New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-04
COTTON'S RECORD DAY.
TRADE IN e.000,0OO BALES.
Fiercest Competition and Ercite-
mcnt ECcr Seen on Change.

The announcement at noon Yesterday OF the gov
eminent estimates OF only 9962,O39 bales a the
Gotten crop the year the signal for the wild
outburst OF excitement and the fercest cornPe-
ttion in trading ever witnessed the floor OF the
New-York Cotton Exchange. the volume Of bust
ness. nearly 100000 bales being by the largest
ever transacted In a single day. The market was
rather inactive 81 the outset. owing to the uncer-
tGlnty the figures 20 he presented by tho
government report
Liverpool WAS utue higher than due at the
time Of the local opening and this started prices
hc-e 70 points higher on all options except
August. which was one point lower Following this.
realizing eased the market of about the closing
figures OF "Wednesday. after which fluctuations
irregul2r, bur c0u-Y3rat lively narrow. Before the
bureau report the market had been depressed to
ii-5ec for January. LIE Tor March and May and
HE for July with trading quiet.
Ireclsely NJ noon Superintendent King appeared
70 announce the report Of The crop estimate. At
ihis Tine the exchange Was crowded as it seldom
has been before. In the gallery stood a dense mass
of men and women. ON The floor the area outside
the railing completely filed. and in the trading
pt the brokers crowded every inch Of space Popu-
lar estimates Of what the government report would
be had ranged between 100000 and Il 100000 bales
The scene when Superintendent King got as far
IS ;he word nine" for the number Of millions
almost indescribable Brokers did not wait to hear
whether il might be only one hale less than 1000
600 or only se0l0. but started simultaneously and
vocfcrousiy 10 execute the buying selling orders
which had beea iutrusted 10 them
The first sales were At a jump Of 10 points or
more and before fifteen minutes had elapsed every
option on the list sold up TO or beyond the z cent
mark. The excitement and confusion was beyond
description, and. while the advance brought long
cotton in tremendous volume the market continued
10 go Up, breaking all previous high records for the
season, and surprising even the days Of last July
in The intensity Of its activity and excitement.
May. for example, sold immediateiy before thu
reading Of the report at HE only one point above
Tire lowest OF the day. The next sale was at lS5
then Sc then 1850 its being duplicated by
the other months. Many hundreds of thousands OF
b2les changed hands within short time after the
report and the advance was not checked until De-
ceaber had sold IT - JanuaTy a. L &c. March at
L Sc May l237c and July al 1257c- This repre-
scented advance from the low point Of &c 10 CO
points OF about S . bale Around the higher
level II seemed as though the most pressing re-
Guirements Of the shorts had been filed ana with
The outside buying demand partly appeased prices
declined about Is % points the active months
hut sentiment was sun excited. and the undertone
exceedingly strong
The reaction proved OF brief duration. for as the
government report became more widely known,
fresh buying orders came rushing in, accompanied
ny the most bulIish talk ''thirteen-cent cotton
being freely predicted.
The high point was rot far from the close, when
December sold At l282c January at l2.46a, March
l259c. May 1257c and July at l256c or 70 TO 81
points above the low level Of the morning. The
net 6s 10 a points higher than at the close on
Wednesday.
Spot cotton reached 121t cents, figure without
precedent in the Network market at this season
for more than twenty Years as were also the prices
touched by the futures The government estimate
always proves lower than tho actual figures Of The
crop. but The discrepancy was last year only
about l25.0O1 bales. ana the fact that the De
partment of Agriculture and the Census Bu-
Teau cooperating in the preparation OF
the estimates This season disposed the trade TO
place greater confidence than ordinarily in the
accuracy OF the figures to be given out Al noon
yesterday. When those figures were found to be
under ten million bales the great short interest,
Which had been covering for the last TWO three
days, became pancstricken and covered at
any price. while tremendous buying for the
long account did its part in causing the
phenomenal advance The latest and lowest
estimate Of the worlds requirements for spinning
purposes has been l05o50J0 bales. IN the basis of
11-cent cotton, and with the prices now above the
l2-cent mark consumption may be still further
Curtaied But there is surplus supply, and the
worlds consumption Of American cotton during the
last three years has averaged about l06O0OG0 bales
year, so that even with prices at their present
level il is predicted by the bulls. the demand from
spinners viii he urgent enough 10 cause The alb
sorption Of the entire cotton production of the
year, large part Of which has already been pur-
chased for the mills Of Europe.