Omaha daily bee., 1888-12-19
THE SPECULATIVE MARKETS..
Wheat Trade Assumes a Holiday
Character.
CORN SOMEWHAT LlvsLlER.
Provisions On the Quiet order, But
Gaining-Cattle Demand More
Activc-Hogs Rake a
Sudden Drop,
euICAGo PRODUCE MARKET.

CHICAGO. Dec. 1s.-[Special Telegram to
The BEE. The wheat market has fallen
into dull lines. Leading longs, representing
aggregated holdings of possibly 10000 bush.
els, continue to stand patti The pastime of
milking the Market which has been more
or less profitably engaged in Of late, is becom-
ing less attractive, within the narrow range
now prevailing, and s~calpers and operators
in general are seemingly anxious for a de.
cided movement, up or down, as being the
only thing that will infuse genuine life into
trade. To employ a time honored phrase
that has been trotted out from time immemo-
rial, about this date, "The market
has assumed a holiday character"
That 1T will stay in this
state Of quietude until after the holiday sea-
son, does not follow necessarily, yet the gen
crafty of traders appear TO think that such
will be the case, and they do not look for
any great change IN the immediate future.
Opinions as to the ultimate course Of values
are seldom more radically at variance than
now. The bears believe firmly that there
are big reserves IN the country available for
Hour manufacture, and the bulls, while ad-
hitting that the stocks of flour may be large,
point to the fact that the stocks in sight
amount in reality TO less than two
weeks domestic consumption re-
q%uirements and that there is a
daily change for the better going on in the
flour trade. This, according to their way of
thinking, goes to prove that consumption is
again catching up with production. The ad-
ditional fact is advanced that farmers deliv-
cries of wheat, winter and spring, have fal-
len off to almost nothing, thus making it GER
tain that the visible stocks of wheat are at
-. -. Fyl-
ton now in session in Milwaukee,, seems to
have been called more with the view to ad-
vertise the alleged big stocks of flour. and to
depress the wheat market, than TO enter into
my combination. IL 1.-THE millers had been short
OF wheat for milling purposes, and DESTROYS of
laying in supplies at cheaper figures, they
could not well have hit upon a happier plan
of accomplishing their object than in publicly
calling a convention to discuss the policy of
'curtailing production until supplies were re-
duced to reasonable limits" However,
leaving this convention Of millers out of the
question, the situation cannot be said to be
more favorable to the bears than it has been
at an time for months. 1t is, on the contrary,
better for bulls, according to the bullish view.
They certainly display no signs of weakening.
Cables were dun and rather easier, and the
domestic markets very generally followed
the lead OF Chicago, opening weak and act
ing indecisively for u couple of hours, and
then advancing and closing strong. The local
market opened with the sales for May deliv-
cry AZ 81. lUtU l. IVA. Prices worked down TO
e1.O994, with very little business at inside
figures. 1t then advanced to 81. 1875, declined
to $l.10, ranged at 81. 104@Ll03s for quite a
time, and from Sl.l0S advanced rapidly to
e1.10sl, closing at $1.l0%E, or identically the
same figure as on yesterday. Trade was of
small volume and largely local. More
business was done during the last half
hour of the session than at any previous hour |
of trading. The last rally was occasIoned
principally by the covering by shorts. There |
was mt no time any pressure of property on
the market, and towards the end scalpers
got excited over the circulation of the reports
tending to show a decided and general i'm
provement in the flour trade. 1t did not take
them long to run prices up on themselves. |
The range on near months was as follows: |
December opened at sl.0414, sold up to Sl.043$s |
nominal, and closed at S1.O4%. January |
sold up from Sl.O5@1.0 514 and closed at the
outside. |
A change came over the spirit Of the
corn crowd to-day, and from the lowest |
depths OF the heavy and declining market
there was a notable and sensible reaction. |
The continuously poor grading Of the daily |
receipts is at length becoming so marked as |
to cause the short sellers to pause, and upon
looking around today they seemed to con- |
clude that any effort to cover the sales in |
which good profits existed, would only be in
the direction of reasonable caution. The re.
ceipts were nearly 20 cars under yesterdays |
estimates, and for tomorrow PCS cars were
estimated. The receipts and the latter fact |
was the first thing to produce the changes of !
sentiment referred to. Cables quoted a |
fractional reduction in prices at Liverpool, |
but indicated a good demand to exist at the |
decline.
Out of 531 cars today only twenty-nine |
graded into contract quality. This, of course, |
was only in continuation of the many such re-
turns recently, but it appears to strike the
spectators with more than usual force to-
day. The opening was weak at about yester-
days closing prices, TO a shade lower, and
after selling to the lowest point yet touched
the reaction was lively and the market was
highest at the end. January, which opened
at 33&@33Ec, sold to 34Sc where it closed,
and May, after selling early at 36Ac, sold up
to 375sc, where it stood Il at ! :l5 p. m. There
was more business and it was more z ancrally
distributed than has lately been the case.
The provision trade was somewhat on the
quiet order. The bear element made no open
demonstration on the market. Outside or
ders of all kinds were limited, and with the
general run of operators the conservative
ceiling curtailed trading. Business was un-
Ger the average volume, and yet a stronger
undertone existed and a portion of yester-
days severe break was recovered. In pork
Blessings showed an actual advance of l0C0l5c, |
In lard of T1@1Oc, and IN short ribs
OF 21a@5c. Cash lard sold fairly at
$50, but at the close was quoted at SS.15.
Green hams averaging IL lbs, changed hands
Mt nc. The movement on cash meats was
only moderate for this season. Tho receipts
OF hogs were again under speculation. Spec
ulative interest in products was confined to
January and May. The latter month ranged
at a premium over January of 35@40c on
pork, 5@116c on lard, and l5c on short RIBS.
" |