The Express.
London, England, 1853-01-11 00:00:00

THE CORN TRADE.

Mom the Iferk-lane &prem.)
BRITISH.
The calm by which the wheat trade has been chit-
rilClefll4,l during the last fortnight has, in our opinion,
been quite in ece..r,tance with a euuud and hi 'Ay st ite of
busieess. The effect of su material • ries as that w hash took
plae: it price* the first two or three weeks in December
would Naturally be a degree of caution on the part of pru-
dent operators. This does not in general occur is time- of
pest speculat oit but, when an advance is founded on
mead Iselin it is usually gradual, and with emotional
pauses in the efpward n cerement : merchants en t millers,
after having eei emit sufficient to provide for their wants
fir a (i.e.. areas or months in adeance, wait to watch the
coon-e of events. By so doing, they may lose the chance of
=skiing large profits ; but they likewise avoid the risk of
great levies. A large proportion of what was bought previ-
ous to, and during the advance, hue now gone into coesump-
lien. !Peeks in the hands of millers, dealers, and bakers have
resin be. n reehmed into a narrow compass, and a ma-
teriel dtminution his meanwhile taken place in the quantity
of a heat in granary at the principal ports; we are there-
fore inclined to think that we ore on the eve of • further
advance. 1 hat buys re would prefer to wait for the e xpected
supplies from the Buy is aid Black Seas may be readily
imagined ; bat we que-tion whether they ere in a position
to held oft much longer, and it may be doubled whether
they would gain any material advautege by further delay,
importer are perfectly cognisant of the fact that they
must have old a h at. The weather has not improved since
our last ; an immense quantity of rain has fallen, and in
many districts where the fleoils had begun to subside, the
country lies ag sin been laid under water. To make any
were.' with out-door work has therefore been impossible,
and we have reason to believe that not more than half—
certainly not three-fourths—of the land intended to he sown
with wheat in autumn has yet been seeded. The prospects
for the future are therefore sufficiently gloomy. Such a
state of thisigs would in former years have led to large specu-
lative operations ; bat as yet comparatively little excitement
bas been caused thereby, the rise thus far having, in our
opinien been founded on the inadequacy of the supply to
meet the. demand, rather than on possible future contingen-
cies. The dull accounts from Mark-lane of Monday last
produced considerable t ffect on moat of the principal pro-
vincial markets, and though the deliveries from the growers
have, in general, been on • moderate scale, and the sup-
plies from abroad email, still prices have given way more
or less at many of the leading consuming towns, as well as
at the markets in the agricultural districts. Within the
last day or two business has, however, assumed e first!:
tom sail at most of the markets held on ;minds, and
Friday sellers related to m7,nn any further concession.
About the middle of last week rather a sc:ious reaction
took place in prices of wheat in some of the Scotch markets.
The previously established advance Lad had the effect of
drawing considerably increased supplies, and the reports
from the south being deemed discouragieg, tha sellers
greatly outnumbered the buyers. This week the advice'
from thence are, however, of quite an opposite character.
At Edinburgh confidence was completely restored on Wed-
nesday, and • good business was done in wheat, at an ad-
vance of 2s. per qr., notwithstanding the fall at Mark-lane.
The accounts from Ireland respecting the weather are of
a very desponding nature. Constant ram had, we are in-
formed, caused out- dour work to be wholly suspended, and
the autumn seed-time must have been even more disastrous
there than ou this side of tke channel. Pot items had become
exceedingly scarce, and had almost ceased to come to mar-
ket ; the poorer classes had therefore been compelled to
consume Indian corn and oatmeal, and this accounts for the
insignificance of the shipments of oats from thence. That
Ireland will (asthma to require largo importations of
wheat, flour, and Indian corn all through the spring and
summer, cannot be doubted; and though it is certain that
the last oat crop in that country gave a very good yield, it
does not appear probable that she will be in a position to
export to any extent.
._ Business at Mark-lane has not been distinguished by
much activity : in the early part of the week there was an
evident unwillingness on the part of buyers to purchase
either wheat or spring corn. Since then, however, the tone
has undergone a decided improvement. The boisterous
state of the weather has kept beck npOliate and there's
reason to believe that many of the vwmiilama the aortheru
continental ports must have bees drives bask and dispersed
by the gales from the south. west.
The arrivals of wheat coastwise into the pert of Londe&
daring the week ending this (Saturday) evening have
amounted to only 3,149 qn., and the quantity brought
forward from the neighbouring counties by land-carriage
has likewise been small. The town millers are evidently in
want of good qualities of new wheat, hut they are not dis-
posed to purchase ill-conditioned samples. 't he extreme
humidity of the atmosphere has caused the greater part of
the home supply to come to hand in very indiffereut order,
which circumstance has tended to render the sale somewhat
difficult, and prices were not higher either on Wednesday
or Friday than in the beginning of the week. The COL,
&nuance of heavy gales of wind from the south and west
has prevented arrivals from the northern parts at Europe,
and only 5,010 fin. of foreign wheat have been received
since our last. Ihe supplies from abroad having for seve-
ral consecutive weeks fallen short of the quantity required
to satisfy the demand, stocks in granary have diminished,
and holden have consequently rather raised their preten-
sions. On Wednesday there was not much doing ; but on
Friday there was an improved demand, and several parcels
clang: el hands at very full terms.
Tau country demand for old foreign wheat has been com-
paratively small of late, and the prevailing belief is, that
• ere long we shall have renewed activity. On Friday there
were a few buyers from the westward at market, and an
Increased demand from that quarter is reckoned on. The
very high prices asked for floating cargoes have naturally in-
terfered, more or les., with business, and the operations in
this branch of the trade have not been so extensive as on
some previous occasions. There are few arrived cargoes at
present undisputed of. For Galata arid lbraila 4&., and
for Eeyptian Said* wheat 40s. per qr. has been asked.
There have bees offers from the Lower Baltic ports at 455.
to 475. per qr., free on board in spring, without exciting
much enemas.
The bakers have not yet used up the flour they bought
previous to the late rise in prices; they have consequently
acted on the reserve, and the sale has been slow. Tee
supply of country flour has been quite moderate, and former
rates have been steadily maiatsined. There was an im-
proved inquiry for American on Friday, and several parcels
changed hands at rates which it would have been difficult
to hive realised in the beginning of the week.
Soper's, watts, barley has been inquired for; and only
very small pruperuun of the supply having consisted of
really tine qualities, the best kinds have commanded very
full terms. The commoner descriptions have, on the other
hand, moved off very slowly at about previous prices. The
transactions in foreign barley have been on a retail scale,
and its value has undergone no change requiring notice.
The sale fur malt has not been particularly active, but
needy buyers have had to pay very full rates.
Scarcely any oats have been received since the close of
last week, the consumptive demand has not been very ex-
tensive, and the dealers have refrained from buying, as far
as their immediate wants have allowed; still the tendency
of prices has been upwards. No quotable rise was estab-
lished either on Wednesday or Friday, but the turn was
on the latter occasion decidedly in favour of the seller. The
market is becoming very bare, and should supplies be much
longer delayed, the struggle between the importers and
deaden will probably be decided in favour of the former.
Beans of home-growth have come sparingly to hand, and
the receipts from abroad have been unimportant. The de-
mand has not bees lively, but previous prices have been
steadily supported.
For pose former terms have also been insisted on.
The inquiry for floating cargoes of Indian corn has
rather slackened. The last prices paid• have been—for
°elate, 345. !hl. to 355. ; and Odessa, 335. 3d. to 355. Gd.
Per qr.

FOREIGN.

Very little change appeusto•have taken place in the
tone of the wheat trade at any of the leading continental
markets. The pause which had been caused by the
Christmas holidays had scarcely yet been got over, and the
transactions seem to have been on a much mare restricted
male than early in December.
Danzig letters of the 2nd instant report the trade quiet,
but with much firmness on the part of holders. The wea-
ther had been and was then unusually mild ; but though
the harbour way quite free front ice, the scarcity of vessels
bad press awl any shipments of importance being made.
The export% of wheat irom Danzig in 1842 had consisted of
about 270,000 qr.., leaving a stock of about 150,000 qrs. In

granary.
-
Keturberg letters of the 4th inst. inform us that the very
bad state of the roads had prevented supplies of corn being
brought forward by the growers, and that prices had con-
sequently been steadily supported, in spite of tie dull Eng-
lish &mutts. Stocks or most articles were less than at
the same period of the preceding year. Of wheat, the
quantity in warehouse consisted on the 31-t Dec., 18.52,
of 5,880 lasts, against 6,600 lasts on the 31st Dec., 18.11. A I,
parcel or two of red wheat had changel hands ut quite as
high terms as thou current previous to the hceadays.
At Stettin, on the 4th Jan., quotations of wheat wed
precisely the came as on that day re'nnight, and but few
transactions had, it appears, taken place in the interval.
For good qualities of red wheat 46s to 475. and for white
49e. to soa. per qr. f. o. b. in spring, had been asked—rates
considerably above the limits of the few orders received,
and few bargains had consequently beea closed. Of spring
corn the receipts had haedly, sufficed to provide for the con-
sumptive demand, and previous prices had been well main-
tained.
Rostock litters of Monday state that the demand for
wheat had slackened, and that holders had become more
tractable ; still prices do nut appear to have suffered any
quotable decline.
At Hamburg, on Tuesday, there was more inclination to
realise and less to purchase wheat than the week before, and
the turn was coneequently is favour of the buyer. Marks
wheat, weighing 611bs. per bushel, might have been bought
for immediate delivery at 471. 6d. per qr. f.0.b., but fee
shipment in .pring about le. per qr. more was asked. Very
huts had been done in wheat f.o.b. in spring ; at our ports
the prices demanded had been 48e. to 49.. per qr. Barley
and eau bad been in lively request ; for 531bs Danish bar-
ley 3d. Lad been paid, and fair 38ib. to 391 b. oats had
realised equal to 17s. 8.1. per qr. f.o.b. in spring.
In the Dutch markets the operations do not seem to have
been important, ant the turn was rather in favour of
the purchaser on Mentay, both at Rotterdam acd Am-
sterdam. _ . .

A letter from Groningen, of Tuesday, states that oats
had come to hand rather sparingly, and that hardly any
beasts had been brought forward. Fine 421bs. Poland oats
were jawed 174. 6'. ; 4011 w. ditto, 164. 9d.; black feed,
weightng 3611,. t 37114 i., 16a. 3d. , ditto, 3.51b5, 14.. 6d.
Beau was quoted 30a. to Xs. 6d. per qr. at Ombra ;