Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-29
GRAIN PRICE GAINS
HAVE BEEN STEADY
Recent Improvement in Mar
ket Nay Herald a Perma-
Rent UptUn.
pisnateh % m. star.

special DtkpAtch 70 The star.
KANSAS CITY. Mo. October %
Prices Of farm products-wheat. corn.
cats, cotton and butter-have started q
long awaited upswing.
The upturn comes ct q time when
attention Is riveted on the various
emergency efforts to revive tagging In
dustry, and 1t may be that the basis for
q sound and lasting improvement Is de-
veloping along natural lines In an en-
tirely unexpected quarter.
Under the leadership Of wheat, In
which buIliSh sentiment has crystaIlized
definitely, commodity markets In gen.
eral have attained degree Of stability
that may mark notable restoration in
confidence.
Because Of many disappointments
and false starts In the past. this change
IN sentiment was not recognized in the
early stages but the evidence that q
new and more hopeful attitude has ap-
peared is believed convincing.
Advance In Wheat.
wheat easily has been the outstand-
ing performer. In less than q month
the price has gone up about 20 per cent
from the low level Of the prolonged
bear market. Corn has made gain OF
is per cent, oats 20 per cent and cot
ton IS per cent.
Live stock. except in the case of fat
cattle. Is stiIl at a low level, but the
belief Is strengthening in that industry
that the worst in the way OF prices
either has been experienced or soon win
be. Dairy products likewise have shared
in the improvement both as to price
and sentiment, with butter making the
best gains.
All this represents tangible relief in
quarters where It is needed most.
Higher prices for farm products mean
increased purchasing power starting
from the ground up. Definite figures
showing the gain in potential buying
power naturally are not available, but
on the basis OF the increase in wheat,
cotton and corn and moderate gains in
live stock and dairy products, the farm
ers Of the United States easily are
$500 900 900 better on than month
or so ago.
This highly hopeful turn in the stu
alton has not been accompanied, thus
far, by any particular demonstration,
chiefly because of the wide interest in
other more spectacular remedies, but 1t
has occurred nevertheless. For year
or more. grain, live stock and other farm
products-all raw materials, in fact
were watched hopefully for evidence
that prices had dropped to levels beyond
which buyers could hope for no further
receSsions. This was delayed so long,
however, that hope faded, and when the
movement finally started 1t did so un-
heralded.
THE upturn In wheat and the conse-
uuent enthusiasm that has developed in
all branches of the grain trade have
been the feature of the reversal In COM
inoditieS.
BuIlish Factors.
Around the FIRST of the month prices
dropped to new low levels for the bear
market, which were also the lowest In
the history OF organized exchanges.
Speculative trade was at minimum.
For weeks market comment per-
sistently had called attention to po-
tentially bullish factors-the prospec-
tive reduction in acreage in the prtn-
cipal exporting countries, the short
crops in the Spring wheat area OF this
country and Canada, the increased
feeding OF wheat on farms and the
virtual certainty that Europe would
turn to North America for liberal sup
plies before another world crop was
harvested.
Sentiment, however. remained unre-
sponsive. There was plenty OF evidence
that wheat was as low as could rea-
sonably be expected, but buyers, having
become accustomed to declining prices.
held back for long time.
Just what occasioned the change
cannot be identified, but gradually de-
mand began to expand. with the re-
suit that in less than a month futures
have been boosted Is to, 14ia cents q
buShel.
AS far as supply and demand are
concerned, the wheat situation is pic
tured in about the same terms as sew
eral months ago. The only thing that
has changed is the attitude of buyers.
Kansas City Prices.
Milling wheat of average quality now
Is worth about SIS to 90 cents bushel
on the Kansas City market, with fancy
kinds quoted as high as 80 cents a
buShel. The advance in car lots in
the past month has changed from 10
to 20 cents. At country shipping
points in the Kansas City territory
ordinary wheat generally is worth IS
10 As cents. A month ago 1t was quoted
at IS TO 80 cents.
Advances of l3 to I4i5 cents buShel
in wheat futures and $3.50 a bale In
cotton easily are worth more than five
or six conferences and credit plans
combined, and If the gains are extended
or even maintained it is probable that
the gold movement and the trend in
deposits.
(copyrisht. 1881 by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Ine.)