Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-13
Re,iew of the Provision Trade.

From the New York Bulletin, Jan. Q.
The market for the week has still further
advanced, under purely speculative pur-
chases, mostly from the West, as before;
those operators still sustaining the market,
although it is said by well-informed parties
that il is by new class Of operators, and
not the original ones, and the packers who
have been carrying the whole crop so far
this season. Now it is said that the latter
are unloading, after succeeding in COM
municating the ''bullo epidemic, which
they inaugurated early in the season and
maintained with such strength and perse-
verance until outsiders and cOuntTymen
took the contagion and went in at the top
wave and are now buying the packers stuff
of them for future delivery, and the latter
are taking margins which will cover sharp
decline and leave them their goods at a
comparatively low and safe price-upOn a
basis of values which will call in a shipping
demand. This seems to be the newest
phase of the market, and although We do
not say that it is so from positive inforIna-
ton of our own, still it comes from sufici-
emily good authority to warrant its publica-
ton, leaving the reader 70 satisfy himself
Of its accuracy from surrounding circum-
stances, which is all that We can DO; and it
must be said 1T this time there seems to be
somewhat of eOloring 10 this superstition in
the position Of things. For the prices have
been still further advanced in the face Of
an entire lack Of export demand, while the
receipts of hogs at Chicago continue still
very large, and do not seem likely TO cease
at present. This leads one 10 suppose that
the holders Of stock and the manipulatOrs
of the market are looking for some other
assistance out of their precarious position
than legitimate demand. The heaviest de-
liveries have been in March pork and lard,
and upon the result of that months prices
the whole market now hinges, especially
for pork, and some think the market will
be sustained till then, but others predict it
will break in February. we do not, how
ever, pretend to predict; this is not our
province, but simply to show the facts as
they exist, and from them demonstrate the
tendency of the market for the future, and
complete the argument by drawing logical
conclusions from the premises given.
There is this difference in the relative 20
sitiOn of the different articles Ofthe product:
Bacon last year took the lead in production,
because there was a better demand for it
abroad, and little mess pork was cut. The
case is reversed this year. There was but
a light export demand, and when the ad-
vance came this little was shut off, and left
the packers with only a speculative de-
mand. At the then prices, mess pork was
much more profitable than bacon, and was
finding more ready sale for the future;
hence the packers commenced selling mess
for March; and even in the face of heavy
sales, the market ran up to SlG.75, while
short clear bacon stood at Ssc. This placed
pork relatively much higher than bacon,
for Sc for short clear is called equal 20 S14
for mess pork. Hence there is more prOba-
bility, with more demand from abroad for
bacon than pork, and lighter production
of bacon and heavier of pork, that pork is
the poorer investment, and bacon less likely
to decline, or to go so far as pork. Lard is
in about the same position as 4 year AGO, as
far as production is concerned, with the ex-
ception that the yield per hog is lighter;
and as then, il is now regarded the best
card. and this accounts for its greater ac-
tiyity of late. First in the season was ba-
con, then attention was turned to pork,
until the advance in turn drew the specu-
lation upon lard. No stronger proof than
this fact was needed Of the purely Specula-
tive nature Of demand.