Opening Day of Wool Sale at Auckland

Chronicle (Levin), 20 January 1948, Page 7

Opening Day of Wool Sale at Auckland

AUCKLAND, Jan. 19. * Top priee of 47^d per lb. was paid on tke opening day of the third Auckland wool sale of the 1947-48 season today. This was - for nine bales of fine Corridale wool grown on Ponui Island, purchased on behalf of- a South fsiand company which, together witli other locai interes.ts, fre'quentiy bought at prices'in excess of 4'0d. lt was the first occasion on which a wool sale in New Zealand has been deliberately broken up -into two days. Of a record total of 40,000 bales cata logued, only 19, '800 were oftered today. The remainder Will be put up for auction on Thursday. The huge increase in the sheei) population in the Nortn Island during the last decade, has led to this tvvo-day oxperimeiit wliich, it is lioped, xvould also lielp to allcviate the diliiculty "buyers have had in travelling about tlie country. There was a iull beneli of biiyers representing Bradford, Continental (including Germaii), American, Australian and New Zealand interests. Although the best bicls of the day, owing to the absence of Merino, were nowliei'e near tlie record price of 64_Id establisliecf in Dunedin just before Christnias or the 56d realised in Auckland in November, good quality wools continued to rnaintain higli values. A featuro of the day was tlie incrensed activity of Bradford buyers eompared with reeent saies iu other jiarts of the country. Contiuenial buyers sliowed marked interest in pieces and bellies a-nu toolc most of the short wool not suitable £or Bradford plants. Bidding was spiiited for bin wools. There was little to take the faiicy of tlie American representatives seeking halfbred wools for fine fabrics. Bidchng was parLicularly fast during tlie niorning and some of tlie buyers showed sigus of tension as keen cotnpetition forced values to higli levels. Only oue bale put up iu tlie dying stages of a iive-hour sessiou, faiied to attract a bid, it is estimated tliat the total yield from tlie sale will be betweeu £659,000 and £700,000. The xollmving ij: the otlicial -report of the Auckland Wbolbrokers' Association: There was a complete clearunce to eommercial buyers, no wool being takou over by the Wool Disposal Commission. Tne euering consisted of .hogget, V ,H! and weilicr wool with the usual percenlage of jd rxs, bellies and oddmente. The won! for this sale "Opened up well but coniaiued a fair proportion of dingy and oll'-coioured wools. Tlie wool this season, eonipared with last, is shorter in staple aud not so weli grown. There was a i'uU. bench of buyers rejiresent ativ e of all buying countrios. Competition wkis keen, Bradford lieing particularly aetive for ileece,. and tlie Coutinent predoaiinatiug with )*»ieces and oddments. Attractive liues of lialfbrea and fine erossbred were particularly keenly souglit after both by Bradford and the Dominion mills, the Iocal ) tnilla securing a .gpqd proportion of thesc lots. The officfal range of prices is as follow: — 7 , Southdown: Good lo super, -36d ■'to j 42]d; av.erage, 32d.to 34d: inferior, 2Ud ( to 31d. " • L j Fine Down-cross: Good to super, -3:5d i to 41d; average, 32d to 34] d: inferior, 29d to 31d. Down-cross: Good to super, 32d to 35'd: average, 27d to 30d. Extra fine Corriedale and halfbred: Good to super, 44;)d to 47|dj • average, 35d to 3 9 1 d . : Extra fine erossbred: Good to super, 31(1 to 34|d; average, 28d' to 30d; inferior, 25d to 27d. Fine erossbred: Good to super, 29d to 31d: average, 25d to 28d; inferior, 23d to 241d. Meuium erossbred: Good to super, 26d to 28(1; average, 23]d to 25 4d; inferior, 21 Ad to 231 d. Extra fine erossbred hogget (sliorn): Good to sujier, 32 d to 3Sld; average, 28d to 311(1; inferior, 24d to 27(1. Fine erossbred hogget (slioiui): Good to super, 30(1 to 3 3 ti; average. 25d to 29HI. Crosbred pieces: Good to super, 22d to 24]d; average, 18Jd to 21 id; inferior and seedv, lo]d to 18d. Orossbrerl bellies: Good to super, 19! d to 20]d; average, _ 17]d to 19]d; inferior and seedv,. 15d to 17d. Crosbred l.oeks;"T3d to 14d.