St. Paul daily globe., 1892-05-06
ALL ON
CORN, OATS


of the board of trade bulls today than at any
time for some weeks past. And il was all on
account Of the weather-not that il was SO
much worse than it has been, but because OF
its continued and widespread effects. In
fact. with the great delay in seeding which
has already taken place, and with renewed
downpour alternating with unseasonably low
temperature further delaying farm work and
threatening to rot the seed already in the
ground, dealers ON the board are beginning
to look on the outlook for the cereal crops
of 1892 as really alarming,
All private advices received today were of
the most discOuraging character. The al
ready water-soaked fields from North Dakota
to Texas received fresh load of precipita-
ton last night and today streams are swollen
beyond all reason. flooding large areas,
drowning out and washing out the seeds and
plants il the lowlands, while the low tenn
perature and excessive moisture are prevent
ing termination on the highlands. II con-
tinueS TO snow or freeze over large areas in
Minnesota and the Dakotas. with large pro-
portion of the seeding still unfinished.
OF course this condition has existed for
some days. but the longer it continues the
more serious it becomes. Shorts have been
getting nervous for some time. and specula-
ton has been growing more friendly to the
of trade has been against any material ad-
vance, and it has not been easy to start the
boom. But this morning the friends of
wheat showed more courage: shorts displayed
more alarm, and, while trade was far from
active, q stronger feeling ruled. Good buy
ing orders came in from the Northwest. and
the New YorKers finally came into line. while
local shorts made a wild rush to cover. To
add TO the alarm of the shorts i'll wheat there
were two favorable reports from abroad and
cables were strong and higher.
Corn is doubly affs cted by the weather
conditions; the muddy roads prevent the
farmers from delivering their undeniaDly
large surplus, and the soaking which il is
getting in unprotected cribs must inevitably
lower still further the already too low grad
ing, reducing by so much the amount of the
contract article. At the same time, the sod
den ground cannot be plowed, and the plant
ing of the new crop is still further delayed.
All of this gave the corn pit today sort of
the first TO feel the effects of the weather
conditions, opening excited and higher.
The wheat crowd, while somewhat inter-
ested i'll the higher opening of their grain,
took things rather easy until the corn furry
had about exhausted itself in the early deal
ings and stopped for rest. Then the wheat
market began 10 warm up, and when it got
fairly to going it led the shorts merry
dance. 1t did not weary until it mad added
three cents to yesterdays closing price. Par
bridge first arrayed his chief forces in the
corn pit where he disposed of them for the
protection of line of short July corn, vari-
Ously estimated at from 100000 bu to 4000,-
00j bu. Later he needed them in the wheat
pit where his interest is believed to be much
heavier.
conditions abroad: Beerbohm cabled:
weather in England cold" Thalman. OF
Paris, wired Schwartz Dupee d Mccormick:
w Gather unfayorable; crop prospects less
favorable" and the same firm has dispatch
from Strasburg Germany, which quoted the
weather there cold and wet. The receipts i'll
the Northwest were light and the Atlantic
clearances heavy. The Cincinnati Price Cur
rent said weather conditions were more ia
vorable last week; but the trade thought 9th
erwise.
Traders have of late become so accus-
toned TO receive bullish news and find 1t sue
ceeded by drop in the price that they,were
very slow to believe that anything different
from their recent experience would happen
today. Item after item OF news kept drop
ping in during the first hour and half, and
no matter from which direction it came its
tenor was bullish But Partridge sold wheat.
Cottrell sold wheat, and the crowd which
runs in the wake Of The successful men
thought they were safe in getting i'll behind
the big bears.
July opened Isc higher at STAG and for an
hour or more it appeared more likely to go
lower than higher. 1t did, i'll fact sell off
to S1l2c When resistance to the effect of
the numerous bull dispatches by the local
crowd was finally met by a flood of buying
orders from the seabOard and the Northwest,
the price, which had been quietly edging up
to around the opening figures, suddenly
touched S2c and then the rejoicing shouts of
the traders who were long seemed to in
timidate the short sellers, and until the price
had excltedly climbed to S4Ac the latter con-
tingent was not again heard of except as the
most eager buyers in the crowd.
At S39Sc some of the triumphant longs pro-
ceeded TO take their profits. ard their heavy
would not stay down; it climbed to the high
notch, as above stated, shortly before the
close, and closed firm at SIC, with the pros
pect of still higher figures should the weather
conditions OF tomorrow give any excuse Tor
them. Partridge sold considerable wheat
but was not as vicious as usual. The foreign
markets were all higher at the close except
Liverpool and Antwerp, which were un-
changed.
The corn market was wildly irregular and
much higher at the opening. 1t was very
difficult to trade for few minutes, so various
and wide apart were the prices bid and
asked. May was particularly ragged and un-
satisfactory for commission houses to fill
orders in, owing TO the fact that the main in
terest was in July. Even in July the range
was from 4l4@4l34c i'll the first five or ten
seconds, and i'll May buyers were bidding
43s4c and sellers for the most part were de-
manding from 444c to 45c. Some few sales
were made at 4i@D44l2c and one or two at
44lSc.
In the confusion of the opening and for
about ten minutes thereafter, the trading was
principally at 4334c. July sold for the most
part at from 41l2c to 4ls4c during the first fif-
ieen minutes. with possibly shade higher
paid in the chaotic irregularity Of the first
few seconds. 1t was made apparent that
there was very considerable and extremely
anxious short interest, and that it was by no
means easy to purchase. The receipt of
cablegram definitely confirming The fact that
Russia had removed the prohibition upon
oats in so far AS the Baltic provinces were
concerned, and on maize for the whole en-
pire. did not affect the market appreciably.
owing to the already high tension.
At the end of the first hours trading with
May at 44c and July selling around 4l12c.
the market grew somewhat steady, but the
strength continued throughout the session.
May touching 45c as the high notch. July
reaching 42I2c. with the closing price 44l2c.
for the former and 421sc for the latter, a gain
of 1I2c for May and 146c for July over yester"
days last figures.
Oats were strong in sympathy with wheat
and corn, and on account of the weather
had similar effect on the minor cereal 10,
that exercised on the others. The market
closed at an advance of llsc.
The only restful spot on the floor of the ex
change was the provision pit. and it was
only quiet in comparison with the turmoil in
the grain markets. The receipts of hogs,
were 27,OO0 head, and the price was sc lower.
The Price Current gave the weeks packing
in the West at 10000 head for the week,
against 49, 0C0 head for the corresponding
week of last year. The strength Of the grain
markets was the deterrent force, in view of
these conditions, which prevented decline.
and permitted an advance in hog products.
Near the close, pork and ribs weakened some
what, and final figures show betterments of
12I2@l5c in pork, 7l2@10c in lard, and 2l2c in
short ribs.
Sc cars: corn, 220 cars; oats, 160 cars; hogs,
q 900 head.
The leading futures ranged as follows: