St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-27
MAY WHEAT JUMPS Up
Reports Of Damage to French
Crops Proves Quite a
Stimulant.
Goth Sides of the Market Make
Bets and Quietly Await
Results.
Wall Street Market Improves
Both in Temper and
Activity.
Inside Sources Lend Support
to the Gould Stocks and
st. Paul.

CHICAGO, Feb. 26.-Ihe continued re-
ports of damage 10 the French wheat
crop and the cold weather were the in
1uences under which May wheat in
Chicago closed &c higher than on the
lay before. The price started with
lump of &c over Wednesdays closing
prices, 9615c being bid for May. There
we're some sales at that price, but it
soon advanced to 96gc, and was up TO
5716c inside Of the first fifteen minutes
trading. At the end of the following
fifteen minutes it was back again TO
DG7Sc. For an hour OF 80 the fluctuations
were between orc and 9114c, but on the
receipt of some rather sensational French
cable dispatches, there WAS sudden
bulge about IL o'clock to 9715c. Another
iull and weak spell succeeded, lasting to
within half an hour of the close, during
which the price Sagged to 9G$4c, but dld
not remain long at over &c below 97c.
The damage to the French wheat crop
,eceIvIng, as it does, a stronger confir-
nation daily, is becoming a powerful
factor in favor of the bulls, many of
whom are convinced that a greater
calamity has stricken the French wheat
growers than the American winter
wheat farmers suffered from last year.
There was an advance to 973Sc for May
wheat about 1850 O'clock, and by p.
N. it was down again to 96%c. The
most of the early selling was against
calls, the opening price having been
very close to the price at which most of
no cold On
several advances which took place the
buyers who had wheat bought at
below 97c, sold it out. and the
present position of the market appears
TO be that the parties to each side of
the deal have made their bets and are
unwilling to increase their amount
further than in scalping ventures, which
are not allowed to run beyond 4@1ac
profit or loss. Corn was in the hands of
a small clique of bullishly inclined
traders who advanced the price for May
to 5000, but the closing figures were
55%c, or sc higher than it closed yes
terday. There was not as much excite
ment in the pit as the very considerable
range of the fluctuations in the price
would ordinarily indicate. Nav opened
at 55%c, with one or two transactions
at $500, but the tone soon became much
more UulliSh, and an advance to $500
56}sc had been brought about before the
session had run the first mOiety of its
course. Ii sold back to 5615c and again
up to the highest point previously
touched before it finally settled down
around its final resting place. There
was one transaction in the course of the
day at 561s &c. which Is sc higher than any
previously recorded sale Of May corn Oh
the present crop. The squeeze was still
on in the cats deal. The advance to-day
amounted to 14c, and it established the
highest price of the SeaS0n-4S$4c-for
the May future. There is considerable
short interest, but neither scalpers nor
commission houses have Overs0ld.
The receivers, who have been sell
ing against the stock in farmers
hands, are responsible for the bulge.
They are the shorts, and in their at
tempts to cover we're assisted by the
scalping crowd in forcing prices up
ward. The manipulatOrS of the rye deal
forced tine price to 2(@3c above that of
yesterday. The provision business was
rather dull. There was less buying Oh
orders from outsiders, and sellers at the
same time were not pressing with their
offerings. The hog receipts were again
liberal, numbering 41,000, and the pack
ing III the West for the week, as figured
by the Cincinnati Price Current, is co..
600 ahead of the corresponding week Of
the past year. Partridge and Cudahy
Packing company were covering some
shorts in pork and lard, and the Anglo
American Packing company were sell
ers of lard to a moderate extent.
The leading futures ranged as follows: