480 



METAL MARKET IN 1884. 



In December a complete break-down oc- 

 curred in London, where Chili bars declined to 

 47 5s., and in New York, where Lake Supe- 

 rior copper for a moment dropped to 11 cents, 

 when it transpired that the syndicate of lake 

 companies sold to manufacturers 12,000,000 

 pounds, delivery spread over five months, on 

 the basis of the average price of Chili bars in 

 London, the average of the quotations of the 

 10th to the 25th of the preceding month, to 

 determine the price that consumers were to 

 pay. The price, which was not to be less than 

 10^- cents whenever Chili bars had averaged in 

 London 48 or under, was to advance one tenth 

 of a cent for every 10s. increased average, 

 until 53 or over was reached, when the maxi- 

 mum price was to be 11 cents. Subsequent 

 experience in 1885 showed that, as Chili bar 

 remained depressed in London in January and 

 February, declining to 47 2. Gd., the price that 

 manufacturers paid to the lake companies was 

 only $10.80 the hundred pounds in January 

 and February, and $10.40 in March, while on the 

 spot the price remained steady, in New York 

 in January and February, 1885, 11-J- to 11 

 cents. Statistics had shown that in 1880 the 

 output of copper in the United States was 27,- 

 000 tons of 2,000 pounds, of which the lake 

 companies contributed 22,204 tons, or 82 per 

 cent. In 1881 the figures were respectively 

 32,000 and 24,363 net tons, or 76 per cent. In 

 1882 they stood 49,912 and 25,439, or 62 per 

 cent., and 58,000 and 30,000 tons, or 52 per 

 cent., in 1883. These figures, therefore, proved 

 that, outside of the lake-region, copper pro- 

 duction had made rapid strides, and, when all 

 particulars relating to production in 1884 had 

 been gathered, the following general result 

 was revealed : 



COPPER PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



PRICE OF STRAITS TIN AT" NEW YORK. 



Tin. At the beginning of the year 1884, the 

 metal market opened in New York with Straits 

 tin at 19 cents a pound, which declined in the 

 course of January to 18 cents, and at the end 

 of the month was at 18$ cents. The visible 

 supply in New York and Boston on January 1 

 was 3,000 tons, and the year terminated with 

 this reduced to 2,400 tons. The course of 

 prices was as follows : 



Jan., 1883. 

 Feb., 1883. 

 Mar., 18S3. 

 April, 1883. 

 May. 1883. 



June, 1888. 

 July, 1883. 

 Aug., 1883. 

 Sept., 1883. 

 Oct., 1883. 

 Nov., 1883. 

 Dec., 1883. 



Jan, 1884. 

 Feb., 1884. 

 Mar., 1884. 

 April, 1884. 

 May, 1884. 

 June, 1884. 

 July, 1884. 

 Aug., 1884. 

 Sept., 1884. 

 Oct., 1864. 

 Nov., 1884. 

 Dec.. 1884. 



ISc. 

 ISc. 

 ISJc. a ]fc. 



ISfc. a liifc. 

 18|<;. a lg|c. 

 18 Jc. al^fc. 

 ISc. 

 16|c. a n|c. 



a Ififc. 



'II 



21c. 



21c. 



20$c. a 21c. 



iJ-Jc. a 21c. 



l&fc. a 18|c. 



As the New York market was mainly ruled 

 by the London quotations by cable, the course 

 of prices is best understood by showing their 

 course in that market. The year opened in 

 London with sanguine expectations at 86 for 

 Straits tin, but prices gradually declined up to 

 March to 82 10*. cash, and 83 2*. Gd. three 

 months. In April a decided improvement oc- 

 curred, to 86 5*. and 87 cash and forward 

 respectively; receding, however, in June and 

 July to 81 10*. cash. In August a slight re- 

 action of 30*. a ton took place. In September 

 a serious decline ensued, to 72 10*. cash and 

 forward. A determined effort to stay the fall 

 was made by holders in October, and in a few 

 days the market improved to 77 7*. Gd. cash, 

 and 77 10*. three months, declining in No- 

 vember to 74 and 74 10*., and to the middle 

 of December to 72 12*. Gd. and 73 2*. Gd. 

 cash and forward respectively, closing better 

 on December 31 at 74 15*. cash, and 75 

 three months. 



The decline in September was due, on the 

 one hand, to the discomfiture of the chief 

 speculator for a rise in London, who had lost 

 heavily on Chili bars (copper), and was com- 

 pelled to realize on his tin holdings; and, on 

 the other hand, to the threatening aspect of 

 relations between France and China. As the 

 latter is a large consumer of tin, buying at 

 Penang and Singapore, and it looked as though 

 Chinese ports would be blockaded by the 

 French fleet, it was feared that the tin not 

 taken for China would be diverted to Euro- 

 pean and American markets. These apprehen- 

 sions subsided when it was found that the 

 Chinese resumed purchases as steadily as be- 

 fore, notwithstanding the war. The consump- 

 tion of tin in Europe and the United States in 

 1884 was 35,400 tons, against 34,260 the year 

 preceding, and 32,000 tons in 1882. It was 

 most satisfactory to find that consumption had 

 been so well maintained, showing an increase 

 of 3,400 tons in three years. Meanwhile the 

 visible supply in England and Holland had 

 diminished. It was as follows: 



The opening price for coke tin plates was 

 $4.85-$5.05 a box in the New York market, 

 and the year closed at $4.45-$4.55. At Liv- 

 erpool ordinary cokes began the year at 15*. 



