CUSTOMS RETURNS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18889, 3 January 1927, Page 10

CUSTOMS RETURNS.

CHRISTC'HURCH FIGURES. DECREASE FOR YEAR £11,227. In 192b the sum of £1,103,050 4s 6d was collected in Customs duties at Christchurch, a decrease of £11,227 13s od on the figures for 1925, when the total was £1,181,277 17s lid. There was also a decrease in the amount of beer duty collected, the figures for 192(j being £88,745 18s lid, and for 1925 £90,785 6s Id, a decrease of £2039 7s 2d. The following table shows the total amount of Customs duties and beer duties collected each month last year, the figures for the previous year being also given:— Net Customs.

December Quarter. The amount of Customs duties collected during the December quarter was £306,949 3s Od, compared with £339,424 14s lid for the corresponding period in 1925, while the amount of beer duty-collected was £23,873 0s 4d, compared with' £249,952 14s 2d. Levies. The following are details of meat export levies and butter and cheese levies for the year 1926, the figures for the previous year being also given:— Meat Export Levy. 1925. 1926. £ s d £ : s d January • ■ 244 60. '2-16 9 February ... 501 0 4 239 14 10 March 306 2 6 1,137 14 4 April ... 763 3 6 594 8 1 May ... 1,50-1 16 9 918 11 11 June ... 200 16 1 813 4 7 July 453 18 4 366 9 7 August :.. 634 9 1 731 8 2 September... 139 17 1 644 611 October ... 76 15 4 138 7 2 November ... 303 1 6 187 0 7 December ... 113 11 10 59 3 0 Totals £5,901 18 4 £5,833 5 11 Decrease for 1926 of £6B 12s sd. Butter and Cheese. Levy. 1925. 1926. ,-£ £sd January ... 191 11 3 244 9 2 February ... 389 911 133 11 8 March ... • 442 7 8' 299 9' 3 April ... 183 17 7 45 4 10 Mav ... 92 11 2 96 18 5 June 48 11 77 14 4 Julv ... .19.. olo'. 83 0 9 August ... 5 5 -11 25 10 September October ... November 167 .1 5 85 14 4 December ..,. 120. .8 11. ,147 7 5 Totals . . £1,660 0 9 £1.824 13 1 Decrease for 1926 of £335 7a BJ.

The amount of meat levies collected during the December quarter •' was £384 10s 9d, compared with £493 8s 8d for the corresponding period in .1925. a decrease of £IOB 17s lid,; and the amount of butter and cheese levies collected was £309 16s. compared with £287 10s 4d, an increase of £22 6s Gd.

FROZEN MEAT. (BV cable—press association—copybight.) UUSTBALIAH AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION.) (Received January 2nd, 11.5 p.m.) LONDON, January 1. Frojcn Mutton—Canterbury light 6jd, medium 6Jd, heavy 6d; North Island light 6id, medium 6d, heavy 5Jd; New Zealand ewes 4Jd; Australian firsts 4}d, seconds 4&d; Argentine light s}d, medium sd, heavy 4Jd, ewes 4}d; Patagonian, none offering.Lambs —Canterbury light 10id,, medium 9d, heavy 7Jd, seconds Bid; other selected North Islands, none offering; Australian firsts, Victoria BJd, others 7gd, seconds, Victorians 7|d, others 7Jd, thirds 7id; Argentine firsts, light Bid, medium 7d, seconds 7Jd, Patagonian, none offering. Frozen Beef—-New Zealand fores SJd, hinds 4d; Australian crops 8 Id, hinds 4d; Argentine fores Bid, hinds 4sd; Uruguayan, none offering. Chilled Beef—Argentine fores 31d, hinds s}d; Uruguayan, none offering.

Messrs Dalgety and Company,' Limited, have received . the following cabled advice from their London > Office:—Frozen lamb: The market is weak, and the demand limited. We quote prime crossbred lamb' Canterbury light 101 d, North Island light not quoted, Canterbury heavy 7}d, North Island heavy not quoted. For Australian lamb the market is wealc and the demand limited. We quotc Australian g.a.q. crossbred light 9d, heavy 6}d. Frozen mutton: Any change is in favour of sellers, and the demand is fair. We quote prime crossbred mutton Canterbury light Bid, North Island light fid, Canterbury heavy 51d, North Island heavy fid; for Australian the market is firm, and the demand better. We quote Australian g.a.q. crossbred light 4|d, heavy is not quoted. Frozen beef: The market for N.Z. beef is dull owing to the lack of demand. We quote N.Z. prime 'ox beef hinds 4d, fores Sid- Fork: Heavy stocks are accumulating We quote nominally for spot N.Z, 80/1001b average 9}d, 100/1201b average BJd, baconers 7Jd. It is difficult to interest buyers. The meat trade is generally quiet.

CEREALS. (BT CABLE—PBEB3 ASSOCIATION —COP7BIGHT.) (AUSTSAUAH AMD B.E. CAB LI ASSOCIATIOH.) (Received December Slat. 10.10 p.m.) LONDON, December 80. Wheat—Cargoes are in. quiet demand and quotations aio unchanged, parcels occasionally varying threepence ■to sixpence. Higher lots by the Moteton Bay brought 55s 7id, and lota by the Otira and Anchises soe 6d. Liverpool futures are:—December Us lid, March 10s 52d, May 10s 3jd. The spot trade is slow and mostly nominal. Flour—The market is quiet. Australian ex store is quoted at 445. Oats—The market is steady. Peas and beans are neglected. N.S.W. WHEAT CROP. SYDNEY, December 31. The Government statistician estimate the wheat harvest will yield 50,000,000 bushels, *hich on a value of 5a a bushel will be worth £12,500,000.

BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. (BT ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (AMTBALIA3 ATO _V.2 CABLZ ASSOCIATION.) LONDON, January 30. The following are the Bank of England returns for the week ended Wednesday:— lisue Department. £ Note - circulation .. .. 140,785,000 Notes in reserve .. .. 28,821,000 Total .. .. .. 169,606^)00 Government debt .. .. 11,015,000 Other securities .. .. 8,735,000 Gold coin and bullion .. .. 149,856,000 Total .. .. .. 169,606,000 Banking Department. £ Proprietors' capital .. .. 14,553,000 Rest .. .. .. .. 3,380,000 Public deposits .. .. 11,632,000 Other deposits .. .. 131,343,000 Seven-day and other bills .. 2,000 Total .. .. .. 160,910,000 Government securities .. .. 34,168,000 Other securities .. .. 96,659,000 Notes in reserve .. .. 28,821,000 Gold and silver coin .. ... 1,262,000 Total .. .. .. 160,910,000 Proportion of rese: ve to liabilities, 21.0 per cent. Short loans are quoted at 5 per cent., three months' bills at 4 3-16 per cent. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. LONDON, December 30. The following are the latest quotations foi Government securities compared with the

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES. LONDON, December 30. Tho exchange rates on London are as follows:r-' . _ _ Par. Dec. 23. Dec. 30. Paris, fr. to £1 .. 21.23* 182.25 122.63! Brussels, belgas to £1 5 34.88 34.83 Oslo, kr. to £1 .. 18.169 10.29 19.25 Copenhagen, kr to £1 18.159 18.21 ■ 18.19 Stockholm, kr. to £1 18.159 18.15 18.16 Berlin, Reichmarken to £1 •• •• Montreal, dol to £1 -1.862 4.858 4.85g New York, - dol to £1 4.86J 4.85 5-16 4.84 7-16 Yokohama, at to yen 24.5 24§ 24J Borne, ■ lire to £1 .. 25,22 i 108 107.63 Calcutta, st to rpo. 16 to gold £ 1715-16 18 Hong Kong, st. to dol. * 23J 23J Amsterdam fl. .. 12.107 d ' 12.131 12.123 Batavia. .. .. 'Governed by price of silver. WOOL. ! (Received December 31flt, 10.10 p.m.) LONDON, December 30. I'he Bradford wool tops market ehows the i effects of the holidays. Business is practically at a standstill, but the tone is fairly cheerful- Quotations are unchanged. c. DAIRY PRODUCE. (Received December 31st, 10.10 p.m.) LONDON, December 30. Butter—There is a good demand and prices are firmer. New Zealand controlled prices are 172s to 1745, unsalted 182s, best stored 164s to. 168s. Australian choi6est salted is quoted at 170e to 17'2s and unsalted at 1765. Danish is quoted at 184s. Choose—There is a better enquiry at lower prices. New Zealand is quoted at 93s and 91s; Eggs—The market io dull at 163 to 17s. Dalgety and Co., Ltd., have received the following cabled advice from London:—Butter: The market is firm, but little ia doing. We quote, Danish 178s to 182s, N.Z. Dairy Board minimum price finest 1745, first grade 1725, finest Australian unsalted 170s to 1725, salted 168s to 170s. Cheeße: .The market is quiet. .We quote N.Z. Dairy Board minimum prices white' or coloured finest 945, first 935, Canadian spot white 90s to 98s, coloured 90s to 98s. NEW CONVERSION LOAN. (Received December 31st, 19.10 p.m.) "1 LONDON, December 80. The Conversion Loan met with a favourable reception on the Stock Exchange, causing firmness in all gilt-edges. An attractive feature is tho sinking fund, purchases for which will improve the price of new etooik, while the probability of a generally down- , ward trend in interest rates will also make it ■ popular. i j WHEAT. | (Received January 2nd 11.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, December 31. Chicago wheat—December 135; May 1381, July 130 cents * bushel. SHARES. * (Received December 31st, 10.10 p.m.) LOUDON, December 30. P. and. O. Shares are quoted at £239. PETROL PRICES. The Vacuum Oil Co. announce that operative on and after to-day they are reducing the bulk prices of Plume motor spirits and Voco petrol l}d per gallon, making a differential of 3s per unit of 8 gallons between cased and .bulk price. This reduction does not affect cased petrols.

1925 1926 £ s d £ s d Jan. .. 96,791 2 5 71,309 12 9 Feb. .. 93,755 9 3 131,036 7 8 March 93,983 14 4 100,699 14 9 April .. 92,676 10 8 87,153 13 6 May .. 87,069 10 3 82,773 15 5 June .. 84,598 17 5 92,581 11 9 July .. 108,90-1 9 *7 77,677 16 3 Aug. .. 106,925 15 3 84,275 15 10 Sept. .. 77,147 13 10 127,790 13 7 Oct. .. 121,772 15 11 117,378 19 4 Nov. .. 112,420 5 5 95,834 16 2 Dec. .. 105,231 13 7 93,735 7 6 Totals £1,181,277 17 11 1,163,050 4 6

Beer Duty. 1923 1926 £ s d £ s d Jan. .. 7,674 14 9 7,580 5 1 Feb. .. 7,546 19 5 7,068 6 5 March .. 9,313 14 3 9,126 1 10 April .. 7,208 7 6 6,873 4 2 May .. 6,118 9 7 6,781 4 9 June 7,716 1 0 7,658 8 5 July 5,904 5 7 5,836 19 9 Aug. .. 6,363 14 5 7,733 4 2 Sept. .. 7,986 5 5 6,21o 4 0 Oct. .. 7.676 6 2 7,2J8 12 11 Not. .. 7,155 0 9 8,706 19 4 Dec. .. 10,121 7 3 7,947 8 1 Totals £90,785 6 1 88,745 18 11

prices ruling on December 23rd:— Dec. 23. Dec. 30 £ 8. 1 i. £ s. d. Imperial Consols, p.c. .. .. 51 0 0 H 0 0 War Loan, 5 p.c., 1924-47 .. ..100 10 0 100 12 6 War Loan, Si p.c.. 1325-23 .. .. 99 5 0 99 6 3 Conversion Loan, 31 P.O., 1921-47 .. 74 17 Commonwealth, 6 p.c., 6 75 2 6 1922-27 .. .. 103 0 0 103 0 0 Commonwealth, 6} p.c. 100 5 0 100 10 0 New Zealand, 6 p.c., 1936-51 .. .. 103 7 6 108 5 0 New Zealand, 4 p.c., 1929 .. .. 97 0 0 97 2 6 New Zealand, 3} p.c., 1940 .. .. 85 0 0 85 5 0 New Zealand, 3 p.c., 1945 .. .. 76 7 6 76 5 0 New South Wales, 6§ p.c., 1930-40 .. 103 2 6 103 5 6 New South Wales, 6 p.c., 1930-10 .. 100 7 6 100 7 6 New South Wales, 6J p.c., 1922-23 .. 99 17 6 99 17 6 New South Wales, 4 p.c., 1938 .. 89 15 0 90 0 0 New South Wales, 3 p.c , .. .. 82 7 6 81 5 0 New South Wales, 3J p.c. . .. " 0 69 17 6 Victoria, 5 p.c. .. 100 12 6 100 17 6 Victoria, 64 p.c., 1930-40 97 7 6 97 7 6 Victoria, 4} p.c., 1921-26 92 7 6 92 10 0 Victoria, 3J p.c., 1920-43 76 10 0 76 7 6 Victoria, 3 p.c., 1928-40 70 0 0 70 0 0 Queensland, 6 p.c., 102 10 1930-40 .. .. 102 10 0 0 Queensland 31 p.c., 92 0 1930 .. .. 92 5 0 0 Queensland, 3 p.c., 6 67 0 1922-47 .. .. 66 17 U South Australia, &} p.c., 1930-40 103 6 0 103 12 6 South Australia, 3J p.c., 1939 . .. 81 10 0 82 0 0 South Australia 3 p c., 1916, or after .. 59 0 0 58 17 6 West 'Australia 6 p.c., 1930-40 •• •• 101 0 0 101 0 0 West Australia, 3} p.c., 86 12 6 1920-25 .. .. 85 15 0 West Australia, 3 p.c., 1915-35 .? .. 83 2 6 84 0 0 Tasmania, 6J p.o., 104 15 1930-40 .. 1CH 10 0 0 Tasmania, 3J p.c., 82 0 1920-40 .. 81 17 6 0 Tasmania 3 p.e., 77 0 0 1920-10 .. .. .77 0 0