COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16144, 23 February 1918, Page 7

COMMERCIAL.

V (By Cable. —Press Association.—Copyright.) (Australian and N. 2. Cable Association.) BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. LONDON, Fobruary 21. The Bank of England returns for the week ended "Wednesday, February 20th, with those for the previous week, are as follows: — Feb. J3. i'eb. 20. £ x Com .. .. 57,825,000 57,430,000 Reserve .. .. 21,332,000 30,711,000 Proportion of reserve to liabilities .. 18.9G 18.62 Circulation .. .. 46,061,000 46,207,000 Government deposits 39,011,000 38,562,030 Other deposit® .. 126,265,000 131,879,000 Government securities 50,850,000 55,351,000 Other securities ~. 93,667,000 101,441,000 Short loans, 3J- per cent.; three months' bills, 3J per cent. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. Tho following are the latest quotations for Government securities, with a comparison with those ruling last week:—

CEREALS. "Wheat and Flour—Business is restricted. No colonial is offering. 'Oats and Peas—The market is ed.Beans—Steady business is doing. SUGAR. The market is unchanged. DAIRY PRODUCE. Butter—The market is at a standstill pending the commencement of rationing on Monday. Cheese—Distribution is proceeding very slowly. RABBIT-SKINS. (Received February 22nd, 8.50 p.m.) L'ONDON, February 21. Annings report that at the auctions 807 bales -were offered, and met excited competition. All wero sold. Low qualitiei3 were 50 per cent, and best 75 per cent. ,above July rates. Australian furriers' skins sold at the record price of 12s 6d per pound. MELBOURNE MARKETS. MELBOURNE, February 22. Barley—English, 4s lOd fo 5s 2d; Capo, 3s 3d. Oats—Milling"-. 3s to 3s Id ; feed, 2s lOd to 2s lid. Potatoes— £3 to £5 10s. Onions—£s to £5 15s. GRAIN AND PRODUCE MARKETS. (by oxje commercial editoe.) Friday Evening. The purchase of wheat is going on steadily, though more would have been offering had it not been for the -wet weather delaying threshing. Oats are scarce, as the mills are devoting most of their time to threshing wheat. There is a keen demand for oats to fill orders for delivery next month, and prices are firmer. Gartons are now worth 3s 6d to 3s Bd, and Algerians, Duns, and Danish 3s 3d to 3s 6d at country stations. Oatsheaf chaff is also scarce on account of chaffcutter owners being engaged in threshing. From £3 15s to £4 ss, according to quality, are the ruling prices at country stations. There is more enquiry for grass seed owing to the quantity damaged shortening the expected supply. Up to 4s 6d has been paid for extra prime heavy ryegrass. Cocksfoot is very firm in consequence of the crop having been damaged by damp iveather on the Peninsula. There is not much business being done in potatoes, few outside orders having yet been received. The best price now offering for present and forward delivery is £3 5s at country stations. A fair amount of business is being done in onions at £3 15s at country stations. . The following are the prices paid to farmers at country stations, free cf commission, sacks extra, except where otherwise stated:— Milling wheat, according to Government price. South Island, JanuaryFebruary, and March 5s lOd, April 5s 10jd, May os lid, June 5s llja, July 6s, August 6s Ojd, f.o.b. North Island 4d additional. Oats—Algerians. Duns and Danish 3s 3d to 3s 6d, Gartons 3s 6d to 3s Bd. Barley—ss 6d to 5s 9d. extra prime to 6s, medium 5s to 5s sd. Flour—£ls per ton; 1001b bags £15 10s; 501b bags, £15 15s; 251b ba^s' £16. Bran—£3 10s per ton. Pollard—£6 15s per ton. Oatmeal—2slb bags, £22 per ton. Oatsheaf Chaff—New chaff £3 15s to £4 ss, for immediate delivery, and £3 10s for forward delivery. Cocksfoot—lOid to Is per lb. Ryegrass—23lb to' 261b seed 3s 6d to 4s, extra prime lieavv seed to 4s 6d lighter seed 2s 6d to 3s. ' Onions—Main crop £3 15s. Potatoes—Early varieties £3 5 3 f or present or forward delivery. DAIRY PRODUCE. There are no changes to note in dairy produce. "Wholesale prices are: Butter —Factory Is 6d net, farmers' separator Is Id. clairv Is. Cheese—Factorv lOd, daily 9d, loaf 9Jd. Bacon—Sides Is 2clj rolls Is i*d, hams Is 3d.

? Honey—Extracted 6d per lb. r Eggs—ls od per dozen. - FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. Supplies of vegetables are equal to requirements. Local outdoor crown 3 tomatoes are now coming in freely, f ! Regular daily consisnmems of peaches _j are coming to hand from Central Otaga. but apricot- supplies are now r exhausted. Consignments of blaekj berries are arriving from the West Coast, and are selling well. A shipment of oranges and bananas is due shortly. The wholesale average prices j during the week were:— Apples, dessert, 6s to Ss per ease, j cooking 3s 6d to 4s 6d. 'Frisco lemons. ; 36's. 50s. Bon Chretien pears 4s to i! Os, plums 2s to 3s, apricots 3d to 4d i j per lb, nectarines, choice 4d to 3d, - medium 3d to 4d, peaches, choice yd i to -Id. medium 2d to 3d, local hot--5 house tomatoes 2'.d to 4d. outdoor lid 5 to 2id. - French beans Id per lb. broad t beans 2s per bag, beet Sd to lOd per . dozen bundles, carrots 6d to 9d, par- - snips 9d. spring onions 6d. rhubarb Is t 6d. turnips 6d. cabbages 9d to 2s Sd • per dozen, cauliflowers, large 3s to 4s > 9d, medium Is to 2s, lettuce 6d to t 9d, marrows Is 6d to 2s 6d, cucnmk hers Is per box. celery 6d per bundle, t green peas ].0d to is 3d per peck, . potatoes 5s to 6s per cwt. onions 7s , to Bs. LEESTON STOCK SALE. The fortnightly stock sale was held at Leeston yesterday in ideal weather. There was a good attendance for this season of the year, and a fair entry of* stock. Prices for fat sheen and cattlo were exceptional!v good, store sliccd improved slight!v in consequenco of tho recent rain, fat pigs were not selling as briskly as at recent sales, the Prime Minister's announcement that a maximum prico was to be fixed for bacon having something to do with the fixing of values. 1 _ The sheep sales included tho following :—_For a client, 4G merino ewes at 14s, 157 forward store lambs at 20s Id; T. J. Gilbert, 30 aged ewes at lis; S. Graham, 21 ewes at 16s, 6 lambs at 24s 2d; Anderson Bros. 18 sound-mouth fat 1 ewes at 33s lid: G. W. P.. Osborne, 297 1 store lambs at 20s; L. R. Barnott. 20 , lambs at 29s 6d. 16 ewes at 25s (>'< l, 9 J wethers at 325. 49 wethers at 28s 9d ; A. i McPherson, 37 lambs at 28s; J. McCari ten, 13 wethers at 335; TV. Bowes 87 i lambs at 22s 7d, 88 ewes at 16s 3d. 1 Bacon pigs brought 7ls (xl to 105s <3d, choppers to 925. porkers from 40s, large stores 49s to 60s, small from 19s. Fat cows brought £10 10s to £10 12s 6d, store cows to £7 ss. springers to £12 ss, storo heifers £7 7s 6d, calves* £2_ 3s to £5. A line of 33 steers and heifers, ranging from 18 months to two years, passed at £9 7s Od. CLEARING SALE. Dalgetv and Co., Ltd., held a clearing sale on account of Mr F. H. D-avie, ' Rotoiti, Scargill, when the following prices were realised :—Sheep—l3o twotooth halfbred ewes at 40s, 166 four- , tooth ewes at 40s, 187 owe lambs at 30s 3d, 300 four and five-year-old ewes at i 335. 128 wether lambs' at 22s 6d, 184 full-mouth ewes at 255, 90 fat ewes at 27s 6d, 170 fat lambs at 26s 9d, 61 fourtooth ewes at 40s, 108 six-tooth ewes at 40s, 274 three-quarterbred lambs (mixed sexes) at 24s 9d, 5 two-shear halfbred rams at Sjgs, 5 three-shear Corriedale rams at 4-Jgs. Cattle—Shorthorn bull 22gs. milch cows £14 ss, £16, £15 10s, 4 heifers at £12 2s 6d to £14, 4 vearling; steers at £6 17s 6d, 3 steers at £14 2s 6d. Horses—Aged draught mare £16. sevenyear gelding £23. four-year gelding £29, four-year mare £35. 2 three-yoar geldings £13, mare.£24 10s, aged pony £18. TIMARU MARKETS. (special to "the press.") TIMARU, - February 22. . Practically no business has been done m milling wheat this week, owing to threshing operations having been delayed by the rain. Tho extent of the damage thus caused will not be known until the first of the next lot of wheat comes on to the market, hut it is believed that most of tho Tuscan which was in stoolc will bo moro or loss sprouted. Thore is a good demand- -for fowl wheat, but none is offering. Tho "Wheat Controller was in Timaru to-day, and held a meeting of local brokers, when a good *■ many points, about which there was doubt, wero cleared up. Oats have firmed considerably, but there is practically none offering, and by all appearances the quantity available will be little more than, if as much as, last season. At all events, it is significant that farmers who had thought they would have oats to sell ara now enquiring for feed lines to buy. Algerians are quoted nominally at 3s 6d, D-uns at 3s 5d to 3s Bd, and Gartons 3s 6d to 3s 9d, on trucks, country stations, sacks extra. Oatsheaf chaff is in strong demand, but very little of suitable quality is offering. It is worth about £4 10s on trucks, country stations, for good, bright samples, sacks found by buyers. Potatoes are not yet enquired for for shipment, and it will be some weeks before they will be wanted in any quantity. It remains to be seen what havoc blight has wrought amongst the crops. It is assumed that the disease will have checked the late sown crops, with the result that the tubers_ will be very gmall, while the better earlier sown crops'will have suffered through unfavourable weather. There is a little more ryegrass offering. The market maintains late values. A line of Italians is reported to hav6 been sold at 4s 6d, on trucks, at a country station, but th© general quotations for Italian are from 3s to 4s. Some heavy-weight seed is changing hands at 4s to 4s 6d, on trucks, countrv stations, whilst lighter and discoloured lines are hard to sell at 2s 9d to 3s 6d. It is early yet for red clover. The indications aro that a fair acreage will be locked up for seed, but whether it will all mature in such unsettled ther as is being experienced is doubtful WTiita clover m the rough is worth 9d to is 3d per lb. PRICE OF BACON ANI> HAM. (TRESES ASSOCIATION' TELEGRAM.) t WELLINGTON, February 22. A Gazette" Extraordinary announces txiat tho maximum price of bacon and ham, when sold by th© manufacturer, has been fixed at the standard price thereof on December Ist, 1917. BAKER BROS. WEEKLY LETTING REPORT. Baker Bros, advise having let the fallowing properties during the past week :—On account Mr Goggan, house, Hereford street, to Mr Knight; on account owner, house, 11 Peacock street, to Mrs "White; on account owner, house, 201 Fitzgerald avenue, to Mr Iggo; on account Mr Ruthberg* house, Osborne street, to Mr Bradley; on account Mr Kirk, house, Kingsley street, to Mr Fergerson; on account Mr Chrystall, house, Stanmore road, to Mr Brown; on account Mrs Maddison, house, Holly road, to Mr Pedder. 9015 CHRISTCHURCH STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY'S TKAXSACTIOXS. Sale reported:—Kaiapoi "Woollens, £6 19s. LATEST QUOTATIONS.

Price Pric3 last week, to-day. £ B. d. £ b. d. 25 per cent. Imp. Con. .. 51 10 0 54 10 0 5 per cent. War Loan .. 03 10 0 93 7 6 8 per cent. War Loan .. 86 10 0 86 5 0 N.S.W. 4'e, 1939, Jan.-Jlv. 82 2 6 82 5 0 N.S.W. 3A'e, 1930-5J, ilcfi.Sept. .. .. 69 15 0 71 5 0 N.S.W. 3J'e, early currency .. .. 99 2 G 99 5 0 N.S.W. 3's, 1326, Apl.-Oct. 70 17 6 69 13 6 Vic. 4'e, 1929, Jaji.-Jly. 96 2 6 9G 10 0 Vic. 3i's,1921-26, Jan.-Jly. 85 10 0 85 17 6 Vic. 3$'s, 1929-49, Jan.-Jjy. 70 7 6 70 0 0 Vic. 3's, 1929-49, Jan.-Jly. 63 10 0 62 5 0 Qland. 4'e, 1915-29, Jan.Jly. .. .. 91 0 0 91 0 0 Qland. 3Vs, 1921-30, Jan.Nor. .. .. 88 15 0 89 0 0 3 a, 1922-47, Jan.Jly. ... .. 62 2 6 62 5 0 N.Z. 4'a, 1920, May-Nov. 86 12 6 86 12 6 3£'b, 19-10, Jan.-Jly. 72 15 0 73 2 6 N.Z. 3's, 1945, Apl.-Oct. 63 5 0 63 5 0 S.A. 3i's, 1939. Jan.-Jly. 72 10 0 72 10 0 S.A. 3's, 1916 or after, Jam-JJy. .. .. 56 15 0 57 0 0 Tea, 3i's, 1920-40, Jan.- „ Jly- .. 71 2 6 71 7 6 Tas. 3 s, 1920-40, Jan.-Jly. 65 0 0 65 0 0 W.A. 3J's, 1920-35, MayNov. ' .. 71 12 6 76 7 6 W.A. 3's, 1915-35, May- .. .. 69 5 0 69 5 0

Buycri. Sellers. £ e. d. £ a. d. BANKS— National 3 7 6 — BREWERIES— Manning .. ,. 0 0 0 — COAL— Westport-Stocklon .. — 0 9 1 GAS— Christchurcli .. .. — G 1 0 INSURANCE— Standard ,, •> — 2 2 0 MEATS— Canterbnrr .. .. 9 5 0 9 12 6 SHIPPING— Huddart-Parkcr .. 1 16 9 — MISCELLANEOUS— N.Z. Farmers' Co-op. .. — 2 3 0 Papuan Products .. 0 2!) — "Weeks, Ltd. .. ... 5 H 0 — MINING— Taliamiin .. .. — 0 9 10 "Waihi Gxand Jimctioa !—• 0 14 a