The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-05
Encouraged by a Run of Weaken
ing News the Bears Hammer
It Furiously.
But Losses Are Quickly Regained
and May Closes Strong
at $500.
Still Great Broad Market with
the Tendency Enthusiastically
Upward.

Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, Feb.
5.-Tremendous pressure came upon wheat
this morning. A flood of bear news came
over the wires and there was hasty selling
out OF long wheat. A great many traders
got ON top the market. These were longs
who sold out and were working for a
break to get in again, pit traders always
out for scalps either way, and Il sprink
ling Of new converts to the dollar wheat
belief, men who are ready to buy futures
but who are waiting for the big break
which they say has got to come and on
which they propose to get In. Chicago
May opened wild, selling simultaneously
at 95c and CSC, and when it dropped to
931ac it looked like break in fact. But
the market was too strong to go to
pieces, and was back over 94c In short
order. Minneapolis May was off from
93Ac to 92ss@92hc, but was stubborn
against selling. An incident came to light
this morning, illustrating the strength and
breadth Of the market more forcibly than
anything yet seen. The fact developed that
a line Of over 1000, 900 bushels May wheat
was liquidated here yesterday without
Earring the market perceptibly and with
out being generally noticed. This wheat
belonged to holder who bought it
months ago at prices that look ridiculous
~ low to-day. Profits in sight were so
good that even tho the holder Is still bull
ish he decided to turn them into cash.
The point of this is that a market that
will absorb that much wheat without
showing any effect is a pretty strong mar
ket and one about which 1t is doubly
hard to form opinions as to where it will
stop.
The biggest bear item was the Argen-
tine outward movement of 2,S16,000 blu
wheat. This was father to another-the
easy Liverpool market. Paris wheat was
UP equal to 11a@1Ac, but Liverpool was
unchanged to !ad up. It could not be sup
posed that Liverpool was unmindful of the
increasing gravity Of the war situation,
for English consols were off, London Sc
curities were nervous and weak, and
Jloyd's insurance rates were up. LIVER
pool was not up on wheat because she Is
getting plenty Of wheat and sees no pros
pect Of the failure of the supply source at
least for the present. The bears also took
heart from the rain reports from Texas
and Oklahoma, and especially from the
fact that there were sprinkles Of rain
around San Francisco Fresno and Los
Angeles, Cal, centers from which drought
reports have been coming.
Minneapolis elevator stocks have de-
creased about $4,000 bu for the week. In
the first week Of February last year
stocks increased 219,9 bu. Receipts here
to-day were 3O2 cars against 253, Duluth
had "a against 81, and Chicago % against
30. Kansas City got 121, 900 blu against
$4,000, and St. Louis $4,000 against 40,
900.
lie MOueI1l nlllST says. Inc WQedl
crop appears to be In fair condition In all
/, parts of the winter wheat belt, excepting
in; eastern Kansas Oklahoma and Texas
where there has been insufficient moisture
ever since the crop was seeded and where
there is complaint Of poor termination
In other sections of the winter wheat
country the top growth is backward and
the appearance of the plant not of the
best. yet investigation usually reveals a
good root growth. The movement OF
hard winter wheat to market is decreas-
ing, as supplies in the interior are great
ly reduced. Not much soft winter wheat
is being offered"
The cash demand was very slow, AND
some wheat was unsold at the close. 81
much wheat had accumulated on tract
during the closing of the mills that miller
did not come into the cash market to any
extent this morning.
May closed at 931ac; July at 92% @92%
and September at Sic.