The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-02-11
STATE OF TRADE.

CHICAGO, Feb. 10.-The unsettled con-
ditien of affairs on Change has made live
ly work at the banks, and money continues
| in good, even active, demand by other
classes of borrowers, particularly as the
prospects are for an early Spring. Loana-
bic funds keep pace with the. demand and
the condition of finances is good and
sound. The clesrings for the week aggre
gate estimating Saturday, $50, 600. 900,
which is falling off as compared with the
average of late, but compares well with the
| same period for last year.
General business, though slow is start
ing up since the holidays, is gradually be-
coming more stirring The dry goods
trade is not yet begun, which inspires be-
lief of an active spring trade. Drugs and
oils are in fair demand, and hardwares are
fairly animated. Groceries are barely
steady, but prices are not changed. All
other staples are in good supply and the
demand for building materials is firmly
held in anticipation Of rush to erect res
licences and building places in the Spring.
Notifications continue to come in of firms
coming from other cities. Coal is in ex-
cessive supply, and owing to the light de-
mand and warm weather coal dealers are
discouraged and prices drop steadily.
The weeks business on Change, which
began with dull markets and high prices,
increased daily in activity, and prices
dropped steadily, until to-day the lowest
to 1Uyhan cIy ntl6 EIf
cents lower than Mondays best quotation,
and Tuesdays lowest corn quotation was
four and one-half cents below Mondays
best: oats dropped two and three-quarters
cents, pork seventy-ive cents, and lard
forty cents. The highest price in each
case was quoted Monday; the lowest to-
day. The break in provisions, though
comparatively quiet one, was neverthe-
less significant, and the drop of forty
odd cents on lard caused sensa-
ton. With all the breaks in prices there
have been no failures, and the anxiety
which usually accompanies such move
ments has been wanting this time.
One of the reasons is that the bulls in
this deal are generally heavy operators,
while the smaller traders and thaough the
country are bears, no great amount Of
grain has been handled by any firm, ex
cept for short scalping deal Stiff freight
rates work in the interest of the short side,
while the weather, which is almost balmy,
gives promise of early seeding to the far
mers.
Sales for the week for the March optisn
ranged as follows: Wheat. 81. .25&(01. .315 &;
corn, 56g(g605 cents; oats, 39309424 cents;
pork, S1800918.75; lard, $11.023(0f1.
313 Although the range on these articles
was a little lower each day. there was no
pronounced sudden break, such as makes
and loses fortunes in a day. The attrition
of prices was very moderately accomplish
ed
The receipts during the week of all
kinds OF grain, including -four, reduced to
a basis of bushels. aggregated 1,S4s, 600
and the shipments 1898, 600. For the first
time in some weeks the receipts therefore
are exceeded by shipments. The receipts
for the same time last year aggregated only
1.345, 900 bushels, while the shipments
were only 1,e00, 900 bushels. 1t must be
remembered, however, that last years
prices were some thirty cents lower on
wheat, twenty cents on corn, eleven cents
on oats, 81 on pork, and $1.75 lower on
lard. This accounts in great measure Tor
the increased movement in all the articles