Omaha daily bee., 1888-04-01
The SPECULATIVE MARKETS,
A Very Uni~nteresting Day in the
Wheat Pit.
HE STRIKE DEPRessEs PRICES.
A Short Session of the New York Ex-
change and No Afternoon Session
At Chicago-Corn Excited
and Unsettled.
CHICAGO PRODUCE MARKET.

CHICAGO, March ~3l.-ISpecial Telegram
20 the BEE lit was an uneventful and un-
interesting day in the wheat market. For
eigners are taking a vacation, which
will last until next Tuesday, so that no news
Of importance could come from abroad. 1t
was a short session in New York and only a
morning session here, and as might have
been expected there was more holiday feel
ing than business interest in the market.
While the tendency Of the railroad strike is
conceded to be to dcpress prices, it is even
stronger towards diminishing the volume of
business and to this quite as much as any
thing else may be attributed the small trans
Actions of to-day. May wheat opened at nc,
which was Am4c lower than the last
quotation of Thursday. Prices worked
o. slowly as corn advanced, until
TA@TIac was touched, then fell to i71sc,
and between that price and nc the market
held for a long time, declining later to 1870
&c, then advancing to nc, which was the
closing price. June wheat opened at 1Il5c,
sold up to 77%c and closed at 77$sc.
The official quotations for the opening Of
May corn was 52asc, but within thirty seconds
there were sales at 5295c, 52i4c and 52isc; but
very little was done under 52a5@52lSc, show
ing an excited and unsettled condition of that
market. AT the outset the price for May
corn worked up to 53c quite rapidly, then fell
back to $3.50, advancing later to 5311c, fall
ing back to 52JSc, advancing to and closing at
531sc. June corn opened at 52052lsc,
sold at 5lM@51Hc and 524c, and closed ut
5216c. The most weighty influence in this
market was the expected general railroad
strike. It's effect here was exactly the re-
verse OF its effect in the wheat market. 1t
might mean the cutting off of all receipts,
and as the stocks here and east of here are
small the danger of an actual scarcity would
not be far away. This frightened the shorts
and caused the sharp advance. When their
demands were satisfied the price fell again,
but at any decline there was strong buying,
which appeared to be for Investment, and
the result of each of these sharp fluctuations
seems to be 10 leave the price a little higher
than before. Hutchinson was a free buyer
of corn to-day.
Thu oats market was quiet and featureless,
but ut a little higher range of values, fuctu-
ations amounting to only &c. May oats
opened at 3l16c, sold up to 3l14c and closed
at 3l15c. June oats opened at Bic, sold up to
and closed at BIC. For July oats 30l3c was
asked at the opening, aud they sold up to
30Ic. For August oats 211Sc was bid.
The provision trade was "A little heavy. An
early break in pork was occasioned by free
selling by a pit trader and weakened the en-
tire market and turned the tide downward.
Lower prices were the rule, ana at the adj
journment pork showed a decline, based on
Thursdays closing, OF 1O6121&c, lard of sc,
and short ribs of nc. The days business was
only moderately liberal, and the line Of spec
ulation was mainly local. May, June and
July were the active deliveries. In pork the
monthly carrying charges were as a rule
NC, in lard DC, and in short ribs re. For
May, pork sold from Sl3.62I early down to
1875; lard from s7.62l9 down to S7.5713; and
short ribs from $7.15 down to sos. Pork
for the same month closed at $13.45, lard at
$500, and short ribs at $40. The resting
quotation for June pork was sl3y 52la, for
June lard, S7.6213, for June short ribs S7.17%,
for July LARD $75716 and for July short ribs
81 o.