Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-20
LIVE STOCK PRICES
DECLINE SHARPLY
Further Recession Is Feared
This Week if Receipts
Continue Large.
BY FRANK i. WELLER
Associated Press Farm Editor.

Associated Press Farm Edltor.
Suddenly expanded runs and slow
dressed beef trade have knocked as
much as ST off medium weight anc
weighty steers. Anything like liberia
receipts this week Chicago observer.
say, may force the market on dowr
until strictly choice weighty bullockS
have to sell at SO, figure, some in the
trade believe. may be the peak before
this wave of liquidation is over
Cattle receipts, on IL principal mar
kets, totaled 1877 900 head. $4,000 more
than for the first four days last week
At Chicago, Monday run of 2400C
head. gave buyers all the bearish am
munition they needed to supplement
the sluggish dressed beef conditions at
Atlantic Seaboard markets.
Rush to Market.
The run was sharply larger than that
of either two previous Mondays. indicat-
ing a rush to market cattle held back in
the hope of better prices after Lent and
the Jewish holiday period. 1t is nav
evident the curtailment during the two
weeks preceding the week under review
virtually represented the Saturatior
point and that this weeks expansion
strained demand to the breaking point
good beef cattle, fed steers, scaling fol
the most part, 1900 pounds. Thsse
heavies come from the corn belt and the
Southwest as well as from the North
western States, notably Colorado Iowa
and Nebraska, however, are the heaviest
contributors.
While medium and heavy steer values
were sinking to the lowest point since
late 1925, light heifers and mixed yearl-
ings worked higher than the close last
week. This strength in little cattle was
due mainly to scarcity. The fact that
yearlings were wanted gave support TO
light steers that reflected yearlng char
acteristics.
Little cattle also get more assistance
from the beef trade than do weightier
bullocks. Consumptive demand for light
beef becomes all the more marked in
lighter weight carcasses yielded by
mixed and heller yearlings scaling $50
pounds downward.
The break in fat cattle prices has
depressed the stockers and feeder trade
ana reduced prices Is to so cents. be-
SIDES restricting outlet appreciablv.
F1nisherS seem to be awaiting the out
come OF the fat steer downturn, which
necessarily changes the basis on which
replacement cattle can be safely bought.
OTcSSc0 1raQe.
Notwithstanding large supplies. the
dressed trade showed improvement at
Chicago, prices ruling steady to so
cents lower. Veal and beef went to
new low levels in New York.
Hog receipts stayed even with a
week ago and price fluctuations were
narrow. Lghtweights usually evinced
weak TO 10 cents lower basis and
packing sows, in less urgent demand
than heretofore, reduced Is to Is cents.
Shipping requirements were limited.
rerlectlng continued slow and weaker
trend In Eastern fresh pork prices. Hog
supplies have been running somewhat
below fgureS of year ago. this week
as much as 10 per cent smaller.
Fat Wooled lambs, which had worked
70 top of $40 last week, started
sliding Monday under generous re-
relptS and for the greater part of the
week showed decline of 25 to so cents.
Lights and handy weights reeained part
OF the loss, but extreme weights went
on down.
Statesmen were insistent throughout
the period and held lambs until late
in the session each day, but buyers
were just as slow to meet any ad-
vance asking prices and it was gen
appreciable numbers went to the scales.
Practically nothing was done on feed
ing and shearing lambs. the bulk of
the Colorados grading well up toward
and into choice. which resulted in
prices being higher than shearing cp-
orators cared to pay.