Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-03
COMMERCIAL And FINANCIAL
Cash Demand and Crop Damage Make
Wheat Firm at Chicago
MAY CLOSES NEARLY HALF A CENT HIGHER
other Markets Show Little Change,
but tho Tendency mt Close is Down
ward-Russinn and French
Crops Unpromising.

CHICAGO, April 2.-Wheat was firm to-
day, the May option closing at from 9sc
10 kc advance. A somewhat better cash
demand and crop damage claims were fac
tors in a dull market. Corn went the
other way closing hc lower, and pro-
visions unchanged to l0c lower.
Opinion, as gauged by the early fuctua-
tions in the wheat market was trihe
more favorable to the bull side than at
the close of yesterdays session. Liver
pool opened without any change. The
northwestern receipts were smaller than
TREY have been running of late and the
poor condition of wheat In Missouri as re-
ported yesterday by the agricultural bu-
reau of the state received some confrma-
tlon from private expert testimony. Min
neapolis and Duluth receipts were 2SS cars
compared with 43S the corresponding day
of the week before. Chicago received only
nine carloads. May opened at from IOasc
TO 70Ac against yesterdays close of iOlsc
and during the first two hours of trading
fluctuations ranged from 709sc to 7OAc, with
July keeping step at Ac per bu. behind
the others. The inquiry from country mill
ers was more in evidence than 1t has been
for some time. Before IL o'clock $4,000 bu.
had been sold for prompt shipment and
tho most notable feature of the country
demand was that 1t was largely for NO.
spring and that 10000 bu. goes west to
Kansas City. One of the items of news
which helped the bears was the estimate
sent from, Duluth that stocks there would @ dod
show an increase for the week of 100000
bu. and Minneapolis would not decrease
100000 bu., which indicated probable in
small decrease. Closing cables were of a
rather mixed character. The market ruled
firmer after u o'clock and May showed a
tendency to improve faster than July, in
dicating apprehension of the result among
short sellers should the country demand
for spot wheat show much further in
limited
supply. Tho foreign advices were not only
unfavorable as regards the poor outlook
was also said to be unpromsing. The
market had several violent fluctuations in
the last half hour, May, dropping suddenly
from 70Nc to 70asc, and recovering again
in a few minutes to 7lc. May closed at
from 7OSc to tic and July at from 7o1sc to
7OAc
Corn was fairly active and showed its
Independence of wheat by declining when
that market was advancing The market
was strong and somewhat higher during
the early. hours, helped by light receipts,
wet weather all through the corn belt and
Illinois and Iowa of better offerings and
realizing by longs caused a decline. May
opened shade higher at from 25c to 25bc,
sold at 25bc, then declined to from 24ssc to
The market in oats was of much the
tiVity @ was Was SHOW shown Prices Price We're rm nes early
but when corn declined oats Immediately
followed. Fair support developed and some
VI the uecilHc was ieCoNeieu' EApoi 10
We're 1900 bu. May opened unchanged at
from 1850 to 17lac, sold between 17Ac and
17Ac and closed at 17ssc.
Provisions were dull, trading smaller and
at long intervals, with prices on the de-
cline from the start. The weakness must
have been for reasons peculiar to the
speculative features of the deal for the
usual causes to which the trading was
ascribed prior to lower prices did not sug-
gest lower prices. At the close May pork
lower at from sl.62ls to $i.G5.
Estimated receipts Saturday.: Wheat, 10
cars; corn 1i7 cars; oats, ia cars; hogs
1900 head .E ~
The leading futures ranged as follows: