14 Agricultural Prices 



preceding the war^ of exports from the United States as related to 

 British exchange, and to ocean freights from New York to Liver- 

 pool. It will be noted that United States prices must necessarily 

 be weakened in the fall of the year by weak British exchange and 

 high ocean freights. 



The speculative price as set from day to day is sometimes a 

 result of technical situations altogether apart from supply and 

 demand. Ordinarily, the speculative price as represented by 

 "futures" and the cash price move in sympathy, but occasionally 

 a scared "short" finds the market oversold and bids up prices un- 

 duly in an effort to cover, or a tired "long" finds the market over- 

 bought and sends prices down unduly in an effort to sell. And 

 occasionally there is manipulation — interests working together to 

 make the price temporarily higher or lower than a normal working 

 of supply and demand would justify. Sometimes the cash markets, 

 following the lead of the speculative markets, may get out of line 

 witli ultimate supply-and-demand conditions for several months 

 at a time. 



