Notwithstanding that the political situation of Europe seems to be less threatening among its leading powers, still the uncertainty prevalent among those who are generally considered the arbiters of public affairs has had its influence in contracting the limits of speculative adventure, thereby circumscribing the general course of trade throughout the Mediterranean. In renewing to the department my reports upon the navigation and general commerce of Gibraltar, I beg to state that there has been a tolerably fair current business prevailing in American produce during the past quarter, consisting chiefly in flour, tobacco, and refined petroleum in cases, imported direct from New York. The steady demand for American petroleum confirms the fact that Russian petroleum so far receives but little attention in this market from the regular traders and consumers, so long as supplies from the United States can be regularly imported at reasonable prices. It, however, remains an open question, in the event of lower prices ruling in the Russian petroleum regions, whether American supplies may not later on experience some greater competitive foreign interference. According to the statistical data, steam vessels of all nationalities have continued to make Gibraltar their port of call, not only for orders, but also for replenishing their stock of fuel and provisions, and in larger numbers than ever before, the number in 1888 having reached 5,712 steam vessels, measuring in all 5,969,563 tons, while in 1887 the number was only 5,187 steam vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 5,372,962. This increase cannot but result in considerable benefit to the coal and maritime traffic, which now forms the most important portion of the general commerce of Gibraltar, in spite of the keen competition it experiences from other British and foreign coaling ports. Freights have also advanced in favor of steamship interests, which, with higher prices in England for coal, have also caused an advance in the price of coal at this port, to the benefit of the coal merchants and others interested in this important trade. At present the ruling price for steam coal is 24s. per ton, deliverable from alongside of coal hulks moored in the bay. As near as I have been able to ascertain, the quantity of coal sold in this market during the past year for supplying merchant steam vessels has amounted to about 508,000 tons, which is an increase of about 20,000 tons over the year 1887.