St. Paul daily globe., 1885-02-14
THE DAY ON 'CHANGE.
A Quiet Day in the Wheat Pit, A Bear
Raid Causing Drop in
Prices.
Depression and Inactivity the Ruling
Features, With Small Amount
Of Business Transacted.
Provisions on the Back Track, with Weaker
Feeling in Sympathy with
Other Markets.
Prices Rather Better on the Stock Exchange
and Firmer Feeling The Usual
War of Factions.
Special 10 the Globe.

the board drew OF to-day and lei tue crown
have fun trying TO advance prices. There
was nothing going on of special importance
in either grain or provisions. All bull efforts
generally reacted or prices persistentiy re-
mained where there was no margin TO WORK
on. Wheat ruled about firm, with slight
fluctuations, opening at yesterdays Closing
prices, and the slight advance gained early
was lost, closing at
PRICES UNCHANGED.
The corn market dragged along with the
usual dearth of features. closing sc
higher. Oats were quiet but steady,
closing &c lower for May. Cash
stuff remains unchanged at 27c. Provisions
were slightly improved early, owing TO bet
ter market at the stock yards, but under a
slight advance interest sagged and prices fell
off, closing at about the lowest points
touched. The day was excessively dull, with
but little trading. Tae continued cold
weather prevents the successful movement
of railroad trains, and cuts off the receipts OF
grain and other produce, and checks Gusi-
ness from outside points. Hence trading on
'chauge is mainly OF local character, and
there are
10 NEW FEATURES
to note. The apathetic feeling expert
euced during the preceding days
Of this week were equally
pronounced to-day. Wheat. although slug
gjsh. received more attention than any other
article Wheat was slow but steady for Il
wLi,e ~ S3I5c. Gables We're bearish. 1t
looked Tor a while as if the Euglishmcn had
mad, up their minds TO 90 ashore, take in
their snort wheat and stop fighting the rather
apparent inclination OF stuff TO advance.
The thing that set folks to talking this morn
ing was the purchase by Geddes Of several
good sized lots. Geddes bought in $4,000
bushel lots at about the top, and this set the
crowd which had been dabb!iug in 5000 and
10 900 bushel lots agog. But that the
Engiishmen were not crazy to cover. and
that there was no very great pressure,
was made plain when q ter touching S4Ec.
May wheat dropped and closed for the reg
ular session at S3Xc. February aud March
stuff closed unchanged at 7SQ7S35c. There
was talk to-day on the floor, there always
is, and theories aud few wild stories
and great many hard questions, but there
was no real speculative interest. Some was
assumed, for commission men must assume
to be enthusiastic if they hope to get orders.
But does anybody who Knows believe that
there was much chance for speculative interest
in a market that was scoring all day between
s3T@S4c and S41lc. These figures were
the limits for fluctuations in tine
May option Of wheat. Even the scalpers
were unhappy for the action had not
been enough to let them out with any profit.
although tlev had certainly suffered no loss.
May wheat touched SIC aAout 10 O'Clock and
after that did not, until the very moment OF
the close, Igtt IS low Us S. Ic, Ior any high
er than size. The stories of war news and
damage to crops were less potent to-day than
heretofore aud there seems really
yoTHING NEW IN TUE SITUATION.
The bulls are patiently waiting TO prove
the truth of their belief that our surplus
is all in sight, and the bears are pointing 10
a slowly increasing pile, in sight, yet in spite
Of it all the bulls seem rather 10 have the
best OF the market, although there are as
many operators to talk for one side as
another The British market now seems
to afford the key note to the situation in the
absence of war news or positive crop dam
age, hut stocks in store are SD heavy and the
quantity on passage amounts TO more than
recorded at any previous time, and on this
the bears build their hopes. Advices from
the northwestern wheat centers state that the
elevators at shipping stations are full, and
that heavy receipts may be expected from
those points us soon US the roads are opened.
TIE RECEIPTS or CORN
were exceedingly small but the crowd had
better opportunity TO make deals than for
several days past. The opening was &c
higher for May, sold as high as 4OIc
and closed later at 4O35c, the opening price.
Business was confued almost entirely to
May option, but a decided improvement Is
expected shortly, owing to the lifting of the
snow blockade, aud the market may be writ
ten as tolerably steady.
TO LrMBER THE PORK MARKET.
There are some indications that holders of
pork ana other products will let it out a little
SO as to timber up the market, start up the
sellers and euliveu the put. Traders are
getting little too universally bulHsh, and
tailers are growing in number. There were
signs yesterday that Armour Il Co.
and the packing company were selling per-
haps between them 10000 barrels OF pork.
The price was eased up this morning, aud
for May the figures were reeled out until
from SlS.S5 this option had gotten 10
Sls.ST}E IN an hour. Pork verified the signs
of the morning. MAY pork got down to
- r
unlikely that May will get back to Sl3. for II
is plsin that packers want to shake out the
"tsiers" The shorts in this stuff think
now that II pork ever did get down to si3
thepd all buy in, but the engineers Of the deal
understand the shorts better than the shorts
understand themselves. They know that the
bears in pork at $lS will be even more
bearish at $IS. and twice as
bearish at $ll. By lowering the figures and
temporizing the tailers can be gotten nd of,
aud the short interest very greatly increased
LARD OPENED vERY SLOW
az 81 % May, declined and closed at s. .l7IS.
Short ribs received small amount Of stteu-
ton for future delivery aud early sales
showed slight advance, which was lost.
however. Open At S6T5 Nav. sold at
$3.50 and closed lower al s6.52x Increased
receipts aud heavy selling by packers and
scalpers helped the downward tendency Of
the provision market.
AT TuE STOCK YARDS
business is once more fairly under wav.
About al the western roads
are delivering stock, aud the eastern
roads sre taking all that is offered. Owing
to the small supply Of hogs but few of the
biz packing houses are in opc,aitou. There
were ONLY three buyers for packers on the
market this morning. Prices were 5GlOc