Depression in this market is becoming acute. There has been no redeeming feature during the week, and at the moment there is little upon which to base hopes of an early improvement. The demand from up-country continues at a minimum. For the few orders received, reasonable prices have in most instances been paid, reasonable compared with prices prevailing during the past few weeks; but even so, these prices represent nothing like replacing cost. The country must be very short of stocks, but at the same time no inclination fo purchase is observed. Dealers appear still to be "'siftting on the fence" waiting for prices to go stil] lower. On the other hand, there are heavy stocks in Shanghai, and their value is daily decreas-jing. The native banks ate reported to be holding many lakhs of delivery orders. Some few months ago, they advanced loans up to 50 per cent. of the value of cargo, and at present prices they now find the amount of the loan exceeds the total value of the cargo. Interest is consequently tighterng, and this fact, coupled th the depressing
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.