The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-03

CHICAGO, April 2.-Wheat was firm today,
the May options closing at %@hc advance. A
somewhat better cash demand and crop dam
age claims were factors in a dull market.
Corn went the other way, closing Nc lower.
Oats closed shade lower, and provisions I'M
changed to 10c lower.
Opinion, as gagged by the early fluctuations
in the wheat market, was a trife more ia
yorable to the bull side than at the close
Of yesterdays session. Liverpool opened with
out any change, the Southwestern receipts
were smaller than they have been running of
late, and the poor condition OF wheat in Mis-
souri,, as reported yesterday by the agricuI-
tural bureau Of the state, received some con-
hrmation from private expert testimony. Min
neapolis and Duluth receipts were 289 cars
compared with 438, the corresponding day of
the week before. Chicago received only nine
carloads. May opened at 709s@7034 against
yesterdays closing price of 701hc, and during
the first two hours of trading fluctuations
ranged from 707s to 7O4c with July keeping
step at PC per bushel behind the other. The
inquiry from country millers was more in
evidence than 1t has been for some time Be-
fore IL o'clock $4,000 blu had been sold
for prompt shipment, and the most notable
feature of the country demand was that 1t was
largely for No. 2 spring, and that 10000 bu
goes west to Kansas City. One of the items
OF news which helped the bears was the esti-
mate sent from Duluth that stocks there would
show an increase for the week of l 100, 600
blu, and Minneapolis would only decrease 300
600 bu, which indicated a probable increase in
the visible, or at least very small decrease
Closing cables were Of rather mixed charac-
ter. The market ruled frmer after IL O'Clock
and May showed a tendency to improve faster
than July, indicating apprehension Of the re-
suit among short sellers should the country
demand for spot wheat show much further
increase, in view of the limited available sup
ply. The foreign advices we're not only unfa-
vorable as regards the poor outlook for the
French crop, but the Russian crop was also
said to be unpromsing. The market had
several violent fluctuations in the last half
hour, May dropping suddenly from 7O% to
7Oasc, and recovering again in a few minutes
to Tic. May closed at 707s@71c, and July at
70B@70Ac
Corn was fairly active and showed It's indie
pendence of wheat by declining when that
market advancing. The market was
strong and somewhat higher during the early
hours, helped by light receipts, wet weather
all through the corn belt, and good exports,
$4,000 blu. Later, talk from Illinois and Iowa
of better offerings and realizing by longs
caused a decline. May opened a shade higher
at 25Q251sc, sold at 251sc, then declined to
245s@242c, closing easy at 2434c. The market
In oats was of much the same character as
corn, although less activity was shown. Prices
were firm early, but when corn declined oats
also sold off. Fair exports were reported
and some Of the decline was recovered. May
opened unchanged at 179sQ171Ac, sold be-
tween 1712c and TIC, and closed at 1880.
Provisions were very dull transactions small
and at long intervals, with prices on the
decline from the start. The weakness must
have been for reasons peculiar to the specula-
tive features of the deal, for the usual cause
to which the traders ascribe higher or lower
prices did not suggest lower prices. At the
close May pork was doc lower at $S.4712; May
lower at $4.62h@4.65. Estimates: Wheat, 10;
corn, 147; oats, ia; hogs, 1900 head.
The loading futures ranged as follows: