This market has shown little if any improvement during the week, and the many factors contributing to the present depression all add to the uncertainty of forecasts as to improvement. Low exchange continues to affect the market seriously, and the slackness in exports is also having due effect. At the present rate of exchange, it is impossible to recover replacing costs in Manchester, yet some dealers appear to be "'sitting on the fence," awaiting a further fall in prices. On the other hand, there is still a large amount of cargo purchased at high prices waiting to be disposed of, and until this has been done— and it must be done at ruinous rates-orders cannot be expected from this quarter. There has been a fair amount of buying in greys and whites on speculation, although these are now in the off-season, and better orders have come in from Chinkiang and Korea, while Hankow has been making small purchases of various cloths.
Nothing of particular interest has occurred during the week, except the abortive attempt at a strike on Monday, organized by certain guilds composed of dealers whose
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.