Chicago Flood Puts Damper on Worldwide Grain Trade
The closing of grain futures markets at the flood-threatened Chicago Board of Trade triggered broad repercussions Tuesday throughout world and domestic markets where grain is traded directly.
Without a futures market to offset the risk of holding large quantities of grain, exporters lost overseas business and domestic grain dealers cut bids on fears that prices will fall when the market finally reopens.
Prices are expected to fall because of unrelated matters, notably uncertainty in the former Soviet Union.
A direct result of the Chicago board’s shutdown--caused by underground flooding that crippled much of the city’s downtown--was Taiwan’s delay in buying 54,000 tons of U.S., Argentine or Brazilian soybeans.
U.S. exporters said Taiwan rescheduled its planned tender for Monday.
Chicago Board of Trade officials were trying to get electrical power restored to part of the building so that an abbreviated trading session could be held today.
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