Evening star., 1919-04-20
Pause in Corn Futures.

on more than one occasion early in
the week there was decided pause
IN the market for corn futures. Bar
ring the fact that the highest prices
for the season were reached Temporal
rliy the market generally was slight
ly sluggish. From the bottom level.
early in February. May has gone up
over so cents. This rise is particu-
larry noteworthy in view of the fact
that several years ago it was often
claimed that corn seemed high when
1T reached SO cents. n spite of this
there are numerous traders of expert
ence who contend that even now cash
or May prices are not unreasonable
high.
The subsequent break. and particu-
1arly in May deliveries, was partly at
tributable to apathy on the part OF
the bull party and corresponding ag
greSStveneSS among the bears. 1t
seemed apparent that numerous hold
ers, and notably of May, were in
clined to unload. In some cases they
replaced with July or September, but
particularly the latter. Consequently
the bears became more bold and solo
scenery more freely. Selling was
partly prompted by rulnors of bright
er prospects for larger exports from
Argentina.
Late i'll the week the volume of
business was somewhat small At
times traders seemed to be in wait
ing mood, hence trading was often
of a quiet, scalping character. prom
inent interests being frequently
passive, although it was. said that
the weak spots. Toward the close
shorts were inclined to cover over
the holiday, which led to d small
rally.
Iron and Steel Unsettled.
M dec;Sion bavjuor beeu reached
regarding government purchases of
iron and steel products at the new
price levels. the market is still in
state of unsettlement PraGtlcaily act
producers are working on old orders
almost exclusively, barring a few ex-
ceptions where small quantities are
needed for immediate requirements.
reduction, some plants being shut
down while others are running at
barely half capacity and few. reach
rs per cent. The export outlook is
brighter than the domestic situation.
as prices here are lower than in
Europe, but the lack of tonnage is
still hindrance-
Dry Goods Broadened.
Practically all dry goods markets
continue to broaden and strengthen
Jobbers are free buyers and In some
lines the spot demand is the pest
noted in several years, indicating that
retailers stocks are exhausted. Stocks
available for spot delivery are ex-
tremely light as a rule, as mills have
made no accumulation. This condition
was foreshadowed months ago, when
production was materially curtailed,
and restriction of output is still
feature in many 6eXule centers:
esnecially in the south, because of
labor disputes. The more hopeful out
look for a speedy peace settlement is.
clearing up the prospect Tor european
business while business with otner
foreign buyers shows further expan-
sion.
Time as an obstacle in some quarters,
the harbor situation in New York be-
coming worse instead of better. while
dissatisfaction among telephone en-
ployes, notably in New England, adds
a new feature.
Domestic copper buyers continue to
show almost no interest and the VOL
ume of business has been extremely
small. Late in the week one OF the
leading agencies offered to sell at
151s f. o. b., but others stu quoted
15A, while smaller interests haheo
15a151s f. O. b.
Raw sugar purchases, including
352.40O bags Cubas, $500 tons Porto
Ricos and smaller lots of Venezuela,
st, Croix and Honduras. Slight i'm
proyement is noted in the demand for
refined sugar. but consestion Is still
of because of heavy ar
rivals of raws, 1884 tons. and liberal
MEETINGS. $1,000 tons. Raw ssocks in
Atlantic ports are 1889 tons.
against 34,235 a year ago.
Toward the end of the week the
paper market Tell to an
unusual state of quiescence here, but
an active market was reported from
western centers. The general rate re-
mains unchanged at 51a per cent. but
some brokers assert that most OF their
however is for the best names with
short maturitieS.