LONDON SALES HEARTENING

Chronicle (Levin), 20 December 1946, Page 2

LONDON SALES HEARTENING

fSnccial Corrcspondent.)

SEARCHING TEST FOR NEW ZEALAND WOOLS

Ileceived Thursdav, 7 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 19. New Zealand wools have just emerged from oue of the most searching tests ' imaginable at the recent London wool saies when 22,000 bales of vnrious crossbreds were oiTered on descfiption in oue session. Tliey caiue through with flying colours. Orowers sliould not think this was designed to bring down prices. In vi'ew of the big weights of wool now olfering in Britain it is impossible to catalogue widely varied seJections at ; each sale. The tondeney is for wool from oue Dominion to prcpondcrate in oue catalogue. On some occasions up to ,19,1)00 "bales of Australiau wool have been sold here in a dav and it is merel} 1 a mattor of seijuence that the London wool saies closed at the week-end with a description sale of New Zealand wools of all types, chieflv comprising 9000 bales of greasy, 3000 bales oi scoured wools and 10,000 bales oi slipes. it would have been a heartening experience for growers could they have seen the general readiness witli which this big offering was absorbed, largely by the Home woollen trade, at prices nicely ahove niinimtuu. reserves i'or all good bulky wools with any style about them. Only in shahhy and inferior sorts were the Joint Organisation reserves reached and even so the hulk of the wool, some of which was 3 and 4 years old, moved at these prices. The only wools which realiy rlragged were very short clothing slipes and shahhy inferiors in other styies. Now that the sclling scason in Britain ha» closed until the New Vear. it cnn be said that several wool trade prophcsies have been confounded in the past few months. Wool, as a marketable eonunodity, ]>roved much stronger t hau ma ny expected. Bome cxpecte.l that after Ihe lirst urgent necds had been satis(iel at Ihe early auctious. the Dominion 's wool prices generally would set t io down to something vei'y nenr ininimum reserve le\'els, but that developmeut has taken place onlv in shabby and inferior wools while all types possessing style and quality have maintained prices appreciably aliove iniuinnun reserves. Current wool prices present ce-rtain problems to British manufaeturers. j They have to tit the controlled prices of wool clotli in tlie British market which are so much higher tinui Avhen wool was solliug at pro-Julv prices. But it is evident that otlier eountries— : bot.h Continental and America — are willing to pay ino ro tlian these lixed • prices for wool now in the open market. The eiul of this phase of the selliug season, thereforc, sees the "British j nianufacturer wi'tli the unsolved prob I lem of liow to fit controlled clotli prices ! with the wool price which is buoyaut ■ in face of a spirited world demand and j which, i li good style wool at any rate, shows no indication of lieing available ! at prie.es at which it offieially sold six i months ago. Traders are. expected lo j ask tlie authorities to revise tlie con- | trolled clo'th prices to enable the industrv to buy wool more freely at current open market . prices. .