I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 688: Sugar Franc Online
All sugar merchants, even speculators who had not done sugar business before, immediately swarmed in like sharks smelling blood.

Soon, an exchange employee posted the first contract on a wooden sign three people tall on the west side of the exchange hall.

It was a sugar bill due in a month, quoted at 1 franc 8 sous per pound.

According to the exchange's rules, the "trading unit" of sugar cane is 1 pounds. In other words, this contract means that the buyer can get 1 pounds of spot sugar cane at a price of 8 francs one month later.

Since the Dutch invented futures trading in order to sell tulips a long time ago, and later there were many small-scale futures markets in the UK and the Netherlands, people are still very familiar with futures trading.

As a result, all the businessmen present immediately widened their eyes.

在法国货币改革之后，1法郎等于10苏。所以1法郎8苏的价格，比目前的蔗糖行情涨了接近30%之多！

However, a small-eyed middle-aged man wearing a felt hat immediately walked up to the trading counter, pointed at the contract of 1 franc and 8 sous, and said in unfamiliar French that he wanted to buy it.

The crowd around them immediately exclaimed:
“This price is a joke!”

"Is he crazy? Sugarcane prices only increased by 40% in the previous six months, and he thinks it will increase by 28% in a month?!"

"Oh, poor fellow, he will lose everything he has..."

Subsequently, the second contract was put on the market.

Before the man with small eyes could propose a deal, the old man who had been waiting at the counter nearby quickly ate it.

The third one is hung out.

Eaten in seconds.

The fourth one was eaten in seconds.

The fifth one, eaten in seconds...

The merchants in the hall began to be shocked.

Is it possible that with a 28% premium, you can’t even get a bit of candy?

Finally, the middle-aged man with small eyes desperately grabbed the eighth contract. The contract price had risen to 1 franc 8 sous 1 denier.

Satisfied, he put away the contract and squeezed out of the crowd.

A young man with blue eyes and a broad nose came over, bowed to him, and said in Dutch:

"Mr. Van Schaik, long time no see. Are you in Paris too?"

Fanshaike smiled and returned the greeting:
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Weigel. This is the future of all sugar merchants, so it's natural for me to come here."

Weigel glanced at the newly posted contract that was cancelled in seconds, leaned closer and whispered:
"To be honest, I think the price is too high. Why do you..."

Fansheik hesitated for a moment, pulled him behind the stone pillar in the hall, and said in a lower voice:
"The plantations in the Caribbean are ruined. You can hardly get sugar anywhere else except here."

Weigel shook his head and said:

"The Caribbean is just seeing a reduction in production, it shouldn't be that serious, right?"

Fanshaike looked around and said:

"You probably don't know the contents of the order report of the London company last week?"

The London Company was the British company responsible for Caribbean trade.

Every year before sugarcane matures, trading companies will go to the production area to investigate the market and determine the purchase price. However, this information cannot be hidden from people with channels.

“I really haven’t heard of this.”

"I can tell you that it's only 35% of last year's purchase volume. And most plantation owners said they might not be able to deliver." Weigel's face suddenly changed.

He didn't expect the sugarcane harvest situation to be so serious.

"And what about Egypt?"

"It is said that all of them were ordered in advance by a mysterious buyer at a high price."

Weigel was shocked: "Does this mean that we can only buy French beet sugar from now on?!"

The fact that French sugar was made from beets was made public several months ago. After all, if they were going to sell it on a large scale, it would be impossible to conceal the source.

Van Schaik spread his hands and said, "It is very likely. If I were not short of funds, I would have bought more contracts today. I estimate that the price of sugar will rise to 2 francs a pound in a month."

Weigel hurriedly looked up at the wooden board displaying the contracts, and saw that the price of the latest contract had risen to 1 franc 8 sous 2 deniers.

It turns out that I thought others were taking advantage of me, but in fact, others were laughing at me for not knowing how to pick up money!
He hurriedly said goodbye to Van Shaiker and squeezed towards the trading counter.

The trading hall soon became like a battlefield, with shouting and cursing everywhere, and some people even fought over orders.

Weigel finally managed to snatch a contract even though his clothes were torn and he was punched hard in the face.

He excitedly put the contract in his pocket and was about to continue to grab it when he suddenly heard someone shouting from behind:

"Latest news! The Dutch government announced that it has officially recognized the Republic of Saint-Domingo!"

The crowd was quiet for a moment, and the next moment, they rushed to the trading counter in an even more crazy manner. No one even looked at the price, they just bought when there was an order!
It is obvious that the Parliament of Saint-Domingue should have implemented a ban on the sale of sugar cane, and only countries that recognized its government could buy sugar cane.

In order to buy sugar, the Dutch government bowed directly to the black rebels!

In fact, for the Netherlands, Saint-Domingue was a French colony, so recognizing its independence was a given. After all, the current Franco-Dutch relationship was average, and the French expeditionary force had already lost there twice.

But right now, the British army is fighting the black government there. What the Netherlands did was equivalent to selling out the British allies.

But now whoever can buy sugar can make huge profits.

Therefore, for the time being, I can’t worry about allies.

A new contract was posted and the price was already 2 francs per pound!

Almost at the same time, several counters on the west side of the exchange were crushed, and the traders sitting in the back were injured and screamed heartbreakingly...

"There was a bloody incident at the exchange? 27 people were seriously injured?" Before Joseph returned to the Palace of Versailles, he received a report from the Chief of Police, Besançon, in the carriage.

The latter nodded nervously: "Yes, Your Highness, there are more than 60 people who were slightly injured. It was all due to my improper handling..."

After asking about the details, Joseph simply reprimanded him and told him to clean up the mess with the people at the exchange as soon as possible. After all, he had seen before that the police force at the exchange was not weak.

After Besancon left, Joseph narrowed his eyes and said to himself:
“I didn’t expect the Dutch to be so greedy. They got there first before I even recognized the black government.

"But it's a good thing this way, after all this commotion, sugarcane will be even more in demand.

"Let's just implement that plan ahead of time."

The next day.

The Paris agricultural futures exchange has reopened after being suspended due to a brawl.

As the crowd rushed into the hall, they first saw that the number of police had more than doubled, and then they saw the director of the exchange standing on the counter that had just been repaired, and shouted:
"From now on, in order to facilitate settlement, those who purchase contracts in francs will have priority in trading!"

People were stunned.

Judging from the current popularity of trading, what is the priority trading?
It is impossible for someone without priority to buy a contract!
(End of this chapter)