GREAT COTTON CROP.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 8172, 23 January 1905, Page 4

GREAT COTTON CROP.

ALL PREVIOUS RECORDS BEATEN.

LANCASHIRE SAVED.

NEW YORK, December 4. I The twtton spinners and manufacturers of Lancashire may take heart of grace. j Very high prices for raw cotton are to be ■ followed by very low prices. I The Government estimate the cotton j crop at 12,162,000 bales. This is about 3,000,000 bales more than the actual yield last year, and it is a million bales above Ihe highest crop ever recorded. Bales of cotton which were worth £17 last February dropped to £8 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. The price of raw cotton, which less than a year ago was 7d a pound, has dropped to 4rl a pound, and it will go lower still. Mr Pan Sully, the chief operator in the; great corner, declares that it will fall to 2£d a pound before the end of January. The experts are incredulous about the estimates. They had figured out the crop at about 11£- millions. They were convinced that 11£ millions represented the extreme limit of the possibilities of production. When the superintendent of the Cotton Exchange mounted the rostrum yesterday t» ,d e ad silence fell upon the members. He read the figures, and on the instant a great roar of amazement burst out. The noise was heard streets away, and peoplehurried to the gates to ask what the excitement was about. Within two minutes prices dropped by 10s a bale. Even the bulls fell into panic for the moment, but as the report had been discounted to some extent it was arguqd that there will be uo very serious failures, and so confidence was in a nieaBure restored. LONDON, December 5. The abnormal cotton crop lias given extreme pleasure to the cotton operatives of Lancashire, who for the last year have suffered heavily from the consequents of cotton shortage. Happily short time is a thing of the past. For some weeks mills have been in full employment, and Preston alone two new mills are projected.

The manufacturers who took advantage of the recent drop in prices to cover themselves for some months may, however, now find their position rather awkward.