States are weighted averages by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank from reports of leading implement manufacturers and include all their domestic business. computed on the basis of firms which have reported regularly to the 3 Stocks at first of month—quantity, not value. Federal Reserve System since January, 1923. MAY, 1925 339 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN RETAIL TRADE, BY REPORTING LINES 1 [Average monthly sales 1919=100] Sales without seasonal adjustment fl II S3 g*3"S oo .9'a S3 sic chains chains) 31 'O C W O B chains chains) Year and month Sales with seasonal adjustment CO 1924 January February March.. _ April May June.. . July August September October.. November December I 110 102 115 133 127 120 91 93 119 141 141 210 205 201 200 210 214 200 206 201 210 240 232 253 126 140 163 178 174 162 163 172 169 203 199 366 141 143 149 145 150 143 148 152 145 159 145 187 119 124 136 130 143 131 128 138 137 144 138 192 93 118 178 150 140 113 108 124 138 146 186 109 101 121 __ 96 105 114 90 89 69 74 106 141 131 148 108 105 120 250 236 255 151 156 177 155 146 160 122 119 131 107 100 127 112 109 105 123 204 200 184 208 214 203 214 211 221 234 230 242 173 179 170 190 183 176 179 181 183 188 191 198 146 150 147 149 153 146 147 151 147 156 154 153 137 140 140 136 141 134 129 141 137 137 139 142 130 132 118 153 130 132 123 138 129 122 134 142 102 112 110 103 99 94 97 102 110 102 89 98 184 190 182 205 193 181 181 179 192 194 195 188 110 116 103 249 246 235 207 209 185 141 161 140 161 159 i 135 141 149 127 112 120 116 193 207 186 82 75 72 91 110 124 111 184 154 167 184 205 186 169 177 180 189 199 186 282 126 128 115 131 123 120 123 118 131 124 126 131 100 101 91 111 100 104 92 99 105 162 175 188 124 131 121 1925 January February March _. 1 2 For description of the retail trade indexes see Federal Reserve Bulletins for January and March, 1924. Index of sales of grocery chains revised. Comparable index numbers for all months since January, 1919, may be obtained from Division of Research and Statistics, Federal Reserve Board. DEPARTMENT STORE SALES, BY FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS [Average monthly sales 1919= 100] Number of reporting firms Federal reserve district 1924 1925 Feb. Jan. Dec. Mar. 121 101 109 210 115 24 63 22 54 23 35 63 23 21 31 Boston. New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago Minneapolis Dallas San Francisco Mar. 359 United States . Sales with seasonal adjustment Sales without seasonal adjustment 110 124 121 125 119 99 129 97 107 143 94 107 110 120 105 107 93 83 113 92 92 128 215 226 213 207 214 173 219 162 171 238 113 118 120 120 109 94 123 94 94 134 roi 106 89 84 108 81 90 113 1924 1925 Feb. Jan. Mar. Feb. Jan. Dec. 102 110 121 13l 124 131 115 128 126 101 103 111 112 88 83 112 77 82 121 120 120 110 109 94 .85 112 88 85 132 110 122 131 123 115 100 128 99 101 144 126 140 125 137 120 111 137 115 114 149 122 132 120 123 113 102 133 107 106 145 135 138 133 131 124 106 140 110 105 151 112 116 129 119 105 95 122 97 89 135 130 129 132 138 113 104 136 105 99 152 133 132 125 125 114 104 132 103 99 149 Mar. Feb. Jan. DEPARTMENT STORE STOCKS, BY FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS [Average monthly stock 1919=100] Number of reporting firms Federal reserve district 314 United States Boston. New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago Minneapolis Dallas San Francisco 24 _ _ .. ..__ 63 13 52 19 22 51 22 19 29 Stocks without seasonal adjustment 1925 Stocks with seasonal adjustment 1924 1925 1924 Mar. Feb. Jan. Dec. Mar. Feb. Jan. Mar. Feb. Jan. 138 127 119 124 138 127 115 137 135 126 135 183 137 131 114 156 117 122 137 115 112 118 147 112 109 99 137 99 103 123 120 125 151 120 118 96 141 99 105 124 128 130 162 137 134 125 162 114 126 143 115 119 152 126 121 123 144 106 118 131 111 127 133 179 136 125 113 157 112 121 134 123 132 177 135 126 111 155 109 121 131 123 167 125 118 107 145 106 113 126 117 132 110 104 109 128 97 107 125 Dec. Mar. Feb. Jan. 134 133 137 135 131 124 132 164 133 129 110 154 111 120 134 123 132 157 129 130 107 152 108 122 135 129 127 161 136 128 124 164 110 125 141 123 128 162 135 129 127 155 109 126 137 123 130 148 131 124 121 144 110 124 137 340 FEDERAL. RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 FOREIGN BANKING AND BUSINESS CONDITIONS ANNUAL REPORTS OF CENTRAL BANKS FOR 1924 Summaries of annual reports of a number of foreign central banks for 1924 are presented below. These summaries are based in most cases on the reports of the banks received by the Federal Reserve Board, but in a few cases on accounts of these reports appearing in the press. A summary of the annual report of the Bank of France was published in the April issue of the BULLETIN. THE GERMAN REICHSBANK As a result of the stabilizing of the currency and the reconstruction of Government finances, the economic condition of Germany showed marked improvement during 1924. The accumulation of savings and the creation of new capital increased slowly. The credit policy of the Reichsbank took account of the fact that because of the widespread dearth of capital, the continuation of German business and industry without the aid of the Reichsbank would be almost impossible. But to avoid the danger of inflation and to maintain the stability of the mark, the Reichsbank was obliged to restrict its credits to the bare necessities of those who applied, especially in view of the extensive demands of commerce and industry as opposed to those of agriculture and of export. The policy of the bank had the expected result. In order to provide the needed working capital, commodities and exchange bills were placed on the market in large amounts by business firms, so that the commodity price level underwent a considerable recession. In the interests of creating a wider credit market outside of the Reichsbank, its directors gave special attention to reducing interest rates and costs of operation, and to the wise use of the so-called public funds. The extensive credit support, which, outside the strict limits of its prescribed activities, the Reichsbank extended to agriculture during the early part of the year, had to be discontinued for reasons of financial policy as well as because of the expressed wish of the experts who were putting the Dawes plan into operation, that the Reichsbank should as soon as possible be free from the burden of carrying these credits. The bank directors encountered serious difficulties in effecting this change; in arranging for agricul- tural borrowers the long-time credits which they required and in making available for similar future investment those moneys (for example, from savings banks, public and private funds, and Government treasuries), which before the war were directed voluntarily or by law into long-time investments, especially into mortgages. The policy of the Reichsbank was greatly strengthened by the inauguration of the Dawes plan. 'This assured the Reichsbank directorate the greatest and most practical support without in any way injuring its autonomous position; and at the same time hastened the restoration of the gold standard. In order to safeguard its policy of stabilization, the Reichsbank created the German Gold Discount Bank, which supplied to German industries considerable sums of gold capital partly out of their own resources and partly through rediscounting abroad, so that the German credit and currency situation was greatly improved. After the successful flotation of the 800,000,000 gold-mark loan in October, the way was opened ior a series of private foreign credits. Because, however, an unrestricted grant of foreign credits, for example, of a short-term character or for purely consumptive purposes, might have been perilous for the newly established currency, provision was made for the creation of foreign credits according to definite principles for purposes which were clearly recognized to be essential. Another criterion by which the value of these credits to German production was judged was the following: So far as they were applied to increasing exports they served their purpose best when upon their maturity they provided out of the transaction itself the supply of foreign exchange necessary to discharge the obligation. So far as they were used in merely replacing working capital already consumed, no objections under the rule were to be raised, provided it was a matter of a long-time loan under safe conditions. The satisfactory development of the money market and of the Reichsbank is best shown by the fact that the rate of interest for call money on the Berlin Stock Exchange, which in January had stood for a year at about 100 per cent, fell almost uninterruptedly until it reached 10 MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN per cent, the level at which the bank discount rate had stood during the entire year. The gold stock of the Reichsbank, which in April had fallen to 442,000,000 gold marks, rose by the end of the year to about 760,000,000 gold marks, chiefly by the inflow of gold from foreign countries. The volume of foreign exchange held by the bank has been increased since the flotation of the so-called Dawes loan, by practically the entire supply of foreign exchange formerly held by private business, so that gold and foreign exchange together total 2,065,000,000 gold marks. 341 000 kronor. On the other hand, borrowings by these institutions from the central bank were rather higher last year than the year before. In 1923 such borrowings stood at 291,500,000 kronor in January, fell to 173,000,000 kronor in August and rose to 360,000,000 kronor in December. In 1924, they were 312,000,000 in January, rose to 380,000,000 in June, fell again to 261,000,000 in November, and closed the year at 394,000,000 kronor. THE BANK OF JAPAN The annual report of the Bank of Japan for 1924 deals principally with developments which have attended the process of reconstruction The fact that the Riksbank was the first following the earthquake of September, 1923. European bank of issue to return to the gold The year 1924 opened with continued heavy standard invests its report for 1924 with a imports, largely of materials for reconstruction special interest. According to the annual purposes to which customs exemption had been report, the Riksbank was exempted by decree extended until the end of March. The unfrom the obligation of redeeming its notes in usual volume of imports resulted in the accugold up to March 31, 1924. Late in Feb- mulation of large stocks of goods, the tie-up ruary, the governing board of the bank applied of a considerable amount of credit, and a furfor a prolongation of this suspension until Sep- ther decline in the exchange value of the yen, tember 30; the Government, however, recom- prices in the country remaining relatively high mended a postponement only until May 31. throughout the year. The Bank of Japan's On March 22 the bank committee proposed discounts and advances, which aggregated the resumption of specie payments on the 364,000,000 yen on June 30, 1923, increased original date (April 1,1924) and the abrogation rapidly after the earthquake and at the beof the export embargo on gold, with the reten- ginning of 1924 amounted to 853,000,000 yen. tion of an embargo on gold imports except for The total declined to 245,000,000 yen in Septhe account of the bank of issue. This pro- tember, the low point for the year, but inposal was accepted. By law of May 14, 1923, creased again to 724,000,000 yen on December the King was authorized, upon recommendation 31, 1924. The bank's rate for emergency disof the governing board and after consultation counts was lowered from 8.76 per cent to 8.03 with the national debt office, to exempt the per cent on December 22, the rate on other Riksbank from the obligation to maintain free discounts having remained at 8.03 per cent coinage of gold up to March 1, 1924. No since November 19, 1919. The bank's note provision was made during the year for renew- issue decreased during the summer, but ining this law. creased in the latter part of the year and on The removal of the export embargo was fol- December 31, at 1,662,000,000 yen, was not fowed by a small loss of gold, the reserves far below the high point of the previous Delalling from 271,839,100 kronor at the end of cember. 1923 to 236,970,200 kronor at the end of last year. During the year, the gold holdings THE SWISS NATIONAL BANK averaged 49.8 per cent of the note circulation; In its annual report for 1924 the Swiss Nathe lowest ratio was 43.7 per cent, recorded in the last week in September, the highest, tional Bank makes a number of observations on the conditions prevailing in Swiss indus58 per cent, on January 26. The report includes tables showing the situa- try and finance. There has been a recovery tion of the combined commercial banks. The in several fields of activity, notably the total deposits of these institutions have been watchmaking, building, and hotel and transsteadily declining, amounting to 4,389,000,000 port industries. Unemployment shows a dekronor in January, 1923, 3,959,000,000 in Jan- cline. Export industries, however, are sufferuary, 1924, and dropping to 3,675,000,000 at ing from the low level of prevailing prices. the end of 1924. For the same months the Referring to the international position of the combined loans and discounts were 4,888,000,- Swiss franc, the report continues: "The trade 000 kronor, 4,466,000,000 kronor, and 4,316,000,- balance—that is, the visible part of our bal- THE SWEDISH RIKSBANK 342 FEDEKAL EESEBVE BULLETIN ance of payments—is about what it was before the war; the tourist business, the transit trade, banking operations, and the other invisible items of the balance of payments appear to make up for the deficit in the trade balance, so that from this point of view, so important for the steadiness of the Swiss franc, we may say that the situation does not look unfavorable." The Swiss money market—At no time during the year was money tight in Switzerland. The official discount rate, which was raised on July 14, 1923, from 3 to 4 per cent, was not changed in the course of last year. The rate on secured advances remained also at 5 per cent during the entire year. During the two preceding years, 1923 and 1922, the average discount rate in Switzerland had been, respectively, 3.47 per cent and 3.39 per cent, and the rate on secured advances 4.47 per cent and 4.39 per cent. In the money market the rate stood at 3% per cent in December, 1923, fell to 3>^ per cent by the beginning of February, and rose to 3% per cent in April. After weakening to 3 ^ per cent early in June, it again touched 3% per cent at the end of July and remained about 3% per cent during August and September, falling gradually to 3 ^ per cent at the end of 1924. In the long-time capital market the year 1924 began with a tendency toward higher interest rates. In March the Federal railways placed a 5 per cent loan at an issue price of 9834 f° r 150,000,000 francs; but in the second quarter the 53^ per cent rate was general. Later in the year the market became easier, but it was only in the last weeks of the year that a noticeable weakening in the long-time interest rate was revealed by a marked rise in the quotations on gilt-edged securities. "The demands made upon the financial market by foreign issues did not reach proportions sufficient to exercise a notable influence on the situation, although the rates of interest generally offered to assure the placing of these issues substantially exceeded those prevailing in our country. Notwithstanding these advantageous conditions, the public showed itself rather coole toward foreign loans, except, perhaps w n e r the operations were particularly attractive, such as the loan for the financial restoration of Germany.'7 The exchange rate.—" The situation in the exchange market was not very propitious at the beginning of the year. The dollar, which is of special interest to us, was quoted at that time at 5.71 francs, or about 10 per cent above par. It (the dollar) continued to rise for some MAY, 1925 time, a movement certainly not of a nature to disclose very favorable prospects for our franc. It touched its highest quotation in the middle of March at 5.80%. " Convinced that in the long run, the economic life could prosper only if we succeeded in stabilizing the Swiss franc as near gold parity as possible, the Confederation and the National Bank endeavored to better the situation of our exchange. "In similar circumstances before the war, the raising of the discount rate would have been the first means to which we would have resorted to protect the franc. However, the disturbances caused by the war had considerably reduced the effectiveness of this remedy, at least in its international function, because they did not—and the same fact is true to-day—permit the free exchange of gold. The discount rate is only slowly recovering its old functions, in proportion as conditions tend to become normal again. The experiment tried in July, 1923, had demonstrated that advances in this rate, within the limits which we could take into consideration in this country, do not exercise a reponderant influence on the exchange, which uctuates so widely as to make ineffective relatively small differences in the rate of interest. On the other hand, it was necessary to take into consideration the undesirable consequences which an advance in the official rate would entail, within the country itself, in causing an increase in the rates demanded by the banks from their customers as well as the rates of interest in the capital market. " It was therefore necessary to resort to other means to better the situation. The National Bank began, not without meeting a certain amount of objection, by increasing its requirements as to the quality of the paper accepted for discount. Its object, in taking this measure, was to hinder the extension of too large credits abroad and to restrict the demands upon the fiduciary issue on account of long-time loans. Further, the Federal council at the end of March contracted in America a loan of $30,000,000 at 5H per cent, and the Federal railways placed in Switzerland a loan of 150,000,000 francs at 5 per cent. " To the effect of these measures were added those of favorable circumstances, which, in a general way, were not dependent upon either the Confederation or the National Bank. For the first time since the cessation of hostilities there was produced, under the influence of interest rates, an international movement of capital whose magnitude eventually exceeded that which occurred before the war. The rate S MAY, 1925 343 FEDEBAL RESERVE BULLETIN of interest having fallen in New York, funds ceased to flow from Europe to America, those which had been placed overseas in the shortmoney market began on the contrary to flow back and we even saw American money taking the road to our continent, as confidence in the European situation increased. At this same time money tightened in the Swiss money market, ana toward the end of the first half year there was a marked increase in the demand for discount accommodation at the National Bank. "So to a declining tendency in the dollar itself there were added certain circumstances especially favorable to the Swiss franc. The dollar rate, already fallen to 5.60 at the end of June, was hardly more than 5.30 at the beginning of August. Toward the end of November it had touched par, and at the end of December it had even fallen below parity. " The improvement of our exchange, however, is not due exclusively to the factors just mentioned. The progress realized in the restoration of the finances of the Confederation, the Cantons, and the communes also doubtless contributed to it, as well as the recovery in trade and the increase in the tourist business." Referring to the prospects of a return to the gold standard, the report concludes: "As soon as a larger number of countries having a preponderant economic importance have restored gold to circulation, the National Bank will also be able to consider the gradual reintroduction of the effective circulation of gold, first of its own free will, and then after that experiment has been tried, to the legal obligation of convertibility. The abolition of the forced circulation (of paper money) will mark the last stage in the return to a sound money situation such as we possessed before the war.'7 been achieved. Despite the currency crisis of last September to November, the bank was able to maintain its discount rate at 6 per cent, believing that to raise the rate would aggravate the crisis. To increase the metallic stock of the bank, gold has been bought to the value of 88,153,000 lei, and foreign currencies and securities have been increased by 8,160,000 francs and £64,320. Gold obtained from the liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Bank amounted to 7,546,000 lei. BANK POLSKI The Bank of Poland, which was opened about the end of last April, has issued a report covering th§ first eight months of its operations, the period ending December 31. At the opening, the reserve against the bank notes issued amounted to 249,500,000 zlote, of which 70,300,000 were represented by actual gold and 179,200,000 by foreign currency and exchange. Toward the end of the year the stock of gold increased to 103,300,000 zlote and the stock of foreign currency and exchange to 253,600,000. The circulation increased from 245,000,000 zlote on May 31 to 550,900,000 on December 31. The ratio of the gold reserve against notes issued fluctuated between 60 and 70 per cent, being twice as high as the ratio required by law; on December 31 it was 64.9 per cent. Loans rose from 92,400,000 on April 26 to 315,600,000 at the end of the year. On November 27 the discount rate was reduced from 12 to 10 per cent. Net profits were 11,970,000 zlote, of which 10 per cent was placed in the reserve fund; 8,000,000 zlote assigned to dividends together with an extra dividend aggregating 12 per cent per annum; and the balance of 2,750,000 zlote was turned over to the Treasury. THE BANK OF SPAIN The annual report of the Bank of Spain for the year 1924 shows relatively small changes in the principal items. Total loans and advances increased by about 500,000,000 pesetas, or something over 10 per cent, and note circulation by 200,000,000 pesetas, or about 4 per cent. THE NATIONAL BANK OF RUMANIA The bank in its report announces its intention to continue the policy of increasing the value of the currency by means of deflation, but it proposes to proceed slowly, in order to avoid the hardships that would otherwise result. The stabilization of the currency has THE BANK OF FINLAND The annual report of the Bank of Finland, covering its one hundred and thirteenth financial year, shows that holdings of gold and Finnish silver coin increased from 43,251,000 finmarks in December, 1923, to 43,832,000 at the end of 1924, the increase being due to a gain of about 600,000 finmarks in gold. At the same time, the assets in foreign currency, which had been as low as 337,000,000 finmarKs in September, 1923, rose to 932,000,000 in February, 1924, dropped again to 373,000,000 in June, and closed the year at 808,000,000 finmarks. Holdings of Finnish Government securities declined steadily throughout the 344 FEDEKAL RESERVE BULLETIN year, from 548,000,000 in December, 1923, to 482,000,000 a year later. Domestic securities rose from 627,500,000 finmarks in January to 1,006,000,000 in June, but fell again to 551,000,000 in December, compared with 717,000,000 in December, 1923. The note circulation averaged below the levels of 1923, for which year the maximum was reached in March, with 1,555,128,000 finmarks; the maximum for last year reached also in March, was 1,399,552,000. The minimum for 1923 was 1,333,031,000 (November), against a minimum of 1,227,704,000 in November, 1924. The gold reserve of 43,300,000 finmarks (December, 1924) is carried at its nominal value. The monthly bulletin of the bank shows that at the prevailing rate of exchange the current value of this gold is 331,700,000 finmarks, giving the circulation an actual gold cover of about 26 per cent in addition to which " foreign correspondents and credits abroad" amounted to 793,900,000 finmarks and foreign bills and bank notes to about 10,000,000 finmarks. THE BANK OF DANZIG The Bank of Danzig was opened in March, 1924, during the period of transition into the new gulden currency. Its first task was to stabilize the gulden, and in this undertaking it was aided by the stock of foreign exchange, which it took over from the Danziger Zentralkasse. The notes in circulation were well covered by liquid J assets with the Bank of England and by other foreign bills. Note circulation rose from 1,450,000 gulden on the opening day to 31,900,000 gulden on December 31. Discounted bills stood for several months at about 14,000,000 gulden on account of the business depression and only toward the end of the year rose to 17,100,000 gulden. The discount rate, 12 per cent at MAY, 1925 first, was lowered to 10 per cent in September, and again to 9 per cent in March, while market rates were lowered from 14 to 12 per cent in September and again to 11 per cent in March. Legal reserve for note circulation consists of gold coins, and notes and demand obligations of the Bank of England; as a matter of fact almost the entire reserve consists of these demand obligations. Net profits amounted to 1,002,000 gulden, of which one-fourth was transferred to surplus; another part was set aside for the payment of a 7 per cent dividend; and the remainder was carried forward. BANK OF LITHUANIA The introduction of the new monetary unit the litas, equal at parity to 10 cents, has given Lithuania a comparatively stable currency. Notes in circulation increased from 60,000,000 lits on December 31, 1923, to 93,000,000 lits on December 31, 1924, and have remained at about that level during the first three months of 1925. At the end of March the circulation represented 59.3 per cent of the total liabilities and deposits 19.3 per cent. At least one-third of the circulation must be covered by gold— the actual proportion of the gold reserve on March 31 was 34.9 per cent. This, added to dollar, sterling, and other stable currencies to the value of 56,700,000 lits, together with minor items of State coins and silver, makes up 57.<3 per cent of the total assets. Loans and discounts make up 25 per cent more and are 8,000,000 lits greater than the deposits. The year showed a net profit of 2,850,000 lits, out of which 12 per cent dividends were voted to stockholders, 723,000 lits went to the State, and 528,000 lits to reserves, which then totaled 625,000 lits. 345 FEDERAL. EESEBVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR PRINCIPAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES (Bank figures are for the last report day of month, except for London clearing banks, which are daily averages) ENGLAND [Millions of pounds sterling] GERMANY [Millions of reichsmarks] 1925 March February Bank of England: Issue department— Gold coin and bullion Notes issued Banking d e p a r t m e n t Gold and silver coin Banknotes Government securities Other securities Public deposits _ Other deposits Ratio of gold and note reserve to deposit liabilities (per cent) Bank notes in circulation Currency notes and certificates Nine London clearing banks: Money at call and short notice—. Discounts and advances Investments Total deposits Total clearings Government floating debt: Total Treasury bills Temporary advances Index of security prices (December, 1921=100) (percent) Index number of foreign exchange value of the pound sterling (per cent) 1924 January 1925 March March Febru- January ary 127 147 127 147 2 22 39 77 15 106 2 22 42 74 16 106 22 50 74 23 107 19.8 19.4 18.4 97 284 98 281 126 146 127 146 98 281 2 21 48 75 27 101 2 17.6 103 282 1,605 3,453 1,643 3,316 1,653 3,771 94 1,009 336 1,603 3,379 742 576 166 760 592 168 786 631 155 117.9 117.5 114.2 127.3 126.8 126.5 127.7 108 121 112 1,043 1,055 1,063 287 283 296 FRANCE [Millions of francs] Bank of France: ! Gold reserve Silver reserve 309 War advances to the Govern21,800 ment 40,892 Note circulation 2fO52 Total deposits Commercial bank loans (3 banks) Commercial bank deposits (3 banks).. Clearings, daily average of Paris 1,122 banks 46.85 Price of 3 per cent perpetual rente 1 798 3,681 305 3,677 298 21,900 21,200 40, 792 40,516 2,028 2,012 14,677 14,635 14,622 14, 511 22,700 39,950 3,242 15,021 14,992 3,681 306 1,027 48.10 920 48.45 1,794 55.32 700 205 334 207 302 1,578 1,217 1,737 1,684 2,315 1,911 4,095 97.60 2,106 1,967 3,637 101.47 743 31 774 588 186 116.9 Reichsbank: Gold at home Gold abroad Reserves in foreign exchangeBills of exchange and checks.. Miscellaneous assets...• .Deposits Reichsmarks in circulation. Rentenmarks in circulation Reichsbank clearings Index of security prices (per cent) Capital issues ITALY 1924 1925 February Banks of issue: 1,132 Gold reserve - _ 1,794 Total reserve 7,919 Loans and discounts 10,326 Note circulation for commerce Note circulation for the State i . . . 7.145 2,817 Total deposits Leading private banks: Cash D u e from correspondents Participations. Total issue State note deposits Index of security prices (per cent) 2,400 297 Janu- Decem- Februber ary ary 2,400 259 February 1,132 1,826 8,324 10,873 7,242 3,194 1,122 1,838 7,484 8,852 7,749 2,517 1,060 8,969 3,951 1,131 1,819 7,626 10,500 7,146 2,806 923 3,577 12,903 2,400 254 2,428 196 * Not including gold held abroad. [Millions of yen] 1925 1924 1925 Not including gold held abroad. 3,936 111.37 102 26 [Millions of lire] CANADA [Millions of dollars] 1 918 JAPAN Not including gold held abroad. Chartered banks: Gold coin and bullion l Current loans and discounts Money at call and short notice . . . Public and railway securities Note circulation Individual deposits Gold reserve against Dominion notes. D ominion note scirculation Bank clearings Bank debits 2 636 199 278 1,771 1,507 747 1,901 1,967 52 53 52 54 1,131 1,114 1,123 1,173 330 570 158 2,136 125 218 1,110 1,915 March February Janu- Decem- February ber ary 319 542 155 2,083 131 222 1,410 2,230 315 536 166 2,166 139 262 1,709 2,825 2 Total for month. 300 465 163 2,000 102 227 1,274 2,187 Bank of Japan: Reserve for notes * Loans and discounts . Advances on foreign bills.. N ote circulation Government deposits Private deposits Tokyo banks: Cash on hand Total loans Total deposits Total clearings j j 1,059 339 62 1,289 301 45 135 2,392 1,896 2,843 1924 January 1,059 1,059 311 81 325 135 1,297 1,390 299 31 224 31 110 123 2,392 1,861 2,552 2,398 1,859 2,632 ' Gold abroad, gold coin and bullion in Japan. March 1,061 501 202 1,347 511 46 127 2,449 1,838 2,228 346 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 CONDITION OF CENTRAL BANKS IN OTHER COUNTRIES 1925 1924 1925 March Febru- Janu- March ary ary Austrian National Bank (millions of schillings): Gold Foreign bills (reserve) Other foreign bills _ Domestic bills, etc Note circulation _ Deposits National Bank of Belgium (millions of francs): Gold Foreign bills and balances abroad Bills Note circulation Private deposits National Bank of Bulgaria (millions of leva): Metallic reserve Foreign notes. _ Balances abroad and foreign bills Commercial bills Commercial loans Notes in circulation Deposits Banking Office, Czechoslovakia (millions of Czechoslovak crowns): Gold and silver _ _ Balances abroad and foreign currency . . . Bills discounted.. Advances on collateral Note circulation Checking accounts Bank of Danzig (thousands of Danzig gulden): On deposit with Bank of England, foreign bills, etc Loans and discounts Notes in circulation.. Total deposits National Bank of Copenhagen (millions of kroner): Gold Bills Loans. Foreign bills and balances abroad. Note circulation Current accounts... _ Bank of Finland (millions of finmarks) : Gold Balances abroad, etc. Finnish and foreign government securities Domestic bills Note circulation Current accountsPrivate Treasury National Bank of Greece (millions of drachmae): Gold and balances abroad Government loans and securities . Discounts and loans Note circulation Private depositsSight Time National Bank of Hungary (billions of Hungarian crowns): Gold Foreign exchange Bills, etc.. Note circulation. Current accountsPublic Private 11 320 172 105 790 30 11 320 153 128 796 32 11 323 129 154 790 44 11 395 272 30 1,318 7,458 276 272 30 1,325 7,599 225 272 30 1,545 7,648 258 270 18 1,387 7,652 368 68 6 976 310 521 4,380 1,867 68 5 932 293 513 4,458 2,008 98 1 770 160 360 4,748 1,824 1,030 1,029 1,029 1,043 544 822 537 7,681 584 595 978 542 7,728 633 643 1,083 553 7,917 497 662 673 747 8,280 650 30,201 16,459 31,737 13,750 24,850 16,401 29,838 9,491 21,977 17,230 29,740 5,740 19,320 1,231 14,239 780 209 202 40 35 452 46 209 215 47 24 453 64 209 214 56 29 456 67 210 236 57 25 463 73 43 862 43 913 43 874 43 798 474 645 1 384 474 597 1,288 474 598 1,205 501 704 1,400 68 116 50 227 53 284 28 239 2,080 3,811 2,924 4,979 2,067 3,835 2,844 4,847 2,072 4,042 1,838 4,701 1,790 1,056 1,868 687 1,620 1,050 669 1,984 1,514 4,270 596 1,989 1,677 4,238 510 1,967 1,849 4,450 2,409 144 2,359 183 2,012 127 173 715 75 1924 March Febru- Janu- March ary ary Bank of Latvia (thousands of lats): Gold Foreign exchange reserve Bills Loans. Note circulation. Government deposits Other deposits Bank of Lithuania (thousands of litas): Gold. _ . . . Foreign exchange reserve Loans and discounts Note circulation Deposits Netherlands Bank (millions of florins): Gold Domestic bills Foreign bills Loans . Note circulation Deposits Bank of Norway (millions of kroner): Gold Loans and discounts Balances abroad Note circulation Deposits: State Private Reserve Bank of Peru (millions of libras): Gold at home. _ Gold abroad Bills Notes in circulation Deposits Bank of Poland (millions of zlote): Gold Foreign exchange, etc Bills Note circulation __ Current accounts, etc.: Treasury Private _ Bank of Portugal (millions of escudos): Gold Balances abroad Bills Note circulation Deposits National Bank of Rumania (millions of lei): Gold Bills _ Government loans Note circulation Deposits State Bank of Russia (Note issuing department; thousands of chervontsi): Gold Foreign currency Loans and discounts Bank notes _ South African Reserve Bank (thousands of pounds sterling): Gold coin and bullion Gold certificates Total bills discounted D omestic bills Foreign bills Notes in circulation Bankers' deposits 23, 532 41, 750 49,640 52,222 29, 730 84,408 41,914 23,567 40,162 47,911 53,010 28,701 83,180 45,741 23, 587 40, 876 46,860 50,831 27,898 80, 335 45,428 19,663 46,182 24,052 27,667 23,649 52,839 42,230 32,862 56,706 39, 589 94,033 31, 279 31,062 63,109 37,486 93,126 33, 682 30,947 62,667 38,062 94, 708 29, 816 24,134 56,747 25,488 71,247 32,660 504 93 132 162 898 43 504 103 128 150 881 64 505 115 125 157 893 63 569 254 23 158 1,018 17 147 355 51 380 147 370 31 368 147 395 28 361 147 413 23 380 11 86 24 64 31 67 12 76 4,184 983 1,328 5,868 492 4,094 982 1,462 5,828 673 4,179 1,060 1,189 5,838 498 4,214 760 1,085 5,681 372 — 117 259 307 563 107 206 286 550 104 242 270 553 11 89 5 48 3 50 9 274 161 1,698 67 9 325 155 1,716 81 9 298 154 1,728 67 9 49 165 1,491 57 563 7,307 10,787 19, 071 6,750 563 7,243 10,787 19,122 7,588 563 7,294 10,787 19,198 7,411 561 5,936 11,099 17,832 6,621 16,188 6,828 33,929 59,030 15,214 9,566 31,281 56,055 14,914 10,248 31,289 55,025 8,784 7,744 16,895 33,800 2,216 10,224 4,026 668 3,358 11,097 4,811 3,850 10,223 3,916 1,497 878 11,136 6,574 2,744 10,223 4,942 1,991 670 11,344 5,482 549 10,102 6,450 2,692 1,640 10,845 5,147 347 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 CONDITION OF CENTRAL BANKS IN OTHER COUNTRIES—Continued 1925 March February B a n k of Spain (millions of pesetas): Gold Balances abroad Bills discounted Note circulation Current accounts B a n k of Sweden (millions of kronor): Gold _ Balances abroad and foreign bills 1 Domestic bills Government securities: Swedish Foreign Note circulation Deposits 1 1925 1924 January March 1,077 2,536 30 939 4,472 1,032 2,536 31 926 4,529 957 2,528 30 785 4,322 1,009 Swiss National B a n k (millions of francs): Gold Domestic bills Loans Balances abroad and due from correspondents Note circulation Deposits _ _ 234 137 379 234 149 370 234 151 390 271 101 371 National Bank of the kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes 13 42 521 237 13 42 493 269 13 43 483 291 14 77 557 201 1924 2,536 31 930 4,397 Janu- March ary March February (millions of dinars): Gold - - _. Foreign currency and balances abroad Bills Note circulation Current accounts 481 269 . 52 498 255 54 506 304 52 536 223 59 36 836 70 32 819 80 70 825 164 70 901 51 72 72 72 72 340 1,095 5,594 282 352 1,154 5,760 321 375 1,208 5,795 345 350 1,229 5,586 244 Includes foreign government securities. DISCOUNT RATES OF 28 CENTRAL BANKS [Prevailing rates with date of last change] Country Rate In effect since— Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Danzig Denmark England 11 Apr. 25,1925 Jan. 22,1923 Aug. 31,1924 10 7 9 7 5 Mar. Mar. Jan. Mar. 25,1925 6,1925 17,1924 5,1925 Country Esthonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary India Italy Rate 9 9 7 9 m ii 7 6 In effect since— May Mar. Dec. Feb. Feb. Mar. Jan. Mar. 19,1924 6,1924 11,1924 26,1925 15,1925 27,1925 22,1925 9,1925 Country Japan Latvia Lithuania. _. Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Rumania Rate 7.3 8 7 4 m In effect since— Apr. Feb. Feb. Jan. Nov. Nov. Sept. Sept. 15,1925 16,1924 8,1925 16,1925 26,1924 28,1924 12,1923 4,1920 Country South AfricaSpain _ _ Sweden Switzerland. Yugoslavia- Rate In effect since— 5K Nov.—,1924 5 Mar. 23,1923 Nov. 9,1923 July 14,1923 6 June 23,1922 10 9 6 Changes.—Bank of Japan, from 8.03 per cent to 7.30 per cent on Apr. 15,1925; Austrian National Bank, from 13 to 11 per cent, April 25,1925. 348 MAT, 1925 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN FOREIGN TRADE OF PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES FOREIGN COUNTRIES UNITED STATES [Thousands of dollars] 12 months ended March— 1925 March February 1925 1924 IMPORTS By classes of commodities: Total Crude materials.. Foodstuffs, crude, and food animals Manufactured foodstuffs.. Semimanufactures Finished manufactures Miscellaneous By countries: Total Europe France Germany Italy.. United Kingdom Total North America Canada Total South America Argentina Total Asia and Oceania Japan Total Africa 385,487 333, 720 3, 726,983 3,709,790 142,211 128,603 1,329,641 1,302,564 50,157 46,848 75,943 67,913 2,415 36, 778 39, 776 63, 649 62,848 2,066 452,374 476,302 677, 628 768,720 22,429 364,875 552,705 707,088 759,051 23,507 112,097 14,153 13,080 9,512 40,151 91,297 34,444 58,451 8,584 113,397 28,291 10,245 100,968 1,140,131 1,114,958 147,540 14, 880 152,945 155,366 12,077 142,462 84,197 82,977 8,262 379,701 33,893 381,888 83,219 959,818 1,027,174 424,926 33, 651 449,709 44, 053 491,115 79,150 99,867 10, 212 92,438 1,058,068 1,039,772 23,181 347,768 335,314 13, 044 77,960 78,175 453,434 121,690 365, 782 4,760,841 4,284,451 128, 697 1,412,399 1,275,018 31,102 55,597 64,543 171,553 1,048 7,901 229,441 23, 554 430,505 589,044 46, 277 568,016 590,239 47, 777 626,526 1,624,449 1,513,604 117, 894 7,128 6,016 636 91,159 5,904 81,090 EXPORTS By classes of commodities: Total Crude materials Foodstuffs, crude, and food animals Manufactured foodstuffs... Semimanufactured Finished manufactures Miscellaneous Reexports By countries: Total Europe France Germany Italy United Kingdom Total North America Canada Total South America Argentina Total Asia and Oceania Japan Total Africa 1 12 months ended March— 1925 251,823 222, 262 2,615,902 2,152,197 279,604 25,690 22, 855 294,392 367,391 51,386 43, 785 459,114 174,362 26,063 23,061 212,946 879,678 84,999 85, 757 1,050,798 990,299 100,297 75,125 1,104,437 639,779 51,179 39,122 615,783 275,658 33,548 25, 463 333,464 110,662 12,212 9,939 126,155 712,661 58,961 42, 559 632,159 299,623 21,388 15, 803 225,303 63,631 8,805 74,138 5,330 February March 1925 France (million francs): 39,742 3,307 3,346 Imports 3,595 3,762 41,401 Exports Germany (million gold marks); 1,125 ! 1,111 10,527 Imports , 712 631 I Exports 7,253 United Kingdom (thousand £ sterling): 112,861 110,148 1,330,194 Imports 70,303 69,330 810,736 Exports 12,776 13,858 140, 824 Reexports Canada (thousand dollars): 84,608 61,430 796,933 Imports 71,164 1, 081,362 95,888 Exports Japan (million yen): 284 2,459 313 Imports 164 1,933 Exports 151 South Africa (thousand £ sterling) : 67, 673 5,437 5,300 Imports 71,634 4,550 Exports 8,487 Denmark (million kroner) : Imports Exports Italy (millionlire): Imports Exports Netherlands (million guilders): Imports Exports. Norway (million kroner): Imports Exports Sweden (million kroner): Imports Exports Brazil (million milreis):l Imports Exports . Australia (thousand £ sterling): Imports... Exports India (million rupees): Imports Exports 35,951 34,845 6,622 6,362 1,124,118 775,201 129,080 893,335 1,058,763 2,297 1,445 58,105 74,448 12 months ended February— 1925 February 1924 January 1925 204 183 188 166 2,419 2,188 1924 2,060 1,775 17,286 11,483 1,828 1,119 211 140 2,408 1,694 109 95 1, 587 1, 101 876 105 80 197 ! 136 1, 418 1, 284 1,313 1,156 251 505 2,037 1,359 2,237 3,178 13,438 14,379 145,822 160, 939 138,312 114,053 243 401 2,455 3,860 2,281 3,488 Figures for November and October, 1924, and for the 12 months ending November, 1924, and November, 1923. The following tables present the Federal Reserve Board's index numbers of the monthly volume of foreign trade of the United States and monthly fluctuations in ocean freight rates prevailing between this country and principal European trade regions. For methods of construction of these indexes reference may be made to the FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETINS for July, 1920, and August, 1921. INDEX OF OCEAN FREIGHT RATES [January, 1920=100] FOREIGN TRADE INDEX [1913=100] 1925 1925 1924 DeMarch Febru- Janu- cember March ary ary Imports: Total Raw materials Producers' goods Consumers' goods Exports: Total Raw materials Producers' goods Consumers' goods 209.2 164.1 274.5 200.8 200.2 166.4 272.5 141.7 217.1 186,4 296.9 134.7 194.7 185.4 226.3 153.2 195.3 151.1 269.4 165.3 119.1 102.1 213.9 129.0 103.8 94.1 177.0 100.2 127.8 123.2 181.2 117.2 136.7 135.3 186.0 117.4 90.4 69.1 155.8 129.3 April United States Atlantic ports toUnited Kingdom French Atlantic Netherlands and Belgium Scandinavia Mediterranean All Europe - . . . . 1924 March Febru- January ary April 26.1 27.2 27.0 26.2 27.8 27.6 29.8 27.6 28.1 26.5 26.7 24.0 24.6 26.0 24.8 23.5 24.2 25.6 25.1 23.5 20.7 25.5 25.6 23.5 23.8 26.9 24.5 23.7 20.5 25.3 MAT, 1025 349 FEDERAL BESEEVE BULLETIN PRICE MOVEMENTS IN PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES The tables below give the all-commodities and group index numbers of wholesale prices in the five countries included in the Federal Reserve Board's indexes. In the first table the all-commodities index for each country is shown both in terms of paper currency and converted to a gold basis. The latter figure takes into account the depreciation of the foreign currency in terms of the American dollar (or gold) and the series indicates relative price levels in the several countries when all prices are expressed in dollars. The wholesale price index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the United States, with the group indexes shown by that bureau and the regrouping made by the Federal Reserve Board, has been transferred from this section to the section on business conditions in the United States and appears on page 318 of this issue. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD WHOLESALE PRICE INDEXES FOR ALL COMMODITIES 1 Converted to gold basis On paper currency basis Year and month England France Canada England Japan France Canada Japan 165 159 170 176 394 446 150 i 147 I 188 200 159 160 124 121 147 145 183 166 159 159 163 163 163 163 168 164 165 166 171 177 391 391 404 404 416 427 151 ! 150 149 i 147 ! 145 144 183 179 191 196 199 205 158 154 154 154 154 159 119 115 123 125 119 116 147 146 145 145 142 140 179 176 186 192 193 193 163 163 160 158 156 154 156 158 156 159 160 165 178 180 180 181 177 174 174 173 172 175 176 177 445 469 483 428 428 442 440 442 436 442 449 451 146 148 147 143 143 145 147 149 146 148 148 149 205 200 200 201 200 189 191 196 198 206 210 209 156 160 158 162 158 155 156 160 158 161 167 171 108 107 117 137 128 120 117 125 120 120 123 126 142 144 143 140 141 142 146 149 145 148 148 149 185 182 172 165 1«1 156 168 167 169 1923, average 1924, average 178 178 174 456 457 463 156 «158 153 208 204 175 175 171 127 125 124 156 157 153 160 168 1923 July August September October November December _ 1924 January February March April May June July August September October November December 1925 January February March 158 163 161 161 162 161 FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD WHOLESALE PRICE INDEXES FOR GROUPS OF COMMODITIES 1 Year and month All commodities Grouped by stage of manufacture Grouped by origin Ex- port Con- DoIm- goods Raw Pro- sum- mesma- ducers' ers' tic ported terials goods goods goods goods UNITED STATES 1924—March. _ October November.-_ December 1925—January February March 160 159 160 165 168 167 169 166 165 165 171 176 177 180 157 146 147 151 151 153 152 154 158 162 165 167 163 166 161 160 161 166 170 169 172 145 146 150 149 147 147 146 179 167 169 171 175 178 180 180 175 176 177 178 178 174 183 171 174 175 176 175 172 167 168 169 171 171 173 165 187 187 187 187 188 187 188 180 175 176 177 178 179 175 178 174 178 * 179 179 177 173 185 174 178 180 179 179 174 483 442 449 451 483 469 478 480 507 442 439 440 474 411 424 424 460 423 430 431 596 534 541 545 524 454 461 463 ENGLAND 1924—March October November.-_ December 1925—January February March. FRANCE 1924—March October November. __ December Year and month FRANCE—contd. 1925—January February March All commodities Grouped by stage of manufacture Grouped by origin ExCon- DoIm- port Raw Prosum- mes- ported goods ma- ducers' ers' tic terials goods goods goods goods 456 457 463 482 482 481 442 445 459 435 438 449 437 439 447 546 547 543 464 467 476 147 148 148 149 156 158 153 129 137 137 139 149 151 142 167 151 155 153 152 152 153 168 161 161 163 168 168 169 145 147 147 148 157 158 152 165 157 160 159 159 161 161 132 160 161 164 179 180 171 200 206 210 209 208 204 211 211 217 216 222 223 203 212 216 218 217 208 193 202 204 201 196 193 200 208 212 210 208 204 199 200 202 202 204 205 207 204 213 214 215 213 CANADA 1924—March October November December 1925—January February March. JAPAN 1924—MarchOctober November. . . December. . . 1925—January February March » Complete descriptions of these index numbers may be found in the following issues of the BULLETIN: United States—May and June, 1920, June, 1921, and May, 1922; England—February, 1922; France—August, 1922; Canada—July, 1922; Japan—September. 1922. 350 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 WHOLESALE PRICE LEVELS IN PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES ALL-COMMODITIES INDEX NUMBERS [Pre-war=100] Europe Year and month Austria Belgium 1924 January February. _. March April July August September . October November. December.. 1,874,800 1,915,800 1,912,000 1, 946, 500 1, 913, 300 2, 013, 600 1, 937, 300 2,008,600 2, 076, 600 2, 075,400 580 642 625 555 566 547 550 555 1925 January February.. March April 2,118,100 2,108,100 2, 054,800 559 551 546 GerEngmany; land; Federal Bul- Czecho- Den- Board slo- 1 mark i Finland France Statisgaria vakia of tical Trade Bureau Spain 1924 January... February. March April July August September. October-.. November. December. 1925 January. ~ February.. March April 165 167 165 165 163 165 167 170 170 170 1,071 1,078 1,094 1,095 1,085 1,111 1,117 1,114 1,120 1,139 494 544 499 450 481 477 486 497 504 507 117.3 116.2 120.7 124.1 115.0 120.4 126.9 131.2 128.5 131.3 1,045 1,048 1,034 1,019 234 234 230 220 171 169 166 1,137 1,141 514 515 514 NorItaly Nether- way Poland Russia* lands (Oslo) 138.2 136.5 134.4 2,711 2,658 2,612 2,798 2,737 2,853 2,848 2,988 3,132 3,181 974 999 1,021 1,008 953 3,275 3,309 Europe—Continued Year and month 1,013 1,024 210 223 227 228 220 233 231 234 231 232 Hungary (gold basis) Peru 156 158 155 154 151 151 158 161 161 160 250 262 266 267 271 274 275 276 277 278 107 112 110 109 102 109 112 116 117 118 207 196 188 184 184 180 177 173 172 660 160 159 279 281 276 120 121 122 170 170 Asia and Oceania. North and South America United States Switzer- (Bureau Canada Sweden land of Labor Statistics) 571 573 579 579 567 572 580 602 621 640 123 131 130 125 145 145 142 149 154 160 Australia China Dutch (Shang- East hai) Indies 178 180 180 184 182 182 184 186 181 198 161 162 162 161 157 160 163 167 167 168 183 183 180 181 173 171 170 169 169 170 151 152 150 148 147 150 149 152 153 157 157 157 154 151 153 157 154 157 158 161 190 189 194 195 192 193 190 192 191 195 174 170 167 166 163 162 162 163 163 165 156 160 158 154 152 149 149 153 155 157 180 191 192 183 169 169 168 171 171 170 166 160 161 161 165 165 162 199 194 206 206 163 160 159 160 178 178 174 177 177 175 173 179 India (Calcutta) Africa Egypt Japan New (Tokyo) Zealand (Cairo) South Africa 172 178 179 174 179 180 179 181 180 176 211 208 206 207 195 200 206 213 214 213 175 180 180 178 180 181 181 180 181 181 133 135 136 134 132 143 148 156 158 156 ! 131 171 172 168 213 210 204 178 157 ! 161 ! 155 ! 130 126 125 133 1 First of month figures. The foreign index numbers of wholesale prices are cabled to the Federal Reserve Board by the various foreign statistical offices. Index numbers of commodity groups for most of the countries are also available in the office of the Division of Research and Statistics of the board, and may be had upon request. Wherever possible the indexes have been shifted from original bases to a 1913 base. Further information as to base periods, sources, number of commodities and period of the month to which thefiguresrefer may be found on page 48 of the January, 1924, issue of the BULLETIN. 351 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 RETAIL FOOD PRICES AND COST OF LIVING IN PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL FOOD PRICES [Pre-war=100] European countries United States (51 cities) 1924 January _ February March April May. June July— . . . August September... October November. _. December Bel- Bul- EngAustria (Vienna) gium2 garia land i Other countries Estho- France Gernia 2 (Paris) many Italy (Milan) Netherlands Norway Switzerland Canada 1 Aus- India New South Zeatralia (Bom- land Africa bay) 146 144 141 138 138 140 140 141 144 146 147 149 126 130 128 121 113 118 123 124 127 135 140 139 2,674 2,537 2,497 2,501 2,438 2,687 2,626 2,727 2,723 2,856 2,994 3,040 175 177 176 167 163 160 162 164 166 172 179 180 111 113 115 115 111 111 115 119 116 110 110 113 376 384 392 380 378 370 360 366 374 383 396 404 127 117 120 123 126 120 126 122 125 134 135 135 515 516 523 524 519 518 508 507 514 543 567 579 150 151 152 152 151 151 150 150 152 154 156 157 230 234 241 240 241 241 248 257 261 264 269 274 168 167 167 165 165 168 168 166 166 169 170 170 145 145 143 137 133 133 134 137 139 139 141 143 155 153 152 150 151 149 148 147 146 146 147 148 154 151 147 143 143 147 151 156 156 156 157 156 150 149 150 150 150 150 148 146 145 146 148 150 120 122 122 123 122 120 117 117 117 120 122 121 151 148 148 1925 January February March April 1,352,700 1,382,100 1,393,000 1,383,800 1,416,900 1,445,700 1,436,200 1, 565, 200 1, 562,300 1,584,500 1,619,800 1, 624,800 1,644,600 1,661,800 1,622,500 1, 583,000 140 137 134 3,131 3,163 178 176 176 170 113 408 410 415 137 3145 590 610 156 157 277 283 284 168 168 168 145 147 148 149 152 152 155 153 147 120 120 121 INDEX NUMBERS OF COST OF LIVING [Pre-war=100] Other countries European countries Massachusetts 1924 January... _ February... March April May June July August.. . . . September _. October November. _ December.. . 1925 January February... March April Austria (Vienna) Belgium Czechoslo- Eng1 vakia land India Fin- France Ger- Italy Neth- Nor- Po- Spain Swe- Swit- Can- Aus- (Bom- South zererden land ada 1 tra- bay) Africa land (Paris) many (Mi- lands way land lia lan) 157 156 156 154 154 154 155 155 157 157 157 158 1,174,000 1,194,000 1,199,600 1,197, 300 1, 220, 900 1,244,200 1, 239,100 1, 314, 200 1,316, 200 1,330, 700 1,357,400 1,365, 000 480 495 510 498 485 492 493 498 503 513 520 521 917 917 908 907 916 923 909 897 908 916 922 928 177 179 178 173 171 169 170 171 172 176 180 181 1,155 1,143 1,141 1,121 1,121 1,147 1,154 1,198 1,199 1,219 1,222 1,217 158 157 158 1,376, 200 1,389, 500 1,366,000 1,343, 200 521 517 511 506 931 929 923 180 179 179 175 1,199 1,191 1,210 377 110 104 107 112 115 112 116 114 116 122 123 123 510 517 521 522 518 518 512 511 516 546 563 573 124 3 136 145 266 121 127 126 127 126 124 127 135 141 150 152 153 178 176 190 180 195 173 180 186 182 180 189 185 "174" 175 190 169 168 168 166 166 168 169 166 166 169 170 170 150 149 148 145 143 143 143 145 146 146 147 147 150 151 151 188 189 180 168 168 167 149 150 271 580 592 386 365 366 367 179 236 173 244 176 258 181 "in" 178 150 149 148 158 156 153 150 150 153 156 160 160 160 161 160 133 134 134 134 134 133 132 132 132 133 134 133 157 157 159 158 133 133 133 1 3 First of the month figures. 21921=100. New index. NOTE.—Information as to the number of foods and items included, the original base periods, and sources may be found on page 276 of the April, 1925, issue of the BULLETIN. The original bases of the indexes have been shifted to July, 1914, wherever possible. 352 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1926 BANKING AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS AVERAGE DAILY CONDITION FOB MARCH AND FEBRUARY, 1925 [Amounts in thousands of dollars] Total earning assets Total cash reserves Total deposits Federal reserve notes in circulation Reserve percentages Federal reserve bank February March Boston New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta.... Chicago St. L o u i s . . . Minneapolis Kansas City Dallas San Francisco March February February March March February 93,490 335,758 91,424 114,105 47,943 31,587 131,154 33,798 30,230 43, 725 32,894 92, 747 89,073 330,670 78,606 115,022 32, 504 20,965 130,557 38,950 25,634 43,003 40,555 104,784 257,937 900,754 219,264 276,106 103,360 177,474 376,244 106,861 98,340 117,921 86,384 279,607 257,161 913,416 230,328 269,019 120, 863 184,306 388,067 105, 716 102,683 119,135 80, 596 270, 623 136,016 838,857 128,146 176,067 66,121 69,109 316,310 82,334 57,366 92,613 65,947 164,587 139,048 865,244 129,144 178,326 68, 643 67,716 317, 664 84,436 57,069 92, 553 67,009 166, 679 201,576 362,753 159,780 191,885 76,375 142,060 172,255 51,059 66,814 66,292 45,049 195,325 194,570 352,386 157,815 184,922 76,198 140,742 179,352 53,460 67,032 66,640 46,479 195,333 76.4 75.0 76.2 75.0 72.5 84.0 77.0 80.1 79.2 74.2 77.8 77.7 77.1 75.0 80.3 74.1 83.4 88.4 78.1 76.7 82.7 74.8 71.0 74,8 1,078,855 951, 774 1,178,919 1,191,013 2,735, 784 3,211,936 1,050,323 921,588 1,152,862 1,215,221 2,869, 233 3,154,054 3,000, 252 3, 222,877 3,190, 625 3,095, 762 2,403,470 2,058, 293 3,041,913 3,239,282 3, 208,682 3,070,045 2, 343, 537 2,053,422 2,193,473 1,991,066 1,960, 540 1,794,895 1,808, 529 2,032,787 2,233,531 1,954,479 1,969, 757 1,814,446 1,804,476 2,002, 503 1,731, 223 2,013, 515 2, 253,189 2,195,131 2,979,486 3,040,440 1,714, 929 2,034, 540 2,244, 733 2,176,529 3,068,578 2,946,863 76.4 80.5 75.7 77.6 50.2 U2.7 77.0 81.2 76.1 76.9 M9.6 M3.3 , Total: 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1 February March Calculated on basis of net deposits and Federal reserve notes in circulation. FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS—RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS RESOURCES [In thousands of dollars] Boston New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Minne- Kansas Dallas Atlanta Chicago St. Louis apolis City 159,692 157, 205 163,678 174, 593 361, 766 361, 704 321,638 331, 612 135,217 132,848 134,134 135, 228 169, 759 170, 577 170,172 170,093 50, 529 49,021 47,438 45, 770 136,074 135,369 136,905 135, 776 12,432 14,192 7,010 7,418 10, 741 9,524 8,442 12,398 3,958 2,019 3,220 2,123 2,168 2, 533 3,074 3,802 1,904 2,006 1,882 2,466 II, 654,862 1,640,342 1,563,931 1,608,419 172,124 171,397 170,688 182,011 372,507 371, 228 330,080 344,010 52, 697 51, 554 50, 512 49, 572 137,978 137,375 138, 787 138,242 619,409 615,292 692,776 637,009 42, 954 36,819 43,914 44,341 198, 549 221,303 232,276 222,982 43,256 52,586 53,483 49,088 61,953 , 61,393 69, 502 60, 987 593,059 590,300 582, 675 599,055 28,066 28,564 28,911 28,934 324, 553 317,460 314, 583 322, 754 23,064 23,105 21,002 21, 559 30,354 31, 500 32,148 32,844 Total Gold with Federal reserve agents: I Mar. 25 1,600,051 Apr. 1 . . 1,588,385 Apr. 8 1,513,503 Apr. 15 .1,554,000 Gold r e d e m p t i o n fund with U. S. Treasury: Mar. 25 54,811 Apr. 1 51,957 Apr. 8 50,428 Apr. 15 54,419 6,187 7,548 8,387 9,547 San Francisco 48,940 47,820 46,884 46,856 66, 694 67,056 66,844 67,204 56,812 57,882 57,558 56, 546 39,136 39,289 40,478 39,999 209,836 204,043 212,211 214,773 3,762 2,809 5,826 4,911 4,497 4,599 5,084 5,005 647 1,051 1,019 425 4,000 2,432 2,364 2,934 2,304 1,471 1,760 1,618 2,211 1,773 2,360 1,772 169,358 168,380 121,389 140,461 53,437 52,419 51,968 51,861 67, 341 68,107 67,863 67, 629 60,812 60,314 59,922 59,480 41,440 40, 760 42,238 41,617 212,047 205,816 214,571 216, 545 17,542 16, 556 18, 270 18,465 14, 260 92, 318 14,877 67,475 11,054 119,313 6,003 105,199 24,000 18,579 23,131 17,092 20,324 16,731 19,393 14, 598 46,077 48,238 44,490 45,763 22, 780 23,646 22,390 22,279 35,396 37,089 35,560 30,212 24,920 23,386 22,655 22,022 10, 273 93, 262 10,206 96,067 10,365 92,059 10,252 100,409 10,641 11,269 12,037 11,285 6,621 6,652 6,671 6,853 2,786 3,908 3,565 3,784 9,330 8,873 9,458 9,571 29,189 29,310 29,221 28,788 165, 596 165, 571 115, 563 135,550 Gold held exclusively against Federal reserve notes: | M a r . 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8. Apr. 15 Gold settlement fund with Federal Reserve Board: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 . . . Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Gold and gold certificates held by banks: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 141,404 173, 717 140,396 172, 596 142,521 I 173,392 144,775 I 172,216 353 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS—RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS—Continued RESOURCES—Continued [In thousands of dollars] Total Boston San Francisco Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago . Louis 895, 609 207,724 909,991 216,087 217,006 889,746 215, 422 266,024 265,489 275,042 266,047 95,159 91,496 91,437 90, 059 162,511 162,458 160,206 154,497 354,938 331,922 332,761 346, 069 88,078 82, 267 87,136 80, 238 94, 286 91,490 93,927 89, 080 109,675 112,460 107,977 109, 027 31,801 31,190 31,180 32,660 5,799 4,345 4,433 4,958 9,056 8,780 8,259 5,096 4,586 3,656 13,630 14,749 14,116 14,968 18,953 18,457 18,430 18,825 19,011 19,104 19,076 19,936 1,802 1,820 2,062 1,913 3,784 3,467 3,817 3,571 9,478 9,382 9,500 9,560 6,305 6,026 6,658 5,991 927,410 941,181 908,119 922,406 213,523 220,432 221,439 220,380 275,080 100,255 274,269 96,082 283,301 95,093 275,035 94,039 176,141 177,207 174,322 169,465 373,891 350,379 351,191 364,894 107,089 101,371 106,212 100,174 96,088 113,459 93,310 115,927 111.794 90,993 112,598 83,028 82,661 83,586 83,027 282,937 278,241 286,010 281,536 16,802 13,497 14,949 15,481 2,097 1,960 1,841 2,037 2,779 3,575 2,853 3,806 2,974 2,962 3,468 3,709 5,803 5,092 5,215 4,516 7,946 7,670 7,855 7,921 3,883 3,552 3,878 3,929 962 916 920 1,532 2,238 2,036 2,544 2,269 2,502 2,298 2,375 2,549 3,906 3,681 3,315 3,405 96,536 58,891 75,917 74,792 27,141 26,858 20,100 22,372 25,038 32,309 22,234 34,034 9,089 12,240 11,442 12,066 3,653 5,157 3,228 3,078 23,294 30,094 25,070 21,059 4,333 5,556 5,134 5,919 328 243 238 2,268 270 2,190 1,702 1,122 224 173 129 152 10,072 12,232 10,929 12,130 40,285 40,186 53,037 41,003 13,967 15,018 12,752 15,400 11,969 13,077 14,759 17,237 25,283 27,495 27,679 28,586 11,743 14,674 13,471 15.819 20,304 27,799 24,805 18,343 5,491 8,652 7,685 9,509 3,764 3,785 3,885 4,161 4,017 3,924 4,415 5,089 1,327 1,265 1,367 1,647 11,630 16,996 14,620 16,632 4,287 6,114 6,117 6,211 1,551 1,438 1,496 1,799 21,702 29,228 25,549 28,762 11,050 10,463 8,845 8,666 30,104 28,820 28,142 26,540 New York j Philaj delphia e City Dallas -ITotal gold reserves: Mar. 25 2,867,330 Apr. 1 2,845,934 Apr. 8 2,839,382 Apr. 15 2,844,483 Reserves other than gold: Mar. 25 1 140,822 Apr. 1 136,747 Apr. 8 . . 137,226 Apr. 15. 141,044 243,144 236, 780 243,513 255, 286 16,107 14,841 16,039 15,694 Total reserves: Mar. 25 3,008,152 259,251 Apr. 1 2,982,681 251,621 Apr. 8 2,976,608 259,552 Apr. 15 2,985,527 270,980 Nonreserve cash: 4,609 Mar. 25 56, 501 4,434 Apr. 1 51,673 5,002 Apr. 8 54,215 5,476 Apr. 15 56,630 Bills discounted: j Secured by U.S. Government obligations14,592 Mar. 25 214,570 18,243 Apr. 1 204,186 16,477 192,600 Apr. 8 17,140 206,132 Apr. 15 Other bills discounted— 13,291 Mar. 25 163,071 22,868 Apr. 1. 195,739 20,214 Apr. 8. 198,689 15,744 Apr. 15 189,170 Total bills discounted: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15. Bills bought in open market: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 U. S. Government securities: Bonds— Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Treasury n o t e s Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Certificates of indebtednessMar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8. Apr. 15 Total U. S. Government securities: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 . . Apr. 8. Apr. 15.,_ Foreign loans on gold: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8-__ Apr. 15 73, 550 73, 279 74,086 73,467 276,632 272,215 279,352 275,545 377,641 399,925 391,289 395,302 27,883 41,111 36,691 32,884 136,821 99,077 128,954 115,795 41,108 41,876 32,852 37,772 37,007 45,386 36,993 51,271 34,372 39,735 39,121 40,652 15,396 19,831 16,699 18,897 43,598 57,893 49,875 39,402 9,824 14,208 12,819 15,428 4,092 4,028 4,123 I 6,429 306,905 316,378 310, 685 41,092 41,261 39,316 35,303 62,209 73,197 83, 534 57,504 24, 279 25,367 24,102 24,197 30,913 31, 875 29,342 28, 507 12,834 13,054 12,224 12,024 13,302 13,284 12,830 13,074 43, 282 42,831 39, 650 35,910 13,193 13,381 11, 741 11,334 9,343 8,728 8,229 8,258 15,304 14,117 12,460 1,416 12,460 I 1,416 12,460 I 1,416 12,460 I 1,416 11,001 11,001 11, 001 11,000 1,407 1,407 1,407 1,408 1,717 1,721 1,764 1,901 19, 649 19, 649 19,649 21,649 1,599 1,599 1,648 1,649 8,785 8,764 8,764 8,764 9,202 9,464 10,061 10,184 8,681 8,682 8,681 3,117 3,117 3,118 3,121 77,323 89,497 93,688 85,682 22,162 22,162 22,162 22, 738 1,615 1,615 1,615 1,903 1,054 1,070 1,082 1,381 30,401 30,401 30,401 29,451 6,905 6,905 6,906 7,251 8,162 8,162 8,162 8,162 12,906 I 10,821 12,906 I 10,821 12,906 I 10,821 13,252 11,109 25, 516 25,516 25, 516 26,033 959 976 82 i 75 I 1,097 2,594 1,891 2,985 2,268 386 397 457 457 457 420 3,730 3,767 3,832 4,379 52, 644 51,941 53,035 53,368 8,890 8,890 8,940 9,297 17,404 17, 383 17,383 17,346 462 462 462 462 1,564 1,564 1,564 1,564 525 525 525 525 274, 058 12, 730 12, 741 I 81,696 81,942 82, 631 84,896 2,662 2,662 2,662 2,662 233, 728 245, 970 250,177 244, 780 14, 373 14, 425 14,428 14,868 28,327 29, 922 29,432 28,156 4,113 3,868 3,891 3,887 343, 751 357, 834 362,240 357, 832 21,148 20,955 20,981 21,417 I ! I I 22,490 22,490 22,490 22,950 4,486 i 7,012 5,396 i 5,067 i 365 365 365 340 6,286 6,286 6,286 6,194 ! I ! I 2,302 2,302 2,301 2,257 606 557 5,691 5,691 5,691 5,597 I 10,500 j 10,500 ! 10,500 10,500 94,269 108,969 111, 544 103, 209 3,055 3,055 3,055 3.055 24, 271 24,271 24,271 24,706 I I I I 39,449 39,449 39,449 39, 932 1,050 1,050 1,050 1,050 1,208 1,208 1,208 1,208 3,-104 3,104 3,104 609 | j I I i 368 368 368 368 24,410 I 20,108 24,672 | 20,109 25,268 | 20,108 25,693 20,348 462 462 462 462 399 399 399 34.324 34, 324 34.325 34,751 798 798 798 354 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS—RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS—Continued RESOURCES—Continued [In thousands of dollars] Total All other earning assets: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Total earning assets: Mar. 25 _... Apr. 1 _. Apr. 8 Apr. 1 5 . . . . Uncollected items: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 . . Apr. 15 Bank premises: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 . - . . Apr. 8 Apr. 15 All other resources: Mar. 25 _. Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Total resources: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8_Apr. 15 Boston New York 1,902 1,902 1,902 1,652 58, 816 58, 863 58, 967 59, 241 20, 710 20, 653 20, 998 22, 257 4, 787,125 4, 807, 607 4, 790, 022 4, 949, 205 Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago St. Louis Minne- Kansas Dallas apolis City San Francisco 500 500 500 250 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,040,699 90,123 1, 103, 327 1, 076, 616 , 1, 039,344 89,604 , 602,247 607,198 602, 618 786,206 Philadelphia 296, 354 284,298 327,087 279,563 92,108 93,964 83,675 89,125 108, 577 117, 918 106, 992 120, 918 50, 919 56,502 55, 058 56,671 32, 890 141, 088 37,344 154, 229 144,124 36,812 130,244 32,432 37,004 34, 025 36, 584 31, 209 30, 509 30,105 32,403 44,963 45,865 45, 077 45,357 33,108 32, 409 30,848 31, 212 86,928 93,170 88,814 90,851 54, 052 55, 623 51, 887 72,817 4,190 4,190 4,190 4,190 131,129 141, 884 136, 702 196,929 58, 851 57, 773 55, 563 74, 558 54, 613 52,196 50, 642 75, 042 55,414 50,828 54, 077 29, 471 27, 056 30,460 35,171 31, 647 31, 915 35, 381 41, 215 12,835 11, 963 13, 218 16,344 35, 659 37,101 37,032 41,114 24,006 23,320 24, 660 27, 734 34, 585 33,945 36,327 44,600 16,454 16, 497 16, 569 16, 570 1,114 1,112 1,112 1,112 7,573 7,573 7,573 7,573 2,446 2,446 2,446 2,446 2,780 2,780 2,780 2,780 8,099 8,099 3,875 3,875 3,881 4,118 3,040 3,046 3,046 3,046 4,142 4,142 4,165 4,200 1,833 1,833 1,833 1,833 3,270 3,270 3,273 3,274 75 39 48 5,401 5,403 5,550 5,978 315 330 392 360 225 215 226 243 555 549 534 579 2,002 1,997 1,983 2,894 1,746 1,645 1,629 1,331 312 345 348 342 2,944 2,967 3,149 3,376 549 564 577 546 1,736 1,747 1,703 1,690 4,850 4,852 4,859 4,852 368, 008 375, 571 364, 022 387, 572 448,847 455, 746 451, 587 482, 617 212, 563 209,369 210, 676 222, 267 249,087 251,476 248, 583 251,638 612, 755 605, 616 589, 567 608,348 179, 238 178, 062 183, 725 186,362 147,078 142, 711 146,427 147, 694 201,010 205,635 201,189 206, 084 146, 213 144, 268 145,005 148, 045 416,476 417,159 422, 598 428,518 141,107 141,572 143, 676 142,011 169,188 166,675 165,317 163,862 49,648 49,528 49,482 49,201 66,367 66,251 66,153 64, 892 65,473 65,056 65,344 64,441 43, 871 43,910 44,477 43,410 191,415 192, 591 193,619 195,277 320, 680 70,598 308,566 67,429 305, 269 67,606 308,503 78,945 78,764 79,988 77,617 55,386 51,550 54,621 55,490 86,811 88,018 86,644 87,145 60,827 60,886 60,541 60,010 156,043 156,284 159,398 155,843 412,300 419, 234 417, 667 443,133 1, 393, 550 1,402, 760 1,408, 976 1, 436, 927 83, 594 95,859 LIABILITIES Federal reserve notes in actual circulation: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Deposits: Member bank reserve account— Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Government— Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Other deposits— Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Total deposits: Mar. 25,. Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Deferred availabilityitems: Mar. 25 Apr. 1_. Apr. 8 : Apr. 15. Capital paid in: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15.... 1,709,146 1, 709,670 1,714,161 1,698,090 201,408 206,102 209,539 207,690 154,768 155,655 156,578 153,327 193,442 189,426 196, 473 196,552 75,166 75,344 75,401 75,357 2,118, 581 2,132,779 2,140,760 2,141,443 130,727 809,136 126,044 131,527 807,154 134, 297 130,15 ( 835,784 126, 274 138, 715 812,900 132,475 163,306 179,646 168,791 178,873 63,850 65,489 65,871 357, 293 357,560 348,102 342,070 29,379 34,377 21,878 37,027 2,346 3,538 1,578 1,943 8,237 5,589 5,073 7,567 1,137 2,090 342 4,324 2,001 1,278 2,451 3,195 833 1,615 828 3,061 3,208 4,447 1,990 1,615 4,525 3,870 1,257 2,045 1,524 1,915 1,906 3,265 1,037 2,126 1,633 1,257 553 3,880 1,639 2,641 1,761 1,823 901 1,660 2,217 2,206 2,280 4,454 36,309 28, 501 24, 340 29,476 313 44 74 146 18,475 14,485 12,530 16, 526 1,208 894 342 452 2,106 1,167 1,240 1,112 2,318 162 147 208 731 143 136 494 1,491 2,513 1,183 2,428 1,601 964 903 816 290 294 297 305 844 698 610 641 411 253 262 188 6,521 6,884 6,616 6,160 2,184,269 2,195,657 2,186,978 2,207,946 133,386 135,109 131,802 140,804 835,848 827,228 853,387 836,993 128,389 137,281 126,958 137,251 167,413 182,091 172,482 183,180 67,001 67,266 66,846 69,535 70,765 75,188 69,555 69,715 326,696 314,949 307,709 312, 976 82,070 81,643 82,797 81,698 56,713 53,970 56,551 57,052 92,596 88, 893 90,427 62,999 62,962 61,704 61,858 164,781 165,374 168,294 166,457 549,438 558, 250 544,276 698,694 52,554 53,119 51,380 69,705 107,377 124, 974 114,239 164,397 53,307 51,103 48,931 65,386 j 51,521 j 47,780 ! 46,132 | 52,040 48,413 50,049 59,000 23,023 20,543 21,146 25,693 69,210 76, 295 68,783 84,019 31,981 31,368 35,907 39,935 12, 285 10, 788 12,016 14,060 33,579 34,251 33,215 37,505 26,877 24,964 26,360 30,342 35,684 34,652 36,118 42,263 114,492 114,492 114,481 114, 586 8,078 8,050 8,050 8,050 31,302 31,315 31,318 31,343 11,110 11,098 11,098 11,150 12,959 12,958 12,958 12,958 5,966 5,966 5,968 5,967 4,601 4,598 4,599 4,613 15,487 15, 502 15,495 15, 504 5,104 5,104 5,104 5,104 3,260 3.261 3,260 3,252 4,305 4,300 4,295 4,295 4,195 4,198 4,201 4,213 8,125 8,142 8,135 8,137 MAY, 1925 355 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS—RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS—Continued LI ABILITIE S—C ontinued [In thousands of dollars] Total New York Boston Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago St. Louis Minne- Kansas apolis City San Francisco Dallas Surplus: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 All other liabilities: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 . — Apr. 8_._ .Apr. 15 -. Total liabilities: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 1 5 . . . 217,837 217,837 217,837 217,837 16,382 16,382 16,382 16,382 58,749 58,749 58,749 58,749 20,059 20,059 20,059 20,059 22,462 22,462 22,462 22,462 11,701 11,701 11,701 11,701 8,950 8,950 8,950 8,950 30,426 30,426 30,426 30,426 9,971 9,971 9,971 9,971 7,497 7,497 7,497 7,497 8,977 8,977 8,977 8.977 7,592 7,592 7,592 7,592 15,071 15,071 15,071 15,071 11,943 11,701 12,289 12,052 492 472 514 502 2,981 2,934 3,181 3,375 375 375 398 399 1,050 1,029 1,080 1,076 679 711 707 641 625 657 656 1,748 1,769 1,837 1,561 464 448 464 453 956 944 950 941 468 455 465 439 679 642 671 630 1,400 1,329 1,361 1,313 4,787,125 4,807,607 4,790,022 4,949,205 412,300 419,234 417,667 443,133 368,008 375, 571 364,022 387,572 448,847 455,746 451,587 482,617 212, 563 209,369 210,676 222,267 249,087 612,755 251,476 605,616 248,583 589,567 251,638 179,238 178,062 183,725 186,362 147,078 142,711 146,427 147,694 77.3 76.4 76.3 76.4 77.4 73.7 76.0 77.8 77.7 79.4 75.6 78.2 75.4 75.2 78.1 75.8 76.2 73.8 76.8 72.4 70.5 67.4 66.9 64.9 83.1 81.8 81.8 80.0 75.4 72.7 74.2 76.5 81.3 77.3 80.3 76.5 78.1 77.6 78.2 74.6 73.8 73.5 72.5 72.7 77.7 77.3 78.7 78.9 79.4 77.7 79.0 77.8 15,020 14,611 12,421 12,037 5,180 5,046 4,635 4,635 5,956 5,802 5,330 5,330 3,004 2,926 2,688 2,279 2,220 2,039 2,039 7,718 7,518 6,906 6,906 2,590 2,523 2,317 2,317 1,813 1,766 1,622 1,622 2,279 2,220 2,039 2,039 1,968 1,917 1,761 1,761 3,936 3.835 3,523 3, 523 123,526 123,820 131,350 133,980 28,227 28,571 26,933 33,678 15,829 18,764 14, 111 18,954 15,627 14,441 13,961 13,637 20,174 20,338 18,840 20,701 10,486 12,429 9,846 11,231 8,002 7,502 6,612 6,465 2,857 2.606 3,241 2,946 7,782 7,770 8.258 9,149 6,121 4,836 4,568 49,025 46, 576 44,416 44, 560 1,393, 550 1,402,760 1,408,976 1,436,927 201,010 146,213 416.476 205,635 144,268 417,159 201,189 145,005 422,598 206,084 148,045 428,518 MEMORANDA Ratio of total reserves to deposit and Federal reserve note liabilities combined (per cent): Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Contingent liability on bills purchased for foreign correspondents: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8. Apr. 15 Own Federal reserve notes held b y Federal reserve bank: Mar. 2 5 — . Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 51,743 50,384 45,281 44,897 309,077 310,293 306,012 327,271 21,421 22,640 23,876 26,640 FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS—MATURITY DISTRIBUTION OF BILLS, CERTIFICATES OF INDEBTEDNESS, AND MUNICIPAL WARRANTS [In thousands of dollars] Within 15 days Total Bills discounted: Mar. 25 _ Apr. 1 _._ Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Bills bought in open market: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 -Apr. 8 Apr. 15 United States certificates of indebtedness: Mar. 25 Apr. l.__ Apr. 8 -.Apr. 15 Municipal warrants: Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 . . . Apr. 15 16 to 60 31 to 60 days 288,426 296,809 289,091 294,842 21,070 24, 682 24,867 26,847 36,922 38, 264 306,905 316, 378 310,685 274,058 97,244 106,137 54,769 57,817 60,478 58,633 92,773 92,273 88, 501 28,327 29,922 29,432 28,156 535 2,817 1,223 1,339 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 377,641 399,925 391, 289 395,302 35,439 61 to 90 days From 91 days to 6 months 18, 674 25, 616 25,722 21, 294 9,131 10,983 11,010 13,145 64,381 Over 6 months 3,418 3,571 3,905 3,735 8,313 8,064 8,011 7,202 47,558 41,184 14, 703 14, 702 16,028 12,087 13,089 12,403 12,181 14,730 356 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES—FEDERAL RESERVE AGENTS' ACCOUNTS, BY WEEKS [In thousands of dollars] Total Net amount'of Federal reserve notes received from Comptroller of Currency: Mar 25 Apr 1 Apr. 8 Apr 15 Federal reserve notes on hand: Mar 25 Apr 1 Apr 8 Apr. 15 Federal reserve notes outstanding: Mar 25 Apr. 1 Apr 8 Apr 15 Collateral security for Federal reserve notes outstanding: Gold and gold certificatesMar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr 8 Apr. 15 Gold redemption fundMar. 25 Apr 1 Apr 8 Apr. 15 Gold fund—Federal Reserve B o a r d Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr 8 Apr. 15 Boston New York Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago St. Louis Minne- Kansas apolis City Dallas San Francisco 3,009,108 3,005,024 3,008,943 3,007,407 274,879 272,392 281,065 286,380 806,759 802,920 797,992 794,590 237,445 235, 076 239,361 237,455 257,571 262,390 260, 784 264,306 113,647 112,640 112,016 111,448 225,114 225,388 224,524 223,555 446,211 444,641 445,200 443,630 83,310 82,690 81,754 81,326 88,955 89,318 90,245 89,605 101,428 100,699 101,975 101,963 71,949 71,103 71,092 71,412 301,840 305,767 302,935 301,737 990,885 985,061 988,770 982,046 52,050 43,650 47,650 52,050 325,940 321,540 318,540 318,540 54,450 50,850 55,850 50,450 48,300 54,200 50,200 48,800 22,854 22,855 22,654 22,454 63,478 62,008 60,843 266,537 265,537 270,037 268,537 25,660 25,660 25,660 25,660 19, 731 20,461 20,851 21,767 28,173 27,873 28,373 28,373 21,95' 22,357 22,047 22,672 61,400 66,600 64,900 61,900 2,018,223 2,019,963 2,020,173 2,025,361 222,829 228,742 233,415 234,330 480,819 481,380 479,452 476,050 182,995 184,226 183,511 187,005 209,271 208,190 210,584 215,506 90,793 89,785 89,362 88,994 161,281 161,910 162,516 162,712 179,674 179,104 175,163 175,093 57,650 57,030 56,094 55,666 69,224 68,857 69,394 67,838 73,255 72,826 73,602 73,590 49,992 48,746 49,045 48, 740 240,440 239,167 238,085 239,837 275,416 274,916 274,916 277,316 27,800 27,800 27,800 29,800 186,698 186,698 186,698 186,698 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 8,780 8,780 8,780 8,780 12,075 11,575 11,575 11,975 13,052 13,052| 13,052' 13,052 110,274 109,526 107,181 117, 518 15,892 13,405 9,878 15,793 29,068 29,006 28,940 28,914 9,828 12,459 10,745 13,839 10,979 11,797 11,392 11,313 3,234 1,726 3,143 4,475 5,074 4,369 7,905 6,776 4,952 4,926 4,918 4,906 2,865 3,245 3,309 2,881 1,142 1,504 1,292 1,652 4,452 3,522 3,198 4,186 3,125 4,278 3,467 19,663 19,289 18,994 18,795 1,214,361 1,203,943 1,131,406 1,159,166 116,000 116,000 126,000 129,000 146,000 146,000 106,000 116,000 119,389 114,389 117,389 115,389 150,000 150,000 150,000 150,000 47,295 47,295 44,295 41,295 126,000 126,000 124,000 124,000 160.644 160.645 110,645 130,644 34,000 33,000 32,000 32,000 52,500 52,500 52,500 52,500 52,360 54,360i 54,360, 52,360 20,000 19,000 21,000 20,000 190,173 184,754 193,217 195,978 418,172 431, 578 506,670 471,361 63,137 71,537 69,737 59, 737 119,053 119,676 157,814 144,438 47,778 51,378 49,377 51,777 39,512 37,613 40,412 45,413 40,264 40,764 41,924 43,224 25,207 26, 541 25,611 26,936 14,078 13,533 59,600 39,543 16,443} 10,856 14,944! 9,457 16,044 i 8,567 17,0441 8,741 30,604 35,124 25,824 25,064 230,392 245,984 168,370 169,652 5,838 10,835 6,270 8,450 59,959 34,589 38,936 13,818 7,744 2,498 2,295 2,438 26,891 37,594 25,586 34,215 5,607 10,173 7,564 7,792 2,847 5,498 2,761 3,812 72,544 86,945 29,681 35,515 1,564 2,322 1,635 1,626 20, 717 22,560 27,464 29,802 Eligible paper— A quired— remount Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Excess amount held— Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Apr. 15 Philadelphia 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 8, 710 2,530 9,210 1,801 9,210 2,550 8,810! 13,170 17,177 14,036 16,651 10,5411 10,682 9,532 13, 795 16,011 16,011 16,011 16,011 2,970 5,111 2,610 1,738 MAY, 1925 357 FEDEEAL RESERVE BULLETIN FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS-EARNING ASSETS HELD AND EARNINGS THEREON, MARCH, 1925 [In thousands of dollars] Boston Total New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago Minneapolis St. Louis Kansas City San Francisco Dallas HOLDINGS ON MAR. 31,1925 Total earning assets 1,083,303 Bills discounted for members.. Bills bought in open market United States securities Foreign loans on gold . All other earning assets 110,533 299,657 54,119 36,113 149,248 34,925 30,313 '43,447 32,171 89,990 397,810 312, 947 360,144 10, 500 1,902 49,235 111,712 40,346 73, 610 20,952 111, 280 3,055 42, 322 24,415 24, 271 1,050 1,400 37, 279 31, 393 39,449 1,208 37,725 12, 681 3,104 609 19,004 12, 881 3,766 462 52,310 43,429 51, 945 1,564 12,577 12,933 8,890 525 4,070 8,490 17,383 368 2 4,128 13,685 24,672 462 500 1,456 10,208 20,108 399 25,992 28,876 34,324 798 139,655 2,992 28, 586 320 17,385 126 6,616 144 9,502 815 21, 509 586 11, 692 109 22, 795 797 7,483 67 3,785 3,463 1,192 5,647 28 1,077 196 28 80 279 252 129 81 2 1 1 28 93,458 109,329 Bills Discounted Rediscounted bills: Commercial and agricultural paper, n. e. s _ Trade acceptances, domestic. Secured by U. S. Government obligations Member bank collateral notes: Secured by U. S. Government obligations Otherwise secured 206, 518 47, 568 20,133 72,406 21,767 27, 270 8,212 24,457 2,226 11,455 3,923 5,532 1,542 28, 466 171 5,025 238 47 200 464 173 90 11,163 9,126 Total discounted bills 397,810 49, 235 111,712 42,322 37, 279 37,725 19,004 52,310 12,577 4,070 4,128 1,456 25,992 Bankers' acceptances based on— Imports Exports _ Domestic transactions Dollar exchange bills All other Trade acceptances based on imports 126, 339 114,946 65, 761 4,039 1,284 17, 349 13, 221 9,612 164 27,922 28,728 13,867 1,231 1,284 8,491 9,405 6,374 145 15,153 11, 294 4,686 260 4,618 2,711 5,260 92 4,088 6,671 2,122 12,187 14, 253 16,334 655 .. _ 5,226 5,776 1,469 462 3,552 3,726 972 240 5,422 6,432 1,381 450 6,260 3,461 373 114 16", 071 9,268 3,311 226 Total purchased bills 312,947 40,346 73, 610 24,415 31, 393 12,681 12,881 43,429 12,933 8,490 13,685 10,208 28,876 15, 769 96,833 96, 540! i 8,674 18,189 17, 989 9,709 7,933 6,682 8,558 5,564 3,218 4,008 4,635 17,508 20,838 4,253 5,421 1,871 2,788 3,789 3,848 2,456 3,050 7,035 9,588 15, 903 37,432 6,773 16,153 3,899 4,238 5,083 3,259 3,831 6,048 4,702 12,253 81, 938 247, 563 30, 643 2,662 14,405 3,885 12,461 91,108 7,711 1,416 22,490 365 11, 000 22,163 6,286 1,407 1,615 82 1,719 1,070 977 19, 649 30,401 1,895 1,598 6,906 386 8,764 8,162 457 9,464 12,906 2,302 8,681 10,821 606 3,117 25,516 5,691 360,144 20,952 111, 280 24,271 39,449 3,104 3,766 51,945 8,890 17, 383 24,672 20,108 34,324 1,078, 855 391, 654 298,114 375, 928 10,500 93,490 335, 758 30, 313 153,332 41, 200 62,768 21,977 116, 603 3,055 91,424 114,105 37,122 40,167 23,627 31, 370 27,476 41, 360 1,208 1,049 47,943 33, 342 10, 807 3,185 609 31,587 131,154 16,179 34,950 11, 375 38, 332 3,571 56,308 1,564 462 33,798 10,202 13,986 9,076 525 30,230 4,093 7,810 17,959 368 43,725 4,492 14,088 24,182 463 32,894 2,082 11,630 18, 783 399 92,747 25,380 31,121 35,448 798 95 30 57 1 260 75 80 103 2 Bills Bought 578 578 Purchased Bankers' Acceptances, by Classes of Acceptors National banks Other member banks Nonmember banks and banking corporations..-. 119, 574 United States Securities United States bonds Treasury notes _ Certificates of indebtedness Total United States securities i DAILY AVERAGE HOLDINGS DURING MARCH Total earning assets * Bills discountedBills bought United States securities Foreign loans on gold -. EARNINGS DURING MARCH Total earning assets * Bills discountedBills bought United States securities Foreign loans on gold 3,128 1,197 775 1,119 29 260 90 107 63 946 443 163 331 9 270 111 62 88 3 325 120 81 121 3 152 113 29 8 2 98 55 31 11 1 397 119 100 174 4 100 35 36 28 1 94 14 20 59 1 131 15 36 76 2 3.41 3.60 3.06 3.50 3.27 3.28 3.50 3.05 3.39 3.32 3.41 3.06 3.34 3.27 3.47 3.50 3.07 3.79 3.27 3.36 3.50 3.05 3.45 3.28 3.73 4.00 3.11 3.04 3.27 3.65 4.00 3.20 3.53 •3.27 3.57 4.00 3.08 3.64 3.27 3.48 4.00 3.05 3.57 3.28 3.67 4.02 3.10 3.85 3.30 3.52 4.00 3.07 3.70 3.27 7 ANNUAL RATE OF EARNINGS Total earning assets * Bills discounted Bills bought United States securities Foreign loans on gold 3.39 4.00 3.02 3.55 3.28 3.31 3.50 3.03 3.41 3.28 i Includes average daily holdings of Federal intermediate bank debentures, earnings and annual rate of earnings thereon, as follows: Philadelphia, $2,150,000, $6,106 and 3.34 per cent; Kansas City, $500,000, $1,451 and 3.42 per cent; also includes $162 municipal warrants held by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. 358 MAY, 1925 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS—VOLUME OF DISCOUNT AND OPEN-MARKET OPERATIONS DURING MARCH, 1925 [Amounts in thousands of dollars] Total Boston Philadelphia New York Cleveland Richmond Atlanta St. Minne- Kansas Louis apolis City Dallas Chicago San Francisco Volume of Operations Total discount and open-market 3,711,694 218,109 2,267,802 242,120 339,185 172,488 operations.__ 45,791 193,796 Bills discounted for member banks _> _ 2,870,496 184, 931 1,711,872 159,181 308,947 163,055 35,363 132,271 259,331 30,945 108,935 13,377 15,833 9,038 9,290 26,558 Bills bought in open market United States securities bought 471 575,867 2,233 445,249 68, 962 13,715 874 34,073 in open market 6,000 264 894 348 1,746 600 690 Foreign loans on gold 44,393 10,466 18,906 14,142 144,496 36,265 7,325 1,665 6,529 7,546 8,712 4,302 125,098 5,039 17,750 503 300 2,062 210 2,384 264 4,573 228 1,192 456 926 1,086 1,461 3,484 666 54 33 Bills Discounted Rediscounted bills: Commercial, agricultural, and livestock paper, n. e. s_ Demand and sight drafts (based on agricultural Trade acceptances Secured by U. S. ment obligations Member bank collateral Secured by U. S. ment obligations Otherwise secured 117,722 6,834 5,144 10,196 15,700; 16,448 25,134 14,419 1,444 2,312 Govern- 218,554 271 125 132 1 912 15 378 144 183 236 564 42 891 104 186 182 185 106 92 14 22 notes: Govern_ i 2,330,570 __j 316,725 66,834 1,530, 005 110, 549 281, 634 115,504 174,908 43,170 16,022 31,273 14, 715 106,119 3,767 690 20,176 1,050 611 128 5,836 624 588 1,587 Total bills discounted..... 2,870,496 184, 931 1, 711,872 159,181 308, 947 163,055 35,363 132,271 36,265 1,665 7,546 4,302 125,098 4.00 20.95 4.00 27.30 4.00 66.91 4.00 19.69 4.00 39.28 883,860 243,181 243,363 218,801 157,400 452,717 159,269 8.5 15.8 30.8 8.5 7.6 5.5 5.6 18,202 .6 24,276 .8 Average rate (365-day basis)—per 3.68 3.50 cent. __ _ 6.12 7.20 Average maturity (in d a y s ) . . Total reduced to a common maturity basis (exclusive of de2,869,052 217, 649 mand and sight drafts) 7.6 100.0 Per cent of total Number of member banks on 9,535 420 Mar. 31 Number of banks accommodated 194 2,731 during the month 46.2 28.6 Per cent accommodated—„ _ _ 3.50 9.35 3.50 3.16 3.50 4.82 4.00 8.21 4.00 27.35 77,999 43,506 3.50 11.10 23,341 226,993 7.9 .8 854 741 870 610 505 1,411 624 870 1,056 825 749 365 42.7 335 45.2 278 32.0 273 44.8 179 35.4 489 34.7 186 29.8 79 9.1 90 8.5 68 8.2 195 26.0 Bills Bought in Open Market Bankers' acceptances: Foreign.. _. . Domestic Dollar exchange Trade acceptances—foreign Total bills bought Distribution, by rates charged (360-day basis): 3 per cent 3 ^ per cent . 334 per cent S% per cent __ 33^ per cent 3iHs per cent 4 per cent _.__.. 4% per cent 4§i per cent ._ 4$f per cent 4TV Per cent...Average rate (365-day basis)— per cent Average maturity (in days) Total reduced to a common maturity basis _ Per cent of total 195,559 59,930 3,477 365 23,159 7,656 130 84,199 22,055 2,316 365 8,904 4,473 12,533 3,260 40 5,719 3,319 7,545 1,734 11 16,369 9,844 345 6,006 1,189 130 5,010 1,479 40 7,000 1,337 375 4,807 147 85 14,308 3,437 5 259,331 30,945 108,935 13,377 15,833 9,038 9,290 26,558 7,325 6,529 8,712 5,039 17,750 122,523 103,475 25,939 4,410 1,716 157 865 17 48 94 87 1,744 15,522 12,949 665 65 91,218 12,362 3,639 313 1,157 908 10,564 1,456 139 310 5,591 8,497 1,636 3,080 3,962 1,996 3,420 4,637 368 2,598 19,095 1,402 3,293 13 157 2,654 4,174 497 3,286 2,938 305 3,725 4,750 237 2,038 2,795 206 2,261 14,179 1,248 3.18 42.26 259,331 100.0 Total United States securities bought 1 62 865 17 48 94 87 3.19 i 46.39 33,968 13.1 « 3.15 25.33 3.19 66.76 3.18 59.41 3.19 49.16 3.24 51.44 3.22 72.82 3.17 55.33 3.15 46.04 3.15 51.81 3.16 53.10 3.19 36.66 65,280 25.2 21,129 8.1 22,258 8.6 10,512 4.1 11,307 4.4 45,763 17.6 9,590 3.7 7,113 2.7 10,680 6,332 2.5 15,308 5.9 i United States Securities Bought in Open Market United States bonds Treasury notes Certificates of indebtedness 109 7,818 » 54,556 513,493 1,627 60( 42,77S 402,47C 3,878 65,084 52 54C 13,123 38 9 396 52 426 3,75C 30,322 280 182 41 1,483 292 28$ 1,384 586 414 4,224 284 61 ! 1 548 643 575,867 2,23c 445,24£ 68,962 13, 111 47 874 34,07c 503 2,065 2,384 4,57:J 1,192 Exclusive of $44,000,000 Treasury notes sold under repurchase agreement and subsequently repurchased. MAY, 1925 359 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN LEADING CITIES PRINCIPAL RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS [In thousands of dollars] Federal reserve district Total Boston Number of reportingbanks: 737 Mar. 18 737 Mar. 25 736 Apr. 1 _. Apr. 8 _. 736 Loans and discounts, gross: S e c u r e d by U. S. Government obligations202,842 Mar. 18 202,736 Mar. 25 198,162 Apr. 1 197,554 Apr. 8 _. Secured by stocks and bonds— Mar. 18 _. 4,826, 590 4, 796, 510 Mar. 25 _ 4, 779, 344 Apr. 1.. 4, 725,112 Apr. 8 All other loans and discounts8,181,712 Mar. 18 8,140, 389 Mar. 25.. 8, 227, 641 Apr. 1 _ 8,214, 618 Apr. 8 Total loans and discounts13,211,144 Mar. 18 13,139,635 Mar. 25. 13, 205,14" Apr. 1.. 13,137, 284 Apr. 8 U. S. pre-war bonds: 219,624 Mar. 18 Mar. 25 _. 218,949 220, 792 Apr. 1 219,935 Apr. 8 _ U. S. Liberty bonds: 1,358,133 Mar. 18 1, 351,379 Mar. 25 1,349, 643 Apr. 1.. 1,340,848 Apr. 8 U. S, Treasury bonds: 490,045 Mar. 18 468,624 Mar. 25 464,399 Apr:l 457,98; Apr. 8 U. S. Treasury notes: 481,969 Mar. 18 464, 251 Mar. 25 . 457,383 Apr. l._ 455, 093 Apr, 8 U. S. Treasury certificates: 145,281 Mar. 18 139,284 Mar. 25 131,006 Apr. 1.. 132,539 Apr. 8 Other bonds, stocks, and securities: 2,822,830 Mar. 18 Mar. 25 .__. 2,835,834 2,875,158 Apr. 1 2,877,61 Apr. 8 Total investments: 5,517,882 Mar. 18 5,478,321 Mar. 25 5,498,381 Apr. 1 5,484,016 Apr. 8 Total loans and investments: 18,729,026 Mar. 18 _ 18,617,956 Mar. 25 18, 703,528 Apr. 1 18,621,300 Apr. 8 New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta St. Chicago Louis Minne- Kansas Dallas apolis City San Francisco 70 70 70 70 107 107 106 106 2,850 4,042 2,809 4, 017 2,806 3,961 2,831J 4,074 3,344 3,335 3,378 3,315 9,862 9,757 10,055 10,143 75,986 74,070 75, 532 74,830 225,470 220, 508 225, 060 225, 762 81,476 80, 079 75,639 k',77,359 12,310 13,582 12,179 12,028 20,455 20,249 20,338 19,680 6,578 6,326 6,879 6,740 7,620 7,673 7,566 8,578 32,866 33,045 31,351 2,194, 569 2.179, 941 2.180, 937 2,105,441 322,097 323,845 329, 715 335,007 435, 703 441,113 436, 891 434,007 127, 726 127, 303 128,494 130,191 76,236 75,485 73,131 77,413 717,340 694, 739 672,889 697,643 663,571 2,521, 268 659, 762 2,490,965 660,484 2, 577, 593 663,458 2, 556,857 359,938 364, 592 363,909 368, 270 745,178 747,257 750, 560 755, 313 346,335 350,433 351, 234 355,101 380,917 383,589 390,044 392,438 216,026 208,386 221,908 214,760 966,730 959,654 965,387 958, 205 797,313 750,985 834,169 739, 657 694,345 702,019 705,803 715,305 201,336 208, 619 207, 789 209,000 480, 639 484,062 486,607 492,032 464, 773 466, 747 470,741 478,429 10,108 10,108 9,858 9,563 37, 974 38,384 38,881 38,881 9,568 9,568 9,568 9,568 31, 512 31,428 31, 682 31, 767 25,163 24.163 25.164 25,163 14,831 14,831 14,852 14,849 18, 064 18, 057 18,108 17,874 13, 257 13, 257 13, 481 13,257 7,146 7,146 7,206 9,357 9,358 9.332 9,357 18,212 18,212 18,212 18, 212 24,432 24, 437 24,448 24,448 74,462 72, 816 73, 707 73, 724 618,385 611, 762 607.450 605,407 51,785 52,180 52, 339 51,956 161,019 160,912 159,223) 151,856 34, 595 8,567 35, 649 9,120 35,613 10, 389 34,680 165, 599 164,418 161,834 163, 457 31, 473 30,729 27,182 24, 681 27,056 26,990 26,995 26, 755 42,920 43,657 45,234 46,511 16,420 17,723 18,839 IS,193 125,852 125,423 130,838 133,739 28,371 25,495 24,728 24,637 176.451 173,830 172,566 172,866 32,258 30,191 27,647 47,833 43,090| 43,178| 46,173 j 67,841 19,005 63.681 18,631 65,750 19, 666 62,318 19,306 11,918 11,867 11,856 11,762 17,813 17,124 16,078 15,679 8,980 8,452 9,518 9,382 52,951 56,543 54,625 51,806 8,397 8,097 7,317 8,456 209,697 198,551 193, 776 193,55r 19,490 15,768 17,047 15, 662 54,3751 1,725 4,135 53, 786! 1, 774 4,105 50,866 i 1,7043,456 50,5141 1,745 3,458 94.682 95,116 97,528 98,127 17,621 20,357 17,621 20, 263 17,321 19,857 17,321 18, 602 8,972 9,151 9,410 9,272 29,001 6,061 6,326 4,266 5,772 57, 74' 57,913 57, 551 57,495 7,184 7,009 13,9011 4,274 12,348! 1,762 11,743! 1,711 10,896 1,711 12,030 10,970 10,231 10,308 3,250 3,502 3,240 3,104 5,020 4,630 2,736 3,615 23,119 22,396 20,207 19,601 38,764 70,434 20,664 38,754 72,355 20,155 39,530 75,525 19,861 39,196 75,630 19,910 191,592 192,517 196,245 192,572 8,556 8,624 9,618 8,523 294, 291, 295, 286, 603 268 285 224 13,060 13,419 12,932 174,996 178,005 178,138 176,089 59,754 59, 472 60,047 60, 818 122,110 130,761 123, 225 121, 687 319,282 313,489 307,775 309,329 199,418 197,081 191, 568 187,123 327, 320 327,393 325,046 320,801 232,537 869,922 234,679 862, 763 226,133 861,387 226,169 , 966, 055507, 338 , 935, 991504,913 , 927,842498, 611 , 943, 754498,350 262, 022 259, 362 254,421 250, 772 453,472 462,171 452,232 446, 562 311,867 1,105,254 312, 084 1, 093, 028 305, 043 1, 096, 502 304,314 L, 100,904 I 6,939 192,202 1,076,329 " 193,854 1,087,674 . 109,311 , 193, , 193,402 1, 122,744 261,481 261,276 258,803 258,105 349,636 346, 506 355,907 356,035 319,601 2,176, 583 316,696 2,168,114 313,118 2,179, — »,535 i,950 315, 554 2,190, 381, 766 375,992 373,128 369,877 658,276 648,070 652, 599 647, 241 17,848 12,269 11, <r~~ 11,718 8,776 7,451 M63 4,6 2,195 2,380 2,393 3,213 13,517 13,530 11,991 12,522 3,391 7,109 3,152 6,896 3,043 6,896 2,989 6,896 61,800 42,272 418,367 61,521 42,090 420,417 98,715 62,351 41,097 423,613 99,673 62,262 40,476 416,619 100,663 145,405 80,776 137,138 79,977 138,432 78,350 137,279 76, 578 1,286,33: 6,973,896 1,076, 111 1,859,612 626,044 276i 350 1,276,~~ 6,919,099 1,078,011 1,856,689 621,200 7041 1,278, 505>7,013,~ 1,078,931 1,860,388 625, 039 7, . 1,273, 75! 6,930,60 1,085,182 1, 856,243 629,311 776,583 772,659 777,064 768,703 179,932 178,014 175,036 173,418 109, 614 109, 274 109,804 108,926 164,131 166,259 169,266 168,883 78,268 78,323 78,576 78,584 27,110 25,857 446,947 447,805 453,473 448,023 545,545 2,742,638 687,270 371,636 617,603 390,135 1,552,201 546, 724 2,708,650 546,72< 2,708,650 682,927 368,636 628,430 390,407 1,540,833 549,09: 2,704,906 673,647 364,225 621,498 383,619 1,549,975 1, 555,007 2, 712,457 671,768 359,698 615,445 382,898 : 548,927 360 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 PRINCIPAL RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS—Continued [In thousands of dollars] Federal reserve district Total Boston Reserve balances w i t h Federal reserve banks: Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 „ Cash in vault: Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 Net demand deposits: Mar. 18, Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 _ Time deposits: Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Government deposits: Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 Bills payable and rediscounts with Federal reserve banks: Secured by U. S. Government o b 1 i g a tions— Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 All o t h e r Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 New York Philadelphia 1,638,270 1,588,274 1,604,993 1,609,198 91,155 87,250 89,876 86, 722 752, 221 730,363 729,369 753,221 81,189 78,470 84,462 79,341 276,578 280,774 268,172 288,502 20, 731 20,810 20,147 21,510 76, 860 79,013 73, 750 81,327 15, 876 15, 733 14, 519 17,510 12,879,055 12,588,309 12, 755,540 12,635,199 4,973,465 5,033,508 5,053,072 5,055,057 Cleveland 129,100 110,900 124,777 115,695 Richmond Atlanta St. Chicago Louis Minne- Kansas Dallas apolis City San Francisco 38,637 38,058 39,083 39, 716 43,565 39,062 42,141 38,556 228,709 241,214 230,500 227, 754 51,427 48,382 48,483 49, 073 29,697 27,275 23,319 26,460 56,225 52,728 54,401 52,687 30,724 29,423 30,373 30,178 105,621 105,149 108,209 109,795 29, 975 14,609 30,219 13,637 28, 329 13,154 31,024 14,222 10,554 12,144 10,384 11,68f 51,179 51,472 51,841 53,877 7,425 7,338 7,178 7,280 5,682 5,872 5,991 6,255 11,860 12,340 11,814 12,543 10,801 10,731 10,358 9,994 21,026 21,465 20,707 21,275 856,265 5, 577,298 753,649 843,118 5,456,669 742,181 850,569 5, "5,606,065 758,484 847, 021 5,487,220 765, 780 ', 5, 997,402 978,864 997,043 984, 050 354,824 350,227 351,599 356,567 . 326,059 1, 740,088422,661 , 319,336'. 694,312416,663 317,887 1,678, 617 407, 910 323, 756 1,688; 482405,236 246,758 243,335 237, 794 236, 538 500, 252 500,321 499, 617 490,535 287,761 286,197 279, 424 279,666 816,038 757,086 770,531 770, 348 355,813 1,149,362 352,461 1. " " '".1,166,611 350,663" 1,183,191 349, ,522 1,182,485 > 1, 173, 342 175,643 176,492 171,598 719,784 719,888 718, 379 723,421 186,690 187,007 188, 111 187, 593 193, 225 195,119 197, 71," 198,178 202,896 202,516 203,631 204,086 108,205 104,793 105,273 106,080 137,788 136,991 138,474 136,921 93,982 94,789 95,010 93,398 714,612 757, 548 759,726 759,834 46, 282 45,984 18, 925 45,984 18, 925 43,241 18,063 4,060 4,117 4,117 3,878 7,126 7,175 7,175 7,075 10,499 10,503 10, 503 10,282 26,211 26,211 26,211 23,607 501 1 2,442 1,770 180 50 50 11,600 8,970 12,140 10, 650 438 200 207 55 90 4,421 4,686 8,717 6,004 937,766 940,142 936,407 941,941 317,825 317,698 317, 758 300,898 25, 741 25, 741 25, 741 22,736 70,936 70, 936 70, 936 67,470 37,961 37,923 37, 984 36, 573 42, 733 42,8C6 42,806 41, 082 14,412 14,412 14,412 14, 085 12,966 12, 965 12, 964 12,806 117,212 138, 617 126,338 116,018 2,704 2,510 4,794 4,785 56,865 78,573 40, 740 59,484 4,440 10,046 9,390 5,285 27,333 15,170 21,393 7,723 3,420 2,480 5,967 4,900 4,069 2,967 4,575 2,609 5,160 17,270 23,644 18,228 940 580 1,203 584 78,530 79,756 110,134 99,127 10,275 8,409 18,026 15,594 22,266 29,721 32,644 33,117 6,672 6,852 6,882 5,341 5,760 5,489 5,570 7,603 13,777 12,642 13,574 13,483 4,681 3,613 5,595 3,646 3,870 6,488 14,146 6,289 1,176 4,576 3,270 319 35 349 "723 REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN 12 FEDERAL RESERVE BANK CITIES—BANKERS' BALANCES [In thousands of dollars] City Total (12 cities) Due to banks: Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 .Due from banks: Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr.l Apr. 8 2,373,598 2,234,834 2,509,249 2,299,805 631,606 584,031 631,438 598,456 Boston New York Philadelphia 125, 570 : 125,841 , i, 1 120, 648 ^,038,390 >, 1, 133,587 1, 271,002 L , 124,0501 1,085,443 35,399 33,455 37,124 33,560 112,979 109,327 115,166 102, 642 Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago 20,120 19, 528 19,410 19,412 416, 621 402,240 413,043 411,901 94,360 89,092 92, 777 94,444 65,101 62,379 60,073 58,168 14,529 14,053 178,929 15,605 15, 738 157,459 15,312 14,004 164,631 13,969 14,578 171,924 32,747 29,018 32,061 34, 272 21,287 19,639 25,564 18,455 187,433 48,732 35,424 177, 529 .46,675 33,064 190,980 50, 711 31, 703 176,084 50, 500 33,378 60,808 54,342 75,845 57,544 23,142 22,957 21,997 25,665 St. Minne- Kansas City Dallas Louis apolis 114,684 39,509 110,788 37,773 111,015 36,691 108,483 44,405 45, 677 45,049 46,638 31,286 27,435 28,892 26,904 San Francisco 100,203 96,728 98,257 101,250 62,042 53,379 55,793 52,305 361 FEDERAL, RESERVE BULLETIN M A Y , 1925 REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN NEW YORK CITY AND CHICAGO—PRINCIPAL RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES, BY WEEKS [In thousands of dollars] City of Chicago New York City Mar. 18 Number of reporting banks Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 Mar. 18 Mar. 25 Apr. 1 Apr. 8 66 65 65 46 46 46 46 76,606 1,957,655 2,221,075 75,096 1,943,464 2,188,751 70,551 1,943,030 2,273,302 71,819 1,874,086 2,248, 547 23,167 535,280 695,482 24,249 513,867 692,394 24, 618 495, 737 701,172 23,352 518,045 692,019 4,207,311 4,286,883 4,194,452 1,253,929 1, 230, 510 1,221,527 1,233,416 27,247 523,188 153,847 191,977 56,104 807,702 Total loans and discounts United States pre-war bonds United States Liberty bonds United States Treasury bonds. United States Treasury notes United States Treasury certificates Other bonds, stocks, and securities .66 4,255,336 Loans and discounts, gross: Secured by U. S. Government obligationsSecured bv stocks and bonds All other loans and discounts 27,657 516,540 155,634 180,650 56,270 816,907 28,154 512,208 154,890 176,799 55,908 835,453 28,154 510,984 155,632 176, 630 55,902 846,077 1,938 81,267 36,284 67,098 5,062 200,603 1,936 83,034 32,867 67, 066 4,568 202,406 1,936 81,973 35,162 69,828 4,495 206, 759 1,936 82, 500 30, 643 71,118 4,564 199, 230 Total investments 1,760,065 1,753,658 1,763,412 1,773,379 392,252 391,877 400,153 389,991 Total loans and investments 6,015,401 5,960, 969 6,050,295 5,967,831 1, 646,181 1, 622,387 1,621,680 1, 623,407 690, 543 62,359 5,024,954 ' 791,868 54,066 671,732 64,340 4,916,055 807,350 54,066 677,657 59,786 5,055,400 811,608 54,066 697,204 65,189 4,946,408 812,868 51,779 162,302 25,975 1,153,690 461,993 26, 510 163,831 26,008 1,115,616 463, 252 26,306 157,602 25,083 1,098,896 456,408 26,306 154,024 26, 601 1,108 372 463,987 24,418 40,650 21, 558 61,495 28,911 22,055 31,852 47,500 32,499 1,406 150 7,466 330 14,934 8,755 4,918 4,185 62,208 90,406 53,907 79,999 1,556 7,796 23,689 9,103 Reserve balances with Federal reserve bank. _ Cash in vault _ Net demand deposits Time deposits __ . Government deposits Bills payable and rediscounts with Federal reserve bank: Secured by U. S. Government obligations. All other Total borrowings from Federal reserve bank ALL MEMBER BANKS—DEPOSITS, BY FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT AND BY SIZE OF CITY [In thousands of dollars] Net demand deposits Federal reserve district 1925 1924 T i m e deposits 1924 1924 1924 1925 Dec. 24 Jan. 28 Feb. 25 Mar. 25 Mar. 26 Dec. 24 Jan. 28 Feb. 25 Mar. 25 1,299,657 6,527,806 1,129,471 1,468,404 581, 375 561, 575 2,344,909 710,319 493, 540 858, 629 670,487 1,310,823 1,330,862 6,383,028 1,139,390 1,486,655 594, 503 585,609 2,380,790 732,021 481,231 861,150 660,847 1, 291,093 1,311,144 1,134,689 1,482,289 588,437 613,945 2,414, 286 729,176 482,015 871, 625 680,428 1, 289,740 1,270,144 6,109,736 1,127,880 1,456, 781 569, 755 616, 226 2, 382,909 722, 922 475, 267 872,756 662,862 1, 235,913 1,198,151 5,406,973 1,035,633 1,373,024 550,456 503,475 2,172,537 635,996 413,952 738,708 568,800 1,216,923 685,226 2,018,700 759,663 1,245,613 478,845 702,350 2,041,042 777,518 1,272,991 1,729,770 429,809 425,748 296,288 158,107 1,150,727 356,070 1,735,739 438,340 434,954 300,970 160,584 1,171,200 718,442 2,063,112 789,945 1,292,515 494,941 374,021 1,743,459 438,871 436,459 302,798 166,895 1,184,202 721,631 2,063,332 783,880 1, 299,175 492, 908 386,835 1,762, 222 432, 651 441,252 305,752 163,780 1, 240, 735 17,956,995 17,927,179 17,887, 660 17, 503,151 15,814,628 9,727,132 9,878,624 Banks in cities and towns having a population of— Less than 5,000. _ 1,689,928 5,000 to 14,999.... 1,080,944 2,144,113 15,000 to 99,999._ 100,000 and over. 13,042,010 1,673,199 1, 081,342 2,170,162 13,002,476 1,681,531 1,663,485 1,581,537 1,087,366 1,086,008 1,048,119 2, 211,432 2, 225,264 2,030,409 12,907,331 12,528,394 11,154, 563 1,636,887 1,042,716 1,957, 014 5,090,515 1,668,381 1,062, 598 1,990,335 5,157,310 Boston New York Philadelphia Cleveland Richmond Atlanta Chicago St. Louis Minneapolis Kansas City Dallas... San Francisco Total 10,005, 660 10,094,153 1,678, 232 1,072,914 2,021,190 5,233,324 1,684,816 1,079, 743 2,048,373 5,281,221 Mar. 26 637,392 1,750,663 676,705 1,169,002 454,463 335,050 1,589, 788 407,875 400,852 293,369 155,257 1,025,747 8,896,163 1,581,069 1,001,166 1,846,822 4,467,106 362 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS BY BANKS IN SELECTED CITIES MONTHLY SUMMARY FOB BANKS IN 141 CENTEBS [In thousands of dollars] Number of centers Federal reserve district No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. 1—Boston 2—New York 3—Philadelphia... 4—Cleveland 5—Richmond 6—Atlanta 7—Chicago 8—St. Louis 9—Minneapolis... 10—Kansas City.. 11—Dallas.. 12—San Francisco 1924 1025 January February March January February March 2,685,491 28,500,616 2,173,091 2,511,678 767,253 1,201,107 5,490,747 1,306,725 731,307 1,211,359 658,963 2,720,698 2,279,817 27,165, 007 2,105,710 2,284,925 739,378 1,120,908 5,451,905 1,160, 242 748,603 1,169,701 612,140 2,762,696 2,189,052 22,814,899 1,925,455 2,227,515 733,878 1,047,405 4,701,940 1,130,859 565,332 1,003,759 567,222 2,590,948 141 | 49,959,035 41,495,772 47,601,032 41,498,264 j 37,397,792 40,739,481 1 140 Total New York City.. Other cities 2,157,347 23,574,730 1,780,071 2,048,430 675,206 976,073 4,479,475 1,074,542 637,553 1,024, 111 572,869 2,495,365 22,924,386 18,571,386 26,382,213 21,218,819 22,113,958 19,384,306 21,546,482 19,192,999 27,681,894 22,277,141 1,973,432 20,511,857 1,723,139 2,006,249 650,035 947,847 4,178,246 981,669 ; 523,317 937,931 i 493,840 I 2,470,230 19,886,015 ! 17,511,777 i 2,147,057 22,227,152 1,873,812 2,173,881 699,209 987,094 4,807,897 1,062,671 584, 754 1,020,873 492,894 2,662,187 WEEKLY SUMMARY FOR BANKS IN 253 CENTEBS [In thousands of dollars] i Federal reserve district No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Number of centers 1—Boston _ 2—New York 3—Philadelphia _. 4—Cleveland 5—Richmond 6—Atlanta 7—Chicago 8—St. Louis 9—Minneapolis... 10—Kansas City.. 11—Dallas 12—San Francisco Total 1925, week e n d i n g Mar. 25 Apr. 1 540,573 563,268 6,209,215 6,386,042 522,162 532,709 612,168 690,431 261,405 307,735 255,284 270, 547 1, 276, 611 1,348, 018 270,126 277, 512 168,659 176,803 275,366 296,015 159,378 147,524 609,247 605,766 253 11,160,194 Apr. 8 588,919 5,835,060 528,945 648,975 309,837 262,883 1, 222,421 318,810 191,247 295,037 148,849 624,209 1924, week e n d i n g Apr. 15 Mar. 26 594,397 5,144,836 495,083 759, 506 299,162 510,995 5,297,420 478,210 580,143 250,344 220,947 1,167,233 246,296 141,392 257,324 122,142 583, 645 1,220,195 320,063 172,726 289,190 147,319 11,602,370 10,975,192 10,359,445 Apr. 2 576,131 5, 557,216 507,927 635, 523 290,138 256, 565 1,211,888 275,118 138,497 253,105 130,256 615, 784 9,856,091 10,448,148 Apr. 9 534,280 4,878,103 440,417 584,974 276,909 237,713 1,055,136 251, 388 141,831 249,790 130,069 , 566, 543 9,347,153 Apr. 16 585,618 5,332,207 543,940 702,136 280,922 256,650 1,153, 278 281,671 145,277 274,173 138,419 630,983 10,325,274 BANK DEBITS FOB FEDEBAL BESEBVE BANK AND BBANCH CITIES No. 1—Boston. No. 2—New York Buffalo.. No. 3—Philadelphia No. 4—Cleveland. Cincinnati Pittsburgh No. 5—Richmond Baltimore No. 6—Atlanta Birmingham Jacksonville Nashville New Orleans.,... No- 7—Chicago Detroit No. 8—St. Louis Little Rock Louisville Memphis No. 9—Minneapolis Helena No. 10—Kansas C i t y . . . Denver.._ Oklahoma City. Omaha.. No. 11—Dallas El Paso Houston No. 12—San Francisco.. Los Angeles Portland Salt Lake City. Seattle Spokane 369, 527 5,916,853 67,867 401, 644 127,281 76, 590 225,364 27, 653 71,177 37,314 28, 256 18,072 18, 756 73,663 797,438 184,805 150,100 13, 272 41,552 30, 784 86,247 1,382 77,422 37,280 19,331 46,210 54, 716 6,978 32,558 206,314 172, 202 32,142 13,290 46,289 9,712 378, 303 6,026,815 81, 374 393,849 159,045 90,176 244,736 30,294 108,320 35,770 30, 746 18, 694 18,674 84,027 861, 216 180,700 161, 500 13,854 38,832 30,610 90,468 1,844 83,904 42,204 19,213 42,676 42,969 7,357 29, 774 208,083 173,838 35,916 16,417 40, 218 9,921 393, 950 407, 253 5, 512, 715 4,846,987 82,197 78, 608 387, 672 365, 324 148, 330 228, 566 86, 698 97,670 212, 576 214, 447 28, 394 26,389 100,170 105,907 32,158 33, 629 30,009 30, 632 19,903 19, 222 19,886 19,698 74,462 79, 09X 761,387 726,210 152,179 186,816 195, 700 188, 200 14,845 15,110 40, 314 52,033 31, 715 31, 088 104, 231 90, 246 2,058 1,787 85,847 81, 772 43,521 37, 793 18,861 18,804 45,363 43,958 45,674 44,218 7,154 7,325 27,992 30,367 202,278 204,105 182,998 176,401 38,439 43,754 15,419 18,383 40,138 57, 741 10,797 14,092 348, 957 384,330 5, 031, 599 5,236, 234 62, 528 73,618 358,894 369,042 125, 949 156, 224 72,458 74, 396 204,558 211,440 27,192 28,880 73,764 98,149 31,499 31,874 25, 747 28, 948 13,427 14,358 15,334 16,225 68, 748 96,282 707,432 787,922 189,344 157,304 140, 517 166, 504 12,451 12, 293 36,324 36,383 28, 276 30,890 71, 028 66,047 2,303 1,973 65,082 68,155 51,064 39, 512 14, 544 13, 642 41,015 41,882 36,023 41,078 7,262 7,014 23,927 25,093 166,987 190, 615 178,686 183,250 36,161 42,841 12, 521 17,590 45,463 42, 538 10,543 10,167 360,930 4, 601, 907 65, 555 310,966 142,101 69,239 181,678 27,887 79, 269 32,189 26,455 13,846 17,190 76, 238 646,354 129, 215 142,877 14, 310 34,427 29,724 65, 361 2,145 64,150 42,474 14, 665 43,019 39, 236 7,481 23,114 172, 223 165,503 37,385 14,813 37,211 10,461 396,835 5, 029, 478 75,418 414, 515 205,353 92,145 189, 652 29,556 83,017 34,138 26, 870 19,238 19,117 81,141 679,330 185, 552 162, 067 15, 064 41,841 32, 727 70, 765 1,901 76,703 36,640 16, 292 41, 519 39,012 7,785 27,740 198,376 175,460 41,442 14,173 53,475 14,792 363 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN M A T , 1925 MONEY IN CIRCULATION [Source: U. S. Treasury Department circulation statements] [In thousands of dollars] Date Total Gold rin\r\ nor coin and tificates bullion 1914—July 1 3,402,015 611,545 1,026,149 1917—Apr. 1 «4,100,591 641,794 1,348,818 1920—Nov. 1 15,628,428 495,353 231,404 1922—Aug. 1 4,337,418 416,282 171,985 1924—Apr. 1 . . . . . 4,812,861 408,062 687,252 May 1 4,760,114 403,649 726,179 June 1 4,815,401 402,122 779,169 July 1 4,755,403 396,415 801,381 Aug. 1 4,665,187 398,499 800,124 Sept. 1 4, 773,878 401, 794 872,807 Oct. 1 4,806,367 427,970 898,165 Nov.l.... 4,879,694 436,160 904,861 Dec.l 4,993,570 437, 971 933, 688 1926—Jan. 1 4,992,931 458,206 970,564 F e b . l - — . 4, 751,538 455,169 929,650 Mar. 1___. 4,804,209 462,925 913,900 Apr. l . _ . . 4,776,167 469,448 914,968 Standard silver dollars 70,300 70,863 89,725 58,378 55,202 54,823 54,078 54,017 53,644 53,915 54,603 55,185 55,606 57,384 55,533 55,264 54,666 Silver certificates 478,602 459,680 60,385 268,802 367,113 370,093 373,381 364,414 372,683 385,499 388,574 389,201 389,113 388,540 360,808 366,024 371,229 Treasury Subsidi- United notes of ary silver States 1890 notes 2,428 1,997 1,628 1,508 1,433 1,428 1,425 1,423 ,420 L,417 ,412 ,410 ,407 ,405 ,401 1,398 ]L,396 159,966 191,351 261, 556 220,956 251,639 252, 702 252,557 252,971 252,407 i 253,732 256,467 I 259,710 263,102 256,898 256,509 257,559 Federal reserve notes Federal reserve bank notes 337.845 356,448 3,170 330,353 209,877 277,736 3,310,225 65,032 284,343 2,115,350 11, 588 304.846 1,988,585 11, 025 301,110 1,909,143 1,897,636 10,438 297,790 1,843,091 10,066 301,667 1,745,820 9,635 308, 111 1,746,230 9,229 304,345 1,729,301 ! 9,030 305,840 1,784,046 I 8,710 304,418 1,862,055 j 8,471 295,233 1,841,621 8,238 283, 598 1,688, 662 ! 7,987 288,668 1,734,606 7,756 285,780 1,702,212 i 7,506 Total National- circulabank tion per notes capita (in dollars) 715,180 697,160 715,023 725,782 737,141 729,962 738,629 733,835 729,288 741,144 736,500 734,571 737,739 705,442 711,832 717,159 711,403 34.35 39.54 52.36 39.47 42.85 42.33 42.78 42.20 41.36 42.28 42.52 43.12 44.08 44.03 41.86 42.28 41.99 1 The figures for the several classes of money do not add to this total, as mutilated currency forwarded for redemption and unassorted currency held by Federal reserve banks have been deducted only from the total. DISCOUNT RATES OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS IN EFFECT APRIL 30, 1925 Paper maturing— Within 90 days Federal reserve bank Commercial, agricultural, and livestock paper, n. e. s. Secured by United States Government obligations Boston New York Philadelphia. _. Cleveland Richmond Atlanta. Chicago St. Louis Minneapolis Kansas City Dallas San Francisco— * Including bankers' acceptances drawn for an agricultural purpose and secured by warehouse receipts, etc. Changes during the month—None. After 90 days but within 9 months 364 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 GOLD SETTLEMENT FUND INTERBANK TRANSACTIONS FROM MARCH 19, 1925, TO APRIL 15, 1925, INCLUSIVE [In thousands of dollars] Daily settlements Transfers Federal reserve bank Debits Boston New York Philadelphia.. Cleveland—.__ Richmond Atlanta Chicago^ _ St. Louis Minneapolis- _ Kansas City— Dallas San Francisco. Total four weeks e n d i n g Apr. 15, 1925 Mar. 18,1925 Apr. 16,1924 Mar. 19,1924 16,000 9,700 4,500 11,500 8,000 14,000 35,000 4,000 2,000 Debits 303,981 1,121,047 500, 553 159,979 382,377 251,850 282,297 83,000 3,500 500 7,500 4,500 5,000 6,000 4,500 2,200 10,000 115, 700 80,100 84,000 94,300 115,700 80,100 84,000 94,300 | ! ! | Credits 722,753 2,455,741 715,223 604,758 Credits 743,996 2,424,124 728,202 618,200 484,375 307, 794 1,136,394 495, 620 152, 733 372,175 249, 649 276,131 7,989,393 8,372,935 7,398,236 7,361,882 7,989,393 8,372,935 7,398,236 7,361,882 Changes in ownership of gold through transfers and settle- Balance in fund at ments close of period Decrease Increase 5,243 41,683 11,979 2,442 4,959 10,187 19,653 4,433 9,246 5,702 5,001 2,166 61,347 44,342 222,982 49,088 18,465 6,003 105,198 17,092 14,597 45,763 22, 279 30,213 61,347 637,009 624,267 671,220 606,746 MONEY RATES PREVAILING IN FEDERAL RESERVE BANK AND BRANCH CITIES The following table shows the customary rates charged on loans and discounts in the various cities in which Federal reserve banks and their branches are located, as reported by representative banks. These rates are not averages but are those rates at which the bulk of paper of each class is handled by reporting banks. Where it appears from the reports that no one rate clearly covers the bulk of the paper handled, a range of the rates most commonly charged is given. In making comparison between the rates charged since February, 1924, and rates charged at earlier periods, it should be borne in mind that the earlier rates refer to an entire month, while the later figures cover only a week. Attention is also called to the fact that the method of reporting the rates has been somewhat modified and that slight changes in the rates may reflect these modifications. [Rates prevailing during week ending with the 15th day of the month] • Customers' prime commercial paper Loans secured by stocks and bonds Interbank loans Demand 4-6 months 30-90 days District'and city Loans secured by Liberty bonds Loans secured by warehouse receipts Time Cattle loa ns Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., Apr., Mar., Apr., 1925 1925 1924 1925 1925 1924 1925 1925 1924 1925 1925 1924 1925 1925 1924 1925 1925 1924 1925 1925 1924 1925 1924 1924 4 -44 4 -5 5 -6 44 5-6" 5 -6 No 1—Boston No 2 New York Buffalo No ^ PhiladelDhia Pittsburgh Cincinnati No * > 5 Tfciphrnond Baltimore No 6—Atlanta Birmingham Jacksonville- _.New Orleans Nashville No 7 Chicago Detroit No. 8 St. Louis -- - 5 -6 P 1 5 -6 Louisville. Little Rock No Q TVTinneaoolis No 10—Kansas City. Omaha Denver Oklahoma City No 11—Dallas El Paso Houston No. 12—San Francisco Portland Seattle SDokane Salt Lake City Los Angeles - 4|-5| 5 -6 5 -6 4 -7 5 -6 5|-6 44-5 2 4 -5 5 -6 54-6 44-5 5 -6 6 44 5V 5 -6 54-6 6 *1 54 8 l 5-6 5 -7 4 -6 8 6 6 6 6 -7 5 8 5 -6 2 8 8* 5 -6 5 -6 44-6 44-6 4 -5 6 -7 4 -6 8 5 -6 5 -6 5 5 -54 5 -54 6 6 6* 6 6 5 -7 5 -7 6 -7 4 ip. 6 5-7 6 5 -6 5 5 -7 4 -7 8 5 -6 6 -64 6 - 7 5* 6 6 7 6 -64 5 4 i 31-41 5 -6 4 5-6 5 -6 5 -6 6 5 -54 i_ 44-5 44 44 4 5 44-4| 41-54 33^51 44-5 5 - 6 5 -6 5 -6 6 4 -4f 4| 6 6 54-6 5 -6 5 -54 54-6 4i-6 54-6 4f-5 51-54 5 -6 6 6 6 -7 e 6 6 6 54-6 7 6 6-64 6 -7 6 5 -6 8 5 -6 54-6 44-5 5 -6 5 -6 54-6 4 -5 54-6 5 -6 6 5 - 5 | 54-6 5 -6 54-6 5 -51 51-54 5 -6 6 6 -7 6 -7 5 -6 5 -6 54-6 4 -54 5 -6 4-54 K 5 -6 5 -6 5-6 5 -6 6 54-6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 54-6 54-6 6 5 5 44-5 4-54 54-6 54-6 5 -6 54-6 4 -6 5 -6 5 54 54-6 44-5 5 -6 5 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 44-6 8 6 44-5 5 -6 44-6 5 6 8 6 54-6 6 6 6 8 6 5 - 6 54-6 44-6 6 54-6 5 -6 5 - 6 6 -64 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 6 6 6 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 6 6 -7 6 6 6 - 7 6 -7 6 -7 4 5 5 5 5 6 -6 -6 6 -7 8 -7 -6 64-7 6 8 6 6 -7 5 -6 4 -6 5 -6 6 54-6 8 5 -6 5 -6 64-7 6 -7 8 6 6 -7 6 -7 6 6 54 44-6 44-5f 8 6 -8 6 6 5 -6 6 6 6 6 8 6 8 6 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 7 6 6 8 5 -6 5 -6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 a 6 -7 a 6 -7 ? 5-6 6 6 6 6 8 54-7 54-6 6 6 6 6 6 54 5f-6 6 6 A1 ft 42 6 5 -6 54-6 44-54 5 1 54-6 5 54 6 5 -6 5 -6 6 -7 6 -7 5 -8 5 -7 54-6 5 -7 6 54 6 -7 0 a 6 5 -54 41-51 44-5 5 -54 6 54-6 " fi 6 5 4 -54 4 - 5 * 6 54-6 5 -6 54-6 54-6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -54 5 -6 ft 54 -8 7* -6 5 -6 6 54-6 -7 6 -7 -7 6 -7 -6 5 -6 -8 6 -7 -6 44-5 -6 5 -6 6 6 6 6 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 4 -44 5 5 5 -6 54-6 5 -6 54 5 -6 5 -54 5 -6 5-6' 5 -6 5 -6 44-5 51-54 4f-5 4|-5 5 -6 4|-5 5 5 -6 5 -6 44-6 5 -6 5 -6 6 6 5 -6 6 5 -6 5 -6 54 8 6 6 5 51-6 6 6 6 -7 6 5 -6 5 8 6 54-7 5 6 5 5 -6 -54 5 -6 6 6 6 -7 6 6 6 6 -6 4 -6 6 6-7 44-5 4 -4f 5 54-6 54-6 54-6 5 -6 54-6 54 4f-54 4f-54 *54 44-6 5-6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 6 - 7 5 -6 5 -7 6 -7 5 -6 5 -6 4 44-6 6 5*-62 5 -6 4 -44 4 4 -5 44-5 5 44 5 4-4f 5 54-6 5 6* 5 4 -44 4 -5 5 4-4* 5 5 h\ 5 - 6 54-6 6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 5 -54 6 5 -6 5 -54 5 4 c 5 -6 6 -7 4 -6 8 5 -6 6 -7 6 44-6 5 -6 54-6 5 -6 54-6 5 -6 5 -6 54-6 54-6 5 54-6 6i 6 54-6 5 44-54 44-5 4 -5 5 -54 4 -5 5 41-6' 5 1 5 -6 5 -6 5 -6 54 4-5J 5 -54 5 4-54 5-54 54-6 a 44-6 - - 6 4 -44 4 5 41-5 4^-5 6 6 8* 5 -6 5 -6 . 5 4|-5 5 -6 54-6 5 41-44 5 -6 54-6 5-6 6 6-7 AX ft 42 b 6 5 -6 54-6 54-6 44-54 54 5 -6 44-54 5 -54 54-6 54-6 6 54-6 6 6 a 5 -7 5-6 6 6 6 64-7 6 -8 6 -8 6 -7 6 6 -7 6 -7 5 -8 44-7 8 8 8 5 -8 5 -6 5 -6 6 8 6 6 6 6 6 -7 8 6 -7 8 6 -7 6 -7 7 7 d g 7 8 6 -8 6 -7 6 -7 6 -8 6 -8 7 -8 7 -8 7 -8 7 -8 8 7 -8 8 8 6 -8 6 -8 7 6 -64 6 -64 6 -64 -7 6 7 6 -7 -8 7 -8 6 -8 6 -8 7 -8 6 -7 7 6 -7 g 7 7 -8 7 -8 -7 7 7 6 -7 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 6 -7 7 64 00 366 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN MAY, 1925 GOLD AND SILVER IMPORTS AND EXPORTS IMPORTS INTO AND EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES, DISTRIBUTED BY COUNTRIES Gold Country Three m o n t h s ending March— March 1925 Silver 1924 1925 Three m o n t h s ending March— March 1924 1925 1924 1924 1925 IMPORTS "Belgium ! Germany - L- . Italy J Netherlands . j . . Spain J ; Sweden.. England _ ._ Canada , Central America Mexico , _. West Indies . . ! Argentina Bolivia .. Chile Colombia... Ecuador Peru Paraguay Uruguay. _ Venezuela ... China Dutch East Indies.. Philippine Islands. _ British Oceania. Egypt . ___ Portuguese Africa All other- $3,433,103 2,359,059 $71,046 100 3,554 19,326,794 5, 295,630 121,346 487,378 48,018 1,748,785 3,064,777 8,309,886 399,935 1,424,874 105,651 21,387 $2,935,456 2,777,195 176, 209 513,154 45,442 402 84,501 144,044 187,077 27,604 21,429 199,028 272,071 116,169 677,326 92, 571 951,478 78,118 722,116 644,288 468,623 2, 036,181 1,449,906 104,876 1, 577,073 71,303 2,883 40 466 14, 274 64,464 114, 56J, 404 178,589 61,285 175, 585 7,643 471, 595 7,337,322 Total 153,891 33,618 7,260 42,955 18,976 34,322,375 15,977, 649 167,209 1,339,208 45,130, 336 4,318,343 1,103,948 80,000 1,232, 728 6,159,602 178, 036 $1,059 434 4,682 880, 597 290,183 3, 766, 618 13,952 402 123,082 445,347 75,087 389,693 187,077 57,374 20,055 472,872 444, 222 110,122 8,891 208,092 34,123 I§9,538 24,071 90,966 $2,634 73,996 $8, 516, 793 2,881,557 2, 367,142 5,917,406 28, 018 41,934 61,971,101 7, 284,500 511,041 1,442,831 202,072 4,486,284 9,216 192,252 9,478 7,228 286, 222 161,198 3,890, 218 11,609 4,860 3,056 92, 501 10,093 1,717,715 1, 263,244 $8,»00 105,141 974 9,416 44,895 904 24,780 2,049,961 434,918 11,877,883 48,153 16, 988 478, 291 22,421 4,498 2, 215,807 1,263,244 $15,054 1, 221,027 55,153 143 21,407 1, 313,404 602, 576 11, 252,329 40,308 20,418 29, 214 364,313 37, 765 4,408 4, 798, 695 2,525 109 183 13,446 7,405 92 4,108 171,170 7,920 126 595 39,411 103, 629 6,467 1,949 11,835 207,601 6,857 525 183 30, 947 58, 523 6, 660, 750 6, 220,934 18,928,225 20,101,101 1, 218,005 34, 551 65,202 1, 236,000 34, 551 65,202 1,152,382 139,174 1,550 245, 561 5,795 353,698 164,004 5,302,775 359,989 14, 215 634,302 33,840 34 50 11,457 EXPORTS France Germany : Netherlands Poland and Danzig Spain Sweden i England Canada Central America Mexico West Indies Argentina. Bolivia Colombia . Ecuador Peru L Uruguay. „ Venezuela British India. China Dutch East Indies Australia Hongkong Japan.. Egypt _ Allother Total 15,120,000 40,000 50,000 59,385 461,289 60,000 5,050,000 410,875 1,.2O1,481 151,000 5,260,000 20,000 386,203 1,000 643,489 130,173 2,073 700 2, 211,997 400, 217 1,275 429,104 17,348 1,235 4,738 192,000 576,000 15,000 . 200,000 62, 707 30,000 2,757,910 1,112, 500 201,600 37,690 80,000 25,905,032 2,594,105 501, 600 817,374 1 55,190 1,603, 232 12,478,698 5,223,363 823,935 8,355,278 26,142,028 15,750 149,230,067 412, 500 4,501,613 2,327, 617 205,163 4,597,701 521,998 498, 240 203,625 100,625 25,104,416 802, 290 200,000 52, 757,093 646,000 13,057,899 6,484,772 269,413 1,275,970 360 7,916,717 25,440,635 MAY, 1925 367 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES [Noon buying takes for cable transfers in New York as published by Treasury. In cents per unit of foreign currency] COUNTRIES INCLUDED IN COMPUTATION OF GENERAL INDEX Monetary unit Par of exchange Franc Krone Franc Reichsmark. _ Pound Lira... Florin Krone Peseta Krone Franc Dollar.... Peso (gold) Milreis Peso (paper) Shanghai (tael) Rupee Yen 19.30 26.80 19.30 23.82 486. 65 19.30 40.20 26.80 19.30 26.80 19.30 100.00 96.48 32.44 319. 53 3 66. 85 _ 48.66 49.85 High Low High 5.0100 5.1500 5.0662 17.8500 18. 3400 18.0692 5.1300 5. 2600 5. 0500 5. 3200 5.1807 23.8000 23.8000 23. 8000 23.8000 23.8000 477. 6200 484.4700 476.2000 478.8600 477. 6250 4. 0900 4.1200 3. 9900 4.1400 4. 0719 39.8400 40.1300 39.8300 39. 9900 39. 9212 15. 7700 16.4800 15.2300 15.8300 15.4346 14. 2000 14. 5700 14.1700 14. 2800 14. 2219 26. 7800 26. 9500 26. 9400 26. 9600 26. 9496 19. 2800 19.3900 19. 2200 19. 2900 19. 2646 99.9053 100.0009 99. 8343 99. 9081 99. 8714 85. 6600 87. 5000 87. 3800 90. 6300 89. 7115 10.5400 10. 8100 10. 6400 11.1700 11.0381 11. 0400 11. 3200 10. 7700 11.4200 11.0985 73.0200 73. 6300 72.8500 74. 4400 73. 3612 35.4300 35.9500 35.4500 35.7600 35. 6662 41. 2600 42.1900 39. 6000 41. 8000 40.9669 5.0400 18.3100 5.0800 18.6600 OTHER Austria Bulgaria . Czechoslovakia Finland Greece _. . Hungary Poland Portugal Rumania Yugoslavia Cuba. Mexico Uruguay China Hongkong Straits Settlements.. S chilling Lev . . . Crown ._ Markka Drachma Krone Zloty Escudo Leu . . . ... Dinar Peso do do Mexican dollar Dollar Singapore dollar 14.07 19.30 Average Average Low Rate General index L Belgium Denmark France Germany... ___ Great Britain Italy Netherlands Norway Spain Sweden _ Switzerland Canada Argentina Brazil Chile. _ China India... Japan __ March, 1924 March, 1925 April, 1925 14. 0510 14.0710 .7356 .7257 2.9660 2. 9641 2. 5232 ~19.~36" 2. 5202 19.30 1. 8996 1. 5973 20.26 .0014 .0014 19.30 19.1700 19. 2200 4.9400 4. 9800 108.05 .4472 19.30 .4756 19.30 1. 6066 1. 6219 100.00 99. 8854 100.0052 49.85 49. 8000 49. 9583 103. 42 93. 9100 94. 9300 3 48.11 53.4000 53.9200 3 47. 77 53.8500 54. 5100 56.78 55.0800 56.2500 Per cent of par Low High Rate 63 26.25 3.1600 4. 3300 3.8650 67.42 15.3000 16. 2100 15.6788 26.84 3.4900 5. 5200 4. 6812 99.92 2.0213 2.0223 2.0220 98.15 426. 3200 430. 3600 429. 0631 21.10 4.1300 4. 3800 4. 2769 99.31 36.8600 37. 2800 37.0650 57.59 13.3100 13.7900 13.5527 73.69 12.1300 13. 5800 12. 7327 100. 56 26.0500 26.4900 99.82 17. 2200 17.4400 17. 2900 99.87 96.5167 97. 6895 96. 9569 92.98 75. 2700 77. 5900 76. 5527 34.03 10.4900 12.0600 11. 4462 9. 7712 56.83 9. 4200 10.1200 109. 74 69. 5800 70. 3600 69. 9965 73.30 29. 6600 29. 9600 29.8623 82.18 41.9300 44. 8000 42. 9015 Percent of par 58 20.03 58.50 24.25 88.17 22.16 92.20 50.57 65.97 98.09 89.59 79.35 35.28 50.03 104. 71 61.37 86.06 COUNTRIES 14. 0470 14.0760 .7313 .7357 2.9660 2. 9694 2. 5200 2. 5239 1. 6321 1. 4833 .0014 .0014 19.1800 19. 2000 4.8900 4. 9500 .4979 .4691 1. 5821 1. 6191 99. 8906 100. 0250 49. 3333 50. 0333 94. 3400 96. 5900 53. 2300 54. 4000 53. 7700 54.8800 54. 6700 55.7500 14.0583 .7335 2. 9665 2. 5214 1. 5484 .0014 19.1831 4. 9296 .4866 1. 6006 99. 9504 49. 7439 95.3146 53.6488 54. 2692 55.1008 99.92 3.80 13.06 8.02 .01 99.39 4.56 2.52 8.29 99.95 99.79 92.16 111.51 113. 61 97.04 0. 0014 .7375 2. 9015 2. 5074 1. 6297 .0015 12.99 8.44 .01 3.1262 3. 0400 3. 2400 .5157 .5225 .5296 1. 2609 1. 2172 1. 2372 99. 9594 100. 0719 100. 0505 48. 0781 48. 3125 48. 2309 75.4900 77. 5600 76. 6927 50.1500 50. 5900 50. 3858 50. 3000 50. 6400 50. 4927 49.9700 50.5000 50. 2777 2.89 2.71 6.41 100. 05 96.75 74.16 104. 73 105. 70 88.55 0. 0014 .7263 2. S791 2. 4996 1. 4513 .0012 0. 0014 .7488 2.9930 2. 5188 1. 7331 .0024 0.01 3.82 1 Weighted average, weighted on the basis of trade with each country for t h e 12 months ended February, 1925. T h e method of construction was described and all index numbers since November, 1918, were published on page 1260 of the BULLETIN for October, 1922. 2 Per billion paper marks, a 1913 average. SILVER [Average price per fine ounce] April London (converted at average rate of exchange). New York $0.67786 .67245 March $0. 68701 .68175 FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS MINN MEWEXPOLISj S.DAK. "—•BOUNDARIES OF FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS ——BOUNDARIES OF FEDERAL RESERVE B'RANCH TERRITORIES ® FEDERAL RESERVE BANK CITIES • FEDERAL RESERVE BRANCH CITIES O FEDERAL RESERVE BANK AGENCY O
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