Evening star., 1939-05-05
Commodities Draw
SpecuIators From
Stock Market
Heavy Futures Volumes
More Attractive Than
Dull Securities
BY the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, May 5.-SpeculatlVe
traders whose main business has
been in the stock market recently
are seeking the commodity futures
markets more and more these days
as outlets for their activities, some
Wall Streeters believe.
They base their opinion on the
volume of transactions done recent
ly in the grains at Chicago and
such war babies" as cotton, cop
per, sugar, tin and hides in New
York
Numerous reasons are given for
the switch. In the first place, the
stock market, troubled by dangers
abroad and a feeling of uncertainty
over the business future at home,
has been pretty dull of late Chances
for quick turnoverS have been few,
and charting a course has been diff
fcult. Thin" markets, with few
participants, are apt to get their
directions mixed up in hurry.
In periods of international ten
sion, tradition holds, dealings in
commodities tend to increase, espe-
cially in those staples needed by
belligerents in possible war. For
months after the Munich peace.
followed by recurring alarms, an
alysts were amazed that the COM
modify futures business hadn't
picked up. Now it is beginning to-.
That doesn't mean necessarily,
however, that traders think a war
is in sight. Reported crop deteri-
grafton in the winter wheat coun-
try was credited with the recent
sharp rise in prices for that staple.
Copper in Demand.
Better demand for copper and
some price readjustments for the
actual metal had a part in the
heavy activity in copper futures
which began about a week ago.
On one day the number of cop
per futures contracts "a contract is
$4,000 pounds) traded on the New
York Commodity Exchange jumped
to 1863, the highest figure for one
day in the exchanges history.
AS an aid to traders the New York
Commodity Exchange this week
began announcing daily the num-
ber of open contracts" outstand-
ing in copper, hides and crude rub
ber. An open contract is one for
future delivery which has not been
liquidated by actual production of
the goods.
The first figures surprised trad
ers. Yesterday 2,055 lots of copper
were open, 3,034 of hides and 3,544
of rubber. A hide contract is 10000
pounds and rubber contract 22,400
Close observers said in all three the
open interests were considerably
larger than had been expected. No
figure was available on sugar, but
that commodity has been very ac-
tive of late.
Raw Silk Watched.
Another staple that has attracted
speculative attention in the last
couple of months has been raw silk,
which advanced to eight-year high
marks both in the futures and spot
markets because of a shortage of
actual supplies and heavy demand
in the primary markets at Yoko-
homa and Kobe, Japan. Since last
summer raw silk for immediate de-
livery has jumped to $263 a pound
from about $1.65. Futures prices
necessarily have followed suit.
Interest in the war baby" COM
modities has been stimulated by re-
ports European governments would
soon be buying them in advance
preparation for possible conflict.
One such report was that the Brit
ish government had inquired con-
corning possible purchase of 1,5OO,-
600 pounds of copper. Possibility
of heavy stocking of rubber and
sugar was also scanned.
Some traders needed these rumors.
while others took the view the gov
ernments concerned had probably
done as much Of their buying as
possible during the quiet markets
of last summer and fall, when prices
were pretty low. The disagreement
contributed to both long and short
interests in the markets.