The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-09
TRADE VERY DULL;
SCA[P|NG MARKET
The Conaested Condition of the
Market Shown by Narrow
Range of Prices

Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce
Jan THE bulls have had nearly
everything their own way during the paSI
week. To start with there was a small
worlds shipment of wheat. a good de-
crease on passage, only a fair increase In
the visible, Bradstreet reported a big de-
crease in the worlds visible supply, a
smaller primary wheat movement, running
at less than half million bushels per
day and very strong cash demand from
all points and especially here. There is
an active cash demand from both local
and interior millers, the latter having been
extremely active for sample wheat on
the tables and also taking some good
sized lots from terminal elevators. This
shown by the fact that cash wheat within
the past week has advanced as follows;
No. northern, 21ac; No. 2 northern, C;
No. 3, Sc; No. 4, 7@15c.
The option market suffered a sharp de-
cline on the-epening of the week on a
mistake of an operator in reporting the
increase at Fort William and Port Ar
thur, Canada, at 100000 bu. when it
should have been about 250,000 bu. The
first report induced heavy selling by bears
and by the time the correction was made
it was too late for the bulls to get in
their work and advance prices, but they
made up for it the next day by boosting
the price a full cent and have kept up
their tactics up to the close of the week,
closing both options within hc of the
top price of the week. Trade has been
practically all of a scalping character
among the professionals, the outside spec
are no signs at present of their waking
up
With any outside speculative demand it
would not be difficult to put the market
to a much higher level. Neither the bulls
nor the bears among the scaiping profes-
slonal element care to do more than han
die small amounts The fear that Wall
street pool would dump bunch of wheat
in the Chicago market and break that
market with a corresponding break in this
marketsis keeping traders close to shore.
and n0f thof IyTsa1 cf< ra<if
pat so far on their immense holdings es-
tirnatedsto be around Is to 20 million, is
keeping the bears from doing any great
amount of selling. Both sides seem in
clined to be satisfied with small scalping
profits for the time being.
Th report of the Modern Miller and
wheat crop is bearish. They claim that
the plant is healthy and has been greatly
improved by rains and snow during the
past week or two. Reports from Argen-
tina are conflicting regarding the threSh-
ing returns. but in the main these are
not satisfactory The returns in a number
of provinces are much less than expected
and the quality is very variable. There
has been considerable talk of Walla Walla
wheat arriving in New York and some of
the traders construe this as bearish, but
as it is not deliverable on contract it
can cut no figure with the market prices.
Reports from the southwest claim that
there Is not 15 per cent of the crop in
farmers hands in Kansas and other states
same condition. Reports are coming in
that farmers are expecting to put in a
heavily increased acreage the coming
spring, but this can have no effect at
present on either the May or July op-
lions
The Market Record says: In reply to
1920 inquiries sent out by the Daily Mar
!, ket Record, and which have been very
freely answered, it appears that on Dec.
last the amount held by farmers in
Minnesota and North and South Dakota
amounted to 81 per cent of the crop of
1904. According to the estimates on the
crop from practically the same sources for
Minnesota and the Dakotas of 10000. 600
bushels there would have been left on
Dec. last some 46 million bushels in
farmers bins in Minnesota and the two
Dakotas
The percentage as given for the three
states IS: Minnesota 81 2; North Dakota
2l.9. and South Dakota, 26.3. A year ago
the amount left on the farm Dec l. ac-
eording to reports received by the Daily
Market Record from practically the same
correspondents was 81 per cent in Min