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F E D E R A L R E S E R V E B O A R D

STATEMENT FOR THE PRESS

For release in Morning Papers, Saturday, October 26, 1929.

The following is a summary of general "business and financial conditions throughout the several Federal Reserve Distr ic ts , based, upon s t a t i s t i c s for the months of September and October, as wil l appear in the forthcoming i s -sue of the Federal Reserve Bulletin and the Monthly reports of the Federal reserve banks.

Industrial ac t iv i ty increased leBs in September than i s usual a t th is

season. Production during the month continued above the level of a year ago,

and for the th i rd quarter of the year i t was at a ra te approximately 10 per

cent above 1928. There Was a further decline in building contracts awarded.

Bank loans increased between the middle of September and the middle of Oc-

tober, r e f l ec t ing chiefly growth in loans on secur i t ies .

Production—Output of iron and steel declined fur ther in September, con-

trary to the seasonal tendency; there was a sharp decrease in output of auto-

mobiles and automobile t i r e s , and a smaller-than- seasonal increase in act iv i ty

in the t ex t i l e and shoe industr ies, Which continued to produce at a high rate

in comparison with the preceding year. Meatpacking plants -were more active

than in August. Factories increased the number of the i r employees during

September and payrolls were also sl ightly larger .

Output of coal showed a substantial increase from August and the aver-

age daily production of copper mines was somewhat larger . Iron ore shipments

declined seasonally, and petroleum output was reduced for the f i r s t time in

several months.

For the f i r s t half of October reports indicate a fur ther reduction in

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steel plant operations, a continued increase in production of bituminous coal,

and some increase in petroleum output following a moderate decrease during

September.

Building contracts awarded in September declined seasonally from August

and were substantial ly below the corresponding month in any year since 1924.

For the thi rd quarter the volume of contracts was 6 per cent less than a

year ago. During the f i r s t three weeks of October, contracts continued sub-

s tant ia l ly below the level of l as t year.

October estimates by the Department of Agriculture indicate a cotton

crop of 14,915,000 bales, 3 per cent larger than las t year; a corn crop of

2,528,000,000 bushels, 11 per cent smaller than the crop of a year ago, and

8 per cent below the five-year average; and a to ta l wheat crop of 792,000,-

000 bushels, 12 per cent below l a s t year but only s l ight ly under the f ive -

year average.

Distribution—Freight-car loadings increased by s l ight ly less than the

usual seasonal amount in September, and continued to be larger than a year

ago. In the f i r s t two weeks of October car loadings were smaller than in

the corresponding weeks of 1928.

Department store sales in leading c i t i e s increased seasonally during

the month of September and were 2 per cent larger than a year ago. For the

third quarter as a whole sales of the reporting stores exceeded those of the

third quarter of l a s t year by 3 per cent.

Prices—'Wholesale prices showed l i t t l e change from August to September,

according to the index of the Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s , prices of meats

and livestock declined considerably, while prices of grains advanced. The

prices of raw s i lk , cotton and cotton goods were higher in September, and

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the price of coal increased, while pr ices of iron and s teel products, t in ,

gasoline, and cement were lower. During the f i r s t three weeks of October

prices declined for a considerable number of commodities, including Wheat*

f lour , hides, s teel , t in , cotton, s i lk , and wool*

Bank credit-—Between the middle of September and the middle of October,

there was a s l ight increase in the volume of loans and investments of mem-

ber banks in leading c i t i e s . Ihe banks1 loans on securi t ies increased rap-

idly, while a l l other loans, including loans for commercial and agricultural

purposes, declined somewhat a f t e r reaching a seasonal peak on October 2.

Security holdings of the reporting banks continued the decline which has

been almost uninterrupted for more than a year.

At the reserve banks there was l i t t l e change in the volume of credit

outstanding during the four-week period ending October 19. Further increase

in the holdings of acceptances by the Federal reserve banks was accompanied

by a decline in discounts for member banks, largely at the Federal Reserve

Bank of Hew York.

Open market ra tes on bankers' acceptances and on prime commercial paper

were unchanged during the l a s t half of September and the f i r s t three weeks of

October. On October 23 ra tes on bankers1 acceptances declined by one-eighth

per cent to a 5 per cent level for the principal maturities* Bates on de-

mand and time loans on securi t ies declined during the f i r s t half of October*

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