The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-17
Weekly Market Review.

Cotton.-It has been a week of disap-
pointment to the bulls. The old crop
months have lost about 81 points, and new
crop months about p points. Saturday
was the weakest day and the New York
market closed easy. The depression was
not due TO any leading decline abroad, for
Liverpool fell relatively much less, but
was caused almost entirely by the crop
movement proving larger than was eN-
pected, inducing discouraged holders 10
unload.
This encouragement of the bulls seems
to be premature, despite the comparative
ly large volume of the receipts, the trade,
in comparing figures, appears to have lost
sight of two important considerations. me
amount coming into sight for the week
was 129,0 900 bales; $500 less than last year,
and $4,000 more than in 1888 Now the
comparison with last year is OF no force
at all, for at that time the weather
throughout the south was so severely cold,
with such general heavy snow storms,
as to seriously impede the movement. The
other consideration is this: 1t has long
been generally known that pretty large
stocks have been held in a number OF
the uncounted interior towns, any urgency
of the interior buying demand, or any
pressure for sale by holders for any rea-
son, cannot but result in swelling re-
ceipts at ports and at the larger interior
towns for the time being. There does not
yet appear any grounds for believing that
the actual amount of cotton yet TO come
forward is larger than has been general
ly supposed. Nor would such appear to be
necessarily the case even if the volume
of receipts were to hold up to near the
present mark for some weeks longer.
However, the movement has given great
confidence to the bears, and much increas-
ed their aggressiVeness. In fact, some
of the chameleon New York houses, who
formerly talked 6,5OO,OOO bales, now say
it looks like 100000 or over. To make
the crop 6,7J0,000 bales we have yet to
bring in sight about 100000 bales, and II
such an amount remains behind, there Is
no reason why the weekly movement may
not be pretty free for some time, when
the entire country is persuaded that
monster crop is being prepared for. This
results in a general anxiety to clean up
everything while prices are regarded as
fairly remunerative, and before the antici-
pated big acreage cause the expected de-
cline. Cotton is not going to be in any
excessive supply this summer, and the
prospect for higher prices for at least
August and this side are not by any
means dead. Still, there may be some
further liquidations before a turn in the
current occurs.
Wheat-The market has been very varf-
able, but for the most part with down
ward tendency, resulting in a net decline
for the week of 1%c, May closing at 6515c.
There has been no material change in the
general situation, the course of the mar
ket depending chiefly on the varying
moods of speculative trading. The re-
ceipts still hold up very well in the north
west but the cash demand, domestic and
foreign, continues good. Stocks are now
on the decrease, but have not yet COM
menced to melt away fast enough to seri-
ously alarm the shorts. The weather has
not Deen very 1aVoraple, thaWs ana
freezes alternating too frequently. 1t Is
now near the time for damage to the
growing winter crop. The position seems
of justify the opinion that wheat is good
property for investment on these periods
of depression.
Provisions have been quiet and easier.
Demand has been rather slack and re-
ceipts of hogs moderate. 1t is worth while
noting that a big cotton acreage means
a big consumption of ribs; and when we
consider the fact that the stocks are very
light, SAC must impress US as being a
very low figure for them.
William T williams