Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-06-10 | Page 2 | Speculators in the Grain Market on the Bear Side

i SPECULATORS IN THE GRAIN MARKET ON THE BEAR SIDE ; By JOSEPH F. PRIT CHARD. ; By Internal ional News Service, j CHICAGO, June 9. A wheat crop of f:;i. 000, 000 bushels is practically assured, i which is quite large compared with the liM.OUU.OOO bushels of last year, and a five-j five-j year average of So9, 000,000 bushels. Kan-I Kan-I sas led the other winter wheat states with a total of 97,114.000 bushels compared j with 4o.6T0.0uu in 1 0 IT. The condition of j the Kansas crop is now 7S per cent against j a ten-year average of 74 per cent. While Kansas leads all other states by the great I difference, there are goodly increases shown on the whole. Crop experts advance the opinion that probabilities are for a one billion bushel ' : , heat crop. ! Nearly all of Iowa has had too much v.ii n. ConMdorable corn in t hat state is : j;;iid to ha e been washed out by floods j and a great deal of replanting has to be 1 done. In other states there is little said i j of replanting and the prospects are doubt- j less quite L'ood over nearly ibe entire ! 'orn belt. Sentiment was bearish during trie first part of last week, but there wa.s .i: almost complete reversal of conditions 'ater. There was a big open interest in this grain and when shorts tried to cover thev found offerings were small and held lightly. Fair pri e advances were made in oats futures, but the market did not displav rmirh strength as was expected, in t. iew of the sharp bulge in corn and strong I underlying cash situation. There was no real selling pressure and any material ! buying won hi have met with quick re-! re-! spouse. The bulk of the trade is bullish. :iiid unless there is a sudden falling off :i the cash demand better prices are ex-pe.-tcd. The provisions market still in the rut and volume of trade i':- f'in satlsfac-torv. satlsfac-torv. The mn mi fact u red product is not moving as fast as desired. Stocks nf the ,i finished product are large and show signs J of increasing. nf late there has been . epoil of improvement in the demand for J dry salted meats, but lard is going slowly.