Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-25
COMMERCIAL NOTES.
Weeks Survey of the Trade in Produce
Cereals and Provisioan. Butter
and Eggs Are Drifting
Downward.
OFFICE OF PIrTsBURG DISPATCH,
GArTIDnAv March % 1890

Downward.
OFFICE OF PIrTsBURG DISPATCH, /
SATURDAY, March q, 1899.
The most marked feature of the produce
trade in the past week has been the drop in
eggs. This has been decidedly unpleasant
feature to a number of our dealers. A week
ago eggs were 13c dozen at Chicago. To-day
they are slow here at l2@121<c. Thousands of
cases were shipped to Pittsburg dealers in the
fore part of the week, which must have cost at
least lac dozen delivered here. Now they
can be delivered here at cost of lie. May
/ Ike weather and the consequent activity of
hens in getting in their work far ahead of their
usual time has upset many calculation and
spoiled not few dollars. Without any stats
tics at hand it may be rash to say what has
been, but from the best information that can
be gathered eggs have not been so low here at
this time of the year for decade at least. Con-
sumption has very much increased on the low
prices. A leading Liberty street jobber says
that his retail customers are buying in larger
quantities since the decline, believing that q
reaction is bound to come
There has been much greater activity in but
ter as well as eggs the past week. but prices are
not materially changed. Creamery is OF &c in
JoDb1ng way. Country butter is more active
since oleomargarine has passed out of the mar
kets. but dealers report no difficulty in meeting
all demands. Reports from rural districts are
that there Is butter enough and to spare.
Cheese fails to follow its custom in Lenten
times, which is to advance in price. While ma
tive cheese holds its own, Limburger and
Sweitzer show dropping tendencies. The stock
OF domestic SweitZer on hand is much above
that OF year ago, and as the season for new
products approaches there is growing dispo-
sition on the part of the holder to unload. The
cash customer will find ioDbers of Sweitzer and
Ldmburger cheese ready to concede on our
quotations
In the lines of vegetables and domestic fruit
the week shows no improvement in trade.
Apples potatoes onions and cabbage are slow
as ever. The books of produce commission
men furnish some mighty unpleasant facts,
showing losses to producers in all these lines.
One merchant showed the commercial reporter
of The DISPATCH day or two ago a number
OF such items. Here is a sample: On 488 BUSH
els of onions, for which S47 81 was paid for
freight drayage and sacking, and 500 ad-
vanced to the farmer, the loss was total. An
additional outlay for hauling to the garbage
Pile was added to expense within few days.
farmer who consigned bags of potatoes, 8 of
merchant had returned to him So SO, which was
all that was left above freights, rot and COM
mission. The oldest in the trade say they re-
member no season as disastrous to producers
and middlemen as this has been.
With the exception of wheat all cereals have
been drifting downward the past week. Re-
ceipts of grain and hay have been far beyond
demands of trade. At the Grain Exchange 23l
carloads were bulletined this week More than
half this amount was hay. Two carloads of
oats comprises the entire weeks transactions at
the Exchange. With such liberal supplies
coming to markets it is plain enough to blind
man that the situation is in favor of buyers
The wheat boom, which has lifted prices from
94c to 81 o. is no doubt IN a large measure
speculative, and bears may be looked for to
come of their holes any day. The bull move
ment has given firmer tone to flour.
In grocery lines the most marked feature
this week has been the boom in sugar, which is
advanced all along the line. Coffee options
have had their ups and downs, but stand about
as they did a week ago.
Hogs and hog products are a shade higher.
Mess pork and lard have been advanced at
Chicago. At the meeting of packers held here
to-day it was resolved to make no changes and
hence, so far as this city's trade is concerned,
hog products will stand another week as they
have been for two weeks past. The drift, how
ever, is toward higher level.