Piece goods have been quiet during the week, under review, and inquiry for Italians and Venetians ems to have temporarily subsided.
mnsiderable drops in the price of these qualities has been seen at the auctions, and the position appears to be largely connected with the action of the Chinese Government in fixing the date of the annual settlement of accounts to coincide with the foreign New Year.
The announcement that in future the financial yenr is to. end December 81 instead of the Chinese New Year is having serious consequences according to all that can be gathered. While banks and merchants in Shanghai are obliged to fall in with the dictate of the anking Government, the farmers fare apparently proposing to abide by the lunar calendar, and the past propose to dispose of their hele purchases be Solatice and China New Yeas, when payments will fall due. The merchants, however, have to make their payments by December 31, and the weeks intervening before they can collect from the consumers in the interior is hampering their activities to a very great degree, The result seen in this falling of in business, and the lower prices registered for the goods mentioned. It is hoped downward movement, but dealers are that thin will be only a temporary
not specially happy about the situa on, and some time may be required before the situation adjusts itself.
More interest as been taken. in the week in. White Shirtings, but bids for stocks continue at ree: low levels, and may be considered largely speculative.
There has not been much activity the woollen section of the trade, and an absence of forward bookings has been noted: Clearances. have dropped, and compare unfavourably with those towards the end of last month.
The Auctions At the Kungping auction on Tuesday when only about 35 packages were offered, Blacks were down about six "mace, while Venetians receded: about two candareens 'a yard. The few White Shirtings Which were offered. were steady. All dealers were interested in the question of the date of the annual settlement and. in consequence Tadopted an attitude of great can tion.
'The quantity disposed: of at the 'Yuenfong auction' on Thursday amounted to 186.packages. It was not a particularly' happy market which was faced, as Venetians were 74 mace lower, Italistis about T!: 1 down, Velvets very heavily depressed, and Whites were lower by about five mace, There were very few orders in hand, and the influence of the settlement date was very pronounced.
COTTON, YARN, ETC, During the week yarn on the local Exchange declined steadily, until the last' bargain on the 6th instant when it advanced over Ti. 1 per bale between the third and, fourth sessions. It was reported that this was caused by a certain millowner' having declared that yarn is far too low and that he was prepared to buy large quantities. Yesterday morning there was a further improvement, but by the afternoon part of the advance had been leet in most cases.
Cotton has declined during the week, principally on the weakness} of America, but while Exchange cotton j¢ more than TI 1 per picul lower than before the October settleniont. day, actual Shonei of! reasonable quality has declined only fractionally.
There is "still an absence of Dusiness, while clearances from the mills are not brisk.
In their weekly market. report Messrs: J. Spunt & Ca, state:—Chitia Cotton:—The market has hed a" distinctly weak appearance throughout the whole of the past week, and without any great excitement' prices were carried down some 4 to 5 mace from the level of a week ago. The market showed very little resisting power and no rally of consequence has been exenced so far. Perhaps the most ficant feature during the de-has been the continued weakness of the foreign cotton and the anxiety of spot holders to realize in the face of a general withdrawal of spinners from the market notwitbstanding the fact that the movement of cotton has hardly been sufficiently voluminous to cause any) serious. pressure. While ani different attitude by spinners justifiable owing to the stagnancy the yarn trade, the policy of the farmer has not yet been fully determined, and though a fair portion of the. crop will have to te marketed sooner or later, the movements from the interior continue to be slow owing to transportation facilities not, being as free as was generally expected would be the-case after tie cessation of internecine war-the foregoing it will be seen that when taking the general bearings of the-situation into consideration, {Eis quite' likely that a lower eyo, of prices will be warranted Tore as the foreign fibre continues ili ith, weakigh course and the Tocal yarn tide remains: th its present]
Yarn:—Demand from all quarters: has been very poor and prices declined some two to three tacle from the level of last week. The buying power from the interior marts i still restricted owing to their not having recovered as yet their normal financial status which has been seriously affected by famine, militeristic movements' and by com-manistic depredations. As the year-end settlement is drawing nearer there is every likelihood that no material advance will te experienced until after the Chinese New Year festivities shal have been celebrated.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.