FINANCIAL RKVIKW OF 1891. 



|gg 



paper, aii<l I lie inquiry from the New York city 



light until after the loth, when grad- 



ually tin- ilemainl increased; Imt the supply of 



< In lire names was small, und only a light 



-s \as done. Kates at the end of Uw month 



"> IM-I- cent, fur shurt indorsed bills and oj 

 ,l. fur julilicrs' paper and single-name 

 . On lire. I tin-re was an advance in the 

 call loan rate tu (', per cent., caused liy the at- 

 tempt to a.i-Mii.ite .Mr. Ku-sell Sage, but it im- 

 mediately fell to :;, and money was easy at 2 to 3 

 ; nt. until the i!:M, when there, was an ad- 



. Subsequent ly it declined to 2, and 

 there \\.i> a liberal supply at tho end of the 

 month. Time contracts were freely offered, and 

 I iy the close [he rate fur thirty to sixty days was 

 :! to I. while fur from three to six months 'it was 

 4 to II per cent. There was a good inquiry for 

 commercial paper at 4J per cent, for snort in- 

 dorsed hills. 



The condition of the New York Clearing-IIou.se 



banks, the rates for money, exchange, and silver, 



and prices for United States bonds on or about 



Jan. 1, 1892, compared with the preceding two 



, are as follow : 



mil for stocks sold for European account, rates 

 rose to $-4.851 to #4.80 for long and $4.H8J to 

 $4. N!) for short by the 14th. The advance was 

 stimulated by the fear of cnrnncv complica- 

 tions resulting from the threatened enactment 

 of a free sihcr-cnjnage bill by Congre-s. and this 

 induced Mime drawers to decline to sell bills, in 

 view of the fact that the measure under consid- 

 eration provided that all certificate- 

 against coin be made a full legal tender. Hut 

 this distrustful feeling soon entirely disappeared, 

 and drawers were so liberal with their offerings 

 that rates fell off, and, under the influence of a 

 reduction in the Bank-of-Kngland rate to 3) 

 per cent, on the 21st there was a gradual decline, 

 and the market closed at $4.8.5 to $4.85$ for 

 sixty-day and $4.88 for sight. The, tone was 

 generally firm throughout the month of Febru- 

 ary, the market opening at $4.85$ for long and 

 $4.88 for short, advancing toward the middle of 

 the month to $4.86$ to $4.87 for the former and 

 $4.88i to $4.89 for the latter, but subsequently 

 it grew easier, and rates at the close were $4.8G 

 for sixty-day and $4.88$ to $4.89 for sight. Com- 

 mercial bills were scarce, and there was a good 



* Extended 2 per cents. 



The following is the New York Clearing-House statement of totals at the beginning of each 

 quarter of 1891 and at the end of the year: 



Foreign Exchange. The imports of mer- 

 chandise for the year ending Dec. 31, 1891, were 

 $4,914,920 above those for 1890, and the exports 

 of domestic and foreign merchandise were $113,- 

 003,734 more. The excess of merchandise ex- 

 ports over imports for the year was $142,193,636 

 against $34,104,822 for 1890. The excess of ex- 

 ports over imports of merchandise, coin, and 

 bullion for 1891 was $185,316,(r,>.-). against $42,- 

 (>.-)!. 176 for 1890. Gold exports were $34.118.202 

 in excess of the imports in 1891, against $3,832,- 

 !JS| in 1890. 



In January sterling exchange opened at $4.80^ 

 for sixty days and $4.84 for sight, and, influenced 

 by a demand for investment and also to re- 

 VOL. xxxi. 19 A 



demand to remit for stocks sold for European 

 account and also in settlement of mercantde 

 credits, which adjustment had been deferred, 

 because importers needed their money for the 

 payment of duties on goods which were required 

 to be withdrawn from bond on or before Feb. 

 1. Gold to the amount of $3,100,000 was 

 shipped to Berlin during the month as an indi- 

 rect exchange operation. In March sterling 

 opened firm at $4.86 for sixty-day and $4.89 for 

 sight. On the 7th gold bars to the amount ol 

 $600,000 were shipped to Berlin. The Treasury 

 Department, under authority of an act passed at 

 the last session of Congress, imposed a charge of 

 40 cents per $1,000 on these bars, the intention 



