| Washington, D. C. | 
;_ Wa v March, 1927 | 
SPECULATIVE TRANSACTIONS IN THE 1926 MAY WHEAT FUTURE 
By J. W. T. Duvet, Chief, and G. Wricut Horrman, Assistant Marketing 
Specialist, Grain Futures Administration 
CONTENTS 
Page | Page 
IN@tirerand: SCOPE] 9-22 seeks tae ees cere 1 | Net trades compared with net price changes__ 18 
Summary of a previous investigation ___- i The large net trades in the 1926 May 
Explanation of terms not commoniy used wheat futune2 a s4- sles sees eae eee 18 
Dyguhertradee 2322 swe Sh erat ease 2 The large net trades for the period April 
Importance of eight leading speculators__ 3 1S 1925— Mia 291926 ee eee ae 21 
IMethodtof. analysis == sees eer eae 5 Quantitative relation of large net trades — 
Net position compared with price___________ 6 (HO) HL JOS) Claes oo see 33 
The price and open commitments in the Operations of smail traders compared with “ 
1926 May wheat future______._________ 6 those otlarce tradenrs= =o ee 35 
The combined position of eight leading Sampling and classifying material _______ 35 
speculators compared with price_______ 0 Smail trader operations on an individual 
The net position of the eight traders cor- Gai Seed A oe Pi re a ieee 36 
NeLareadswaGheprice sa Se eS 9 Net position of 15 firms compared with 
The individual positions cf the eight lead- the net position of eight leading specu- 
IN EISPECULALONS sce ae eee ee sae oe 9 DE LOTS kote a ee eve ies AGS Soy. Cae Meme 39 
Summary and conclusions____.--._------_--- 39 
AW DEN Clas Sibtels eee bee ey ieee a ee 44 
NATURE AND SCOPE 
SUMMARY OF A PREVIOUS INVESTIGATION 
During the early months of 1925 the unusual and erratic fluctua- 
tions in wheat futures prices so paralyzed the grain trade generally 
that a Federal investigation was made by the Grain Futures Adminis- 
tration. The results of that investigation were published as Senate 
Document No. 135, entitled ‘‘Fluctuations in Wheat Futures.” ! 
That report covered the period from January 2 to April 18, 1925, 
and related to the trading operations and price changes in the 1925 
May wheat future on the Chicago Beard of Trade. 
For the purpose of that investigation the ‘‘traders”’ were classified 
into groups designated as: Commission-house accounts, hedgers, 
scalpers, large speculators, spreaders, speculative scalpers, and mis- 
cellaneous. The trading operations of these various groups were then 
analyzed and contrasted one with another and with price changes. 
By grouping the accounts in this manner the character of the trading 
1 Sixty-ninth Congress, first session, Juno, 1926. 
26826°—27-——1 
