OUR ENGLISH WOOL LETTER.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14833, 26 November 1913, Page 4

OUR ENGLISH WOOL LETTER.

CROSSBRED WOOLS STEADY AND FIRM.

(epECUIXT WRITTEN TOR "THE PRESS.") BRADFORD, October 17. In dealing with the condition of N trade generally in the West Riding it. must bo said *that it is exceedingly difficult to describe accurately. The chief fact which presents itself is the- strong position held by the raw material, and although time after time complaints are made and arguments used which all have one object in view, the impressing upon the minds of wool buyers that they are paying too much, the same old story has to bo repeated. "Without exception every wool market in the world shows a record which is most remarkable, and the latest news which has been received from Australian selling centres has only further contributed to the anomaly of "the situation. We have sTot to the time of the year whejn manufacturing conditions may be expected to bo good, but many firms are far from busy, and the comparative absence of new business is the chief cause for there being so much difficulty in understandin" why the raw material itself should bo"so high in price. The knowledge that some Botany spinners are spinning to stock, tl;at combers are short of work with many sorters having been | dismissed, impresses the trado generally with the idea of the urgency of the need for such a readjustment of values and such developments of business as will lead to an ail-round improvement. WOOL STRONGER THAN TOPS OR YARNS. In dealing with matters immediately concerning the market, it may be said that the position there is fairly strong, topmakers, in spito of their somewhat awkward predicament, having not a littlo to do with this. Wool, so to speak, is behind them, they are bemg forced forward by it, consequently the unwillingness of spinners to accede to their demands does not result in any actual detriment to values so far as topmakers themselves are concerned. Values for all descriptions of tops are holding their own and attempts are being mado to gain an accession, but all to no purpose. Botany topmakers are meeting with only a moderate enquiry, and the demand for fine yarns from manufacturers of fine goods is now so small that any immediate development seems out of the question. It cannot be said that nothing is being done in crossbreds, for a small business is certainly passing, and none of the qualities of tops are really neglected, but so long as the home and export trade remains as it is, makers will have to contend with prices which leave little profit. Tho export market is only sending in orders for yarns in a, laggard fashion, this again making the outlook appear all the worse. One of the features of the export market is that business generally has to be done in oddments, and these lots now in demand are only large enough to show that buyers still wish to keep going. Prices are not being moved one fraction unless it be that 50's and 56 s are a shade firmer, but on the whole no more can be made. This, however, is not the only aspect of the case, and we are seriously disposed to ask whether the German trade, for instance, which has such an important bearing upon our oxports of wool/tops, etc., is quite as bad as some are disposed to make .it out to be Grumbling because trade is not as good as it has been or as those concerned would like to see it, be all right as a means of drawing attention to the facts of the case, but just as there is always tho reverse side of a coin, so there is always another side ac well as that on which complaint is made. To begin with, we haretiie operations of French and German buyers in Australian wool centres, and on top of this comes the activity in English wools for export to Germany. The quantity of wool grown in this country which was exported to Germany during the month of. September waT 710,9001b, tnis being . 268,*001b more than for tho corresponding month of last year. This increase is itself nearly half the total amount for September, 1912. Taking the first nine months of this year and last, for the purpose of making a further comparison we find that 6,401,0001bs of wool wero sent' out this year, a figuro which shows an increase of 873,2001b on last year. The data for tops is also.fairly encouraging. Tho total for September is 3,299,500, compared with 3,869,9001b for the same month a year ago. This is better than might have been expected, and the figures for the first nine months of this year and last are, if anything, more encouraging. Even if allowance is made for decreases to America, we think the above is eumcient to show that trade is not altogether dormant, and that if patience is exercised more will ultimately be done. MORE ENQUIRY FOR AMERICA. The saving element this week has been tho increased enquiry from America. It would have been better if something more tangible had come about, but a promise is always better than a refusal, and though thare is so far more enquiry than orders, the English wool market ac woll as the top trade has reason to be glad that transAtlantic buyers are on the look-ont. The position of holders of English wqols has •been rather strengthened by. the little business that has been, done, and euch strength as tops exhibit comes largely from the above-named source, nearly all qualities in both merinos and crossbreds having either been tested for price or commanded actual orders. Generally speaking. America looks like taking considerable weights of all descriptions of raw material, though many believe that with only 8 per cent. ; duty on tops some big shipments of these will be mado. . NEW ZEALAND CROSSBRED. 1 am unable to report anything more satisfactory regarding the position of Ivew Zealand wools. The anomaly is that wool itself is worth more as wool than when turned into tops. An explanation is not forthcoming from anyone, but we think it is chieSy due to the expectancy of a i>is trado with America in the course of the next few 'months. Tops are disappointing to a degree, and as for the yarn trade, tho less said the better. I do not think any section of the IJratU'ord trade At the present time is profitable, eimply because of the- relatively high- cost ot wool in tho combed and spun state. A new season is just opening in Buenos Ayres, and Bradford houses representing Buenos Ayres buying firms are quoting 133 d to 14id for clean eeoured c.i.f. Liverpool, which means Jd more in the top than can be made here to-day. I can easily buy a decent 40's prepared top at 15Jd in Bradford. | a price which is too low -v $d. Bradford i importers do not know what to do for the best, but when this letter arrives th» New Zealand sales will be on, and I fully expect tho raw material to be freely sold, although it is certain that many firms have lost money on last' year's baying. Still, wool will be | wanted, and probably America will straighten things out considerably, SHORTAGE IN THE 80UTH AMERICAN CLIP. I am now in a position to see the worth of some firm's calculations regarding the prospective clip of wool named above. Seme dissentient views were expressed' regarding tie estimated decrease in the lliver Plate clip for the wool year ending last September 30th, when last January the best firm in the trade in Buenos Ayres estimated a falling off of between 80,000 and 80,000 bales. I said at the time that this was monstrous because there was nothing to indicate it. Tho. winter had. been good, plenfy of rain had fallen, sbeep were in good condition, and there had been less export of frozen mutton and lambs during 1912.

How, then, could there P°^ such a huge falling off? ' We sf£ quite prepared for a shrinkage of between 30,000 and 40 000 baits, and said so at the time, expecting it to• £» largely brought about by the encroachment of the agnculturac upon pastoral areas there no doubt being considerably more land being put under grain culture where sheep wero once depastured We asked for tne reasons upon which such an estimate was based; but none were forthcoming. Since. I wrote last Messrs Staudt and Co. have cabled to their Bradford representatives full uarticulars, giving the shipments of Iliver Plate and Uruguayan wools for the year ending September 30th. 19f3, compared with the previous year, and which axe as follows:— Argentine Republic. Uruguay. Bales. Balrs. To October Ist, 1913 365,000 120,000 To the same period of last eeason ... 400,57.3 131,442 Decrease this year 35,575 11,442 Of the above quantities North America took:— Argentine Republic. Uruguay. Biles. Bn!os. To October Jst.lol3 30,000 2,750 To same period of last season ... 42,516 5,877 Decrease this year 12 516 3,127 STOCKS OF TOPS IN GERMANY. The Continental trade is being watched to-day very closely, and tho condition of the textile trade in the Fatherland has an important bearing upon colonial selling centres. I have to hand this week details respecting tho stocks of tops in German combing establishments up to September 30th. compared with August 31st, and September 30th of last year. They are as follows:— Sept. 30, An*. 31, Sept. 30, 1912. 1913. 1913. Kilos. Kilos. Kilos. Merinos .. 4,950,000 ■ 4,605,000 4,116,000 Crosabreds ~ 2,950,000 3,305,000 3,232,000 Total .. 7,900,000 8,110,000 7,318,000 Looking at the figures, we certainly think they are not bad, the stock of merinos being smaller at the end of last month than at the end of August by 698,000 kilos. Crossbreds also show a falling off to the extent of 73,000 kilos, a total decrease of 762,000 kilos. This is very satisfactory, and notwithstanding the unfavourable accounts which emanate from Saxony and other centres of textile industry in Germany, we are reliably informed that stocks of wool are in no sense largo, and that German spinners have this last fortnight sold considerable weights of yarns in Leicester nnd Nottingham among hosiery manufacturers, cutting out completely both French and Bradford spinne-s. . When the stocks of tops are compared with the corresponding date a year a£o, merinos show a decline of 834,0C0 Hies but ero-sbreds were largor '>- 5K9.000 lri!o« or a net decrease of 552,000 kros. The total stock on September 30th, 1911. was 10.000.0f10 kilo*, nnd nt the same date in 1910 7,900,000 kilos.