The Indianapolis journal., 1894-04-07
MERCURIAL MARKETS
Wheat Was Unstable and Made
Some Alarming Jumps.
An Early Drop of 11-8c Quickly Fol-
lowed by 23-Ic Advance and a Collapse
of 3-4c Iater-POrk Is Lower.

CHICAGO, April 6.-It was wild, up
roarous day IN the wheat pit. First there
was drop OF 1kc in May. then series Of
jumps until it had advanced 24.c, and later
a sudden collapse Of 12.c with, In the end,
a gain of &c since yesterdays close.
Spreaders who had been working on the
expectation of July going to a premium of
31zc were stranded by those months coming
together for a few minutes with a clash.
The covering of a line Of short wheat for
Baltimore house. which found itself un-
able TO respond TO further margin calls.
helped furnish the excitement which ruled
during the greater part of the session.
Corn and oats received some benefit from
the strength in wheat, but lost it all again.
provisions were weak and lower. pork clos
ing at from 15c to 1712c decline.
Wheat at the opening was weak compared
with it's feverish strength at the close of
yesterdays session. May opened with al
most the entire crowd willing to sell at
6ic, and some with ideas no higher than
63hc at the same time. The lower figures
soon prevailed, and before the early COM
petition TO sell was overcome by the buying
orders which were waiting to come out the
price had dropped to 6S2sc. The swell which
resulted after the market had dug down to
the buying stratum caused a quick recov-
cry to 64Ac, and these fluctuations all oc-
CURED in the first forty minutes of the ses-
| sion. The desire to sell not occasoned
| by any change in the situation. The main
| cause Of it was the profit which so many
had in the long wheat bought within the
| last few days and the attempt to turn that
| into money. The weather was still dry in
| Kansas. Nebraska and Missouri, where the
| plant is reported to be suffering for want
| of rain The advices from those States did
not offer much encouragement for the farm
ers who have winter wheat in the ground.
| A more protracted drought would mean
| crop report announced that Is per cent. Of
the winter wheat in that State @ had been
| damage in southern Illinois and southern
| Indiana and in Kentucky, Tennessee and
Ohio may also be largely reduced with the
| proper kind Of weather. From California
| the same discouraging drought which pre-
| vailed up TO yesterday was reported as still
| doing It's whitening work. All that had but
| ton Of 1c or &c was confidently looked for
by the bears, when suddenly it become
| gency in the demand for cash wheat. When
it became known that a Milwaukee miller
had, had bought here 10000 bushels bushels Of hard
mill. that the price paid for it
was within a fraction Of &c premium
May and that it could have been sold twice
| over again at a straight &c premium in one
| case to a Rochester miller, and again to a
4
| pit, who had simply been tuning their fid-
| dies. started up with a quickstep, and the
| bears danced for twenty minutes like derv-
ishes. throwing up their hands and shouting
for wheat at the same time. until May was
| up to 65Ac and July TO 665sc, the latter hav-
| ing sold earlier in the day at csc. Even at
utes for breath, and when they started
again they put, May up to eec and July to
risen risen to 6ezc % and J1Iy to sss.c % and fie the
| price was allowed to drop 1Iac about as rap
| idly as it had risen that much. AT one per-
| iod of the advance Nav and July for few
| seconds were traded in at the same price
and and for quite long time time the difference was
down again to 6iI9c and July to CSC. The
| closing prices Were: May, 64%c: July 651ac
There was fair business done in corn
| and the market went, soaring at one time
| The shorts were badly demoralized by the
| jump in wheat. and that was the chief rea-
| son for the advance which took place in
| the middle Of the session. When wheat
| came off its perch oward the end corn lost
| for a time all It's earlier advance. Later
there were Independently strong points in
| the corn situation. and the market wound
| up firm at slight Improvement on yes
| tsrdays closing prizes, May started weak
| with wheat at 3S1ac, sold off to 3S3sc recov-
| cred to 3o9sc and closed at 3ss,d39c. COM
pared with 3S7sc yesterday.
There seemed to be general uprising in
, the oats crowd to-day. Not only was there
| big business transacted. but the market
| was INDEPENDENTLY strong. Even at the
| orening, when corn and wheat We're easier
the price or oats was up from 1sc to Ac.
| This was due to the fact that while the re-
| ports of the condition of the wheat and
corn crops were conflicting. they were uni
| versal as to the oats crop being badly dam
| aged. May started at 31%c against yester-
days last quotation of 31ssc. and sold up to
32Kc. The later decline in the larger mar
| kets was more influential, and when the de-
| cline in those prices began oats also fell
| off. May oats sold at 311sc and closed at
| this price.
| Provisions acted weary with the load of
| their recent advance There was an ap-
| pearance of the more anxious of the shorts
| having come in and of even some selling on
! short account. There was few short-lived
| spurts of activity at times when wheat was
on the rampage, but the result of the days
| trading was a small aggregate. Nav pork
| oDened off 10c at $1202is, and was 81 95 at
! the close. Lard for Nav closed with .O212c
| loss for the day. May ribs closed .05c lower
| Estimated receipts for tomorrow are:
| Wheat. % cars: corn. 230 cars; oats 11S
| cars: hogs, 5000 head Leading futures
| ranged as follows:
| Omen IIirh- nru. Clos.