Evening star., 1930-12-15
CREDIT FOR CHINA
MAY BOOST WHEAT
Canadian Market Would Be
Benefited by Sales
to Orient.
By FRANK /. WELLER,
Associated Press Farm Editor,

Canadian wheat, selling 20 cents un-
der Chicago prices and now the cheap
est wheat in the world considering
quality, appears to be in the brink of
consolation in its darkest hour.
1t is understood the British govern
ment has entered discussions for the re-
establishment of Chinese credit, which,
if done, will permit China giving some
thing in return for British machinery
and Canadian wheat and possibly re-
suit in a marked demand for the prairie
grain.
At the same time the Canadian
Wheat Pool, apparently through expert
menting with holding operations and
foreign agents and Is said to have de-
cided on the employment of the or
ganized grain trade here and abroad.
Wheat merchants say the policy will
go far toward renewing the confidence
of buyers and that Canada will gain
the good will of foreign grain interests
which had come to believe that the pool
proposed to force arbitrary prices by
withholding supplies.
Hedging Operations Small.
Many in the trade feel that develop
ments of a bullish nature may be seen
in American wheat in the near future,
although one prominent firm insists
that under current conditions and con-
siderfng the unnatural attitude of the
market, opinions are useless.
There is a little hedging of cash
grain each day, but not enough to per-
NIT buyers to get liberal sized lire
without bidding prices up sharply.
Wheat traders are selling July at Chi
cago at 8 cents under the old May.
The market is said to be oversold and
should some good sized buying orders
come into the market traders say q
sharp advance might result in view of
the low prices.
Scarcity of sellers is said to prevent
May and December wheat from ad-
vancing sharply. There is no scarcity
OF buyers, the Grain Sterilization Cor
poration being in the market with
sufficient orders to take all offerings.
However, the price has held above the
same level for two weeks.
There is said to be disposition on the
part of the Farm Board to bid up old
style December wheat. The open in
Were shorts to try to cover on any of
the old style months, it is said there
would be a sharp advance. There are
believed to be sufficient orders in the
market to absorb all selling that may
develop in old and new May both in
Chicago and at Minneapolis. July
wheat will be under pressure right along
by hedgerS and short sellers.
Wheat Used AS Fuel.
The last week brought out the un-
usual circumstance of wheat being used
for fuel. In the midst of the wheat
region, 10 miles from Big Timber, Idaho,
coal costs $16.50 a ton and wood $40
a cord, while wheat costs SO a ton de-
livered to bins and Easements. Wheat
produces an even heat and holds fire
about as long as coal, business man
of the neighborhood reported.
There still is considerable controversy
over how much wheat will be fed to live
stock. One Chicago grain firm says a
survey shows the probable relative
amount of live stock feeding this sea-
son will be something like z per cent
less than the amount done last year,
whereas the supply of feed grains Is
IL per cent less than a year ago. In
cluding the wheat surplus of 100000
bushels, the supply of grain that could
be used for feed still is 9.4 per cent less.
Crop prospects for Winter seedlings of
grain are becoming an increasingly i'm
portant factor in the general wheat
market situation. The Winter wheat
acreage in the United States is be-
lieved to have been decreased per cent
and reports show some curtailing of
wheat acreage in Argentina, Australia
and India. Nothing definite is known
about Russia, but reports indicate an
expansion.