How Did Brokers Execute a Commodity Trade Before the Internet? | Grain IQ
Grain IQ Podcast
•
8m 2s
Long before the instantaneous internet, grain traders in Chicago made trades by hand. Literally.
In fact, traders basically came up with their own version of sign language for this highly-active job.
Mark Gold of Top Third Ag Marketing in Chicago described what his job looked like in the 1970s.
“In the pits, if you were a broker, the runners would bring the paper orders to you,” he said.
He said once the brokers got the orders, they would look for hand signals. Certain hand gestures signaled ‘I’m looking for a buyer’ and others meant ‘I’m looking for a seller.’ To really keep brokers on their toes, there were hand gestures for how many contracts you wanted to trade, too.
In this episode of Grain IQ, we go back in history to learn what it was like to trade commodities before computers were part of the picture.
Grain IQ is a production of the Nebraska Rural Radio Association, in cooperation and with support from the Nebraska Soybean Board.
Up Next in Grain IQ Podcast
-
The Good Ol' Days: Grain Trading with...
Once a city kid who went to school to be a doctor, Mark Gold with Top Third Ag Marketing in Chicago became a widely-respected grain trader and analyst who continues to serve producers.
The story goes like this.
One college summer, Gold was asked if he wanted to work at the Chicago Mercantile Ex...
-
What Do the Grain Trading Months Mean...
You turn up the radio when the broadcaster gives the latest market numbers, and you hear him rattle off multiple months for each commodity. Why? What do those trading months mean?
On this episode of Grain IQ, why are there different trading months for corn and soybeans? How do the trading months...
-
How Wheat Impacts Corn and Soybean Ma...
Even if you don’t grow wheat, the wheat crop impacts corn and soybean prices
Each May, the Wheat Quality Tour travels through fields in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado to get a snapshot of the year’s wheat crop.
Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics breaks down how small grains infl...
