St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-23
THE COMMERCIAL RECORD
Corn Was Lively and Miscellaneous
Buying Was Good For
While.
Provisions Ruled Steady, With The Bears
Trying to Break the
Market.
Transactions in the Financial Circles
of Wall Street.-The General
Quotations.
Special to the Globe.

SlcCltll 10 tile 6lOUC.
CHICAGO, Jan. 2l.-The board OF trade
markets were quite active for little while
this morning. Corn was especially lively,
and there was good miscellaneous buying on
the theory that the same parties who started
the advance couple of months ago ana
floated out on the bulge are again getting
under the deal Stories are again circulating
of the high prices that are being paid for
corn at interior points and these are pro
duciug an effect Parties who thought May
corn very dear ut 52S4c yesterday were
anxious bidders for some this morning AT
53S46537sc. Wheat was quiet around the
opening al S36S34e, and oats for May were
quoted at 33Ss033s4c. Provisions ruled
steady. with the bear party making no effort
apparently 10 break prices. lid eed, many
of them were buyers i'll a small way, and May
pork at one time sold as high rs Sl460. The
prices soon dropped back 10 Sl4.52i3 Other
products were dull. The provision bulls feel
that their position is based on good trade
sense. They point 10 the enormous cutting
down of meat and food supplies as forming
a substantial foundation for the theory that
provisions must command good prices this
year. The cattle ranges throughout large
portion of the West have been almost depop-
ulated, and the losses i'll Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming have been
terrible. The cattle interest has
suffered wOefully. This may so shorten
supplies of beef that hog products will
go into unexpected consumption al good
prices, but the distributors don't talk hope
fully. They have seen the domestic con
sumption and export demand shriyel and
shrink at an astonishing rate since values
started up. and they are now predicting that
in ,,Sra of no uai ShOrfOua in the
hog crop, both in number and i'll weight,
Western stocks ut the end Of the winter pack
ing season viii be largely in excess of last
year. They contend further thar the longer
prices are maintained nj the current high
range. the greater will be the depression that
must follow. That is the theory that the
bear party is operating on, and that explains
why they did not attack the market when it
was in demoraliZed state after the slump
the other day. They have been actually
helping the market on its legs ever since.
Their selling has been done quietly ana I'M
der cover. Grain had its advance early. The
market was Just moderately active at the
range established soon after the opening
Most of the trading in May corn was around
535sG54c, and in May wheat at S3GlS3I4c.
Wheat was weaker than either corn or
oats. 1t had some outside support, and the
foreign houses bought some; but the feeling
did not seem 10 be in the least buoyant. Corn
was strong on the covering of local short
wheat. There was a buzzing all day about
heavy purchases for account of a Chicago,
Burlington y Quincy syndicate. but it did
not have much weight in determining val
ues, though it made some of the scaipers
nervous. The closing range all around was
higher than yesterday.
THE ROUTINE REPORT.
CHICAGO, JAN 21-The usual SATURDAY.
quiet prevailed at the opening or the board
to-day although provisions showed evidence
of strength. Wheat was stupidity dull from
start to finish. May wheat opened shade
OFF at S3lSc. There was a general evening
up by scalpers during the session, but prices
remained between S3@ S3I4c, and May closed
al S3lsc. Corn was quiet at the start. but did
not remain so long. May opened unchanged
at 53ssc. Several prominent houses began
picking up all of the corn that was offered
around the opening. and this soon frightened
the shorts into covering. and May was rushed
up to 53fsc in very short time. Corn con-
tinued active and firm all through the session,
and there was practically no reaction from
the early advance, although there was some
selling at top figures. May closed at 53s4c,
oats started in with good brisk trade in the
May option, and there was an advance of
s4LSsc over yesterdays closing prices. The
firmness was due to sympathy with the corn
market ana liberal buying by a prominent
operator. In provisions considerable inter-
est was manifested, and the feeling was
trmer in general way. Speculative offer
ings were not very large, while the local
and outside demand was fairly active. Shorts
purchased moderately. May pork opened al
Sl4.55, an advance of 2l2c; sold to S14.62l2
$1460. Lard and short ribs were moderately
active May lard sold at 81. 62l2@7 .67Iaa and
closed at S765. May ribs sold at $7.77I20
1922, and closed at $50.
THE QUOTATIONS..
The leading futures ranged as follows:
Nheat-No.2 January. 76Sic. closed at 76s4c;
No. February, 1859, closing at 767sc
March, 71l2c' closing at 71i2c; May. s3lsc
closing at S3lsc Corn-No. 2 January. 4S12c
closed at 4s7sc: No. 2 February, 4sAc,
closingat 4ss4c: March closed at 1850; May
53Ssc. closing at 5334c. Oats-No. = May
33l2c, closing at 33ssc. Mess Pork per Dbl
February Sl4;10: closing at $l4. 17la;
per 100 lbs-Febrnary, S7.45, closing at
S7.42l2; March. S7.47l2, closing at $3.50:
May, S7.62l2, closing at 81 IS. Short Ribs,
per 100 lbs-February, S7.52I2, closing at
Ssi5;52l2' y March aaEEeh $50, closing at sz;eS5;
Cash quotations were as follows: Flour,
quiet and without special feature: prices I'M
changed. Wheat-No. = spring, 76s40077a.c
No. spring, nominal; No. = red, S3@s3s4c.
Rye-No. 2, CSC: Barley-No. 2 s4@s5c.
Pork-Mess, per Dbl, S14.20014.25. Lard
Per 100 lbs, S7.45. Short Ribs-Sides
tloose9. $3.50: dry sailed shoulders tboxed).
S5.90@6; short clear sides (boXedD, $3.50
@795. Receipts-Flour, IL, 1000 bbls; wheat,
$4,000 bu; corn, $4,000 bu; oats, 10000
bu; rye, 1000 bu; barley, 81, 600 bu. Ship
ments-Flour, IL 900 bbls; wheat, ! s, 900 bu
bu; barley, 81, 0G0 bu. On the produce ex-
change to-day the butter market was steady
and firm; stocks slight: creamery at 22l2@
23c; dairy, 17G25c. Eggs, 21@22I2c.