Weekly Report On British Wool Market

Chronicle (Levin), 13 April 1949, Page 9

Weekly Report On British Wool Market

./•' . LONDON, April il. f "Gnijted Kingdom market condition s are difBcult following conflicting wool market reports, and tbe general tendency here is eaSier,, sta'tes the Inter-; hatiohal "Wool Secretariat special news service. The Melbourne, Bri-s-bane and New Zealand wool markets gre all slightly cheaper but the London saies reopened fully firm to slightly dearer . compared "with last week. Some Yorkshire and Continental firms are believed to have transferred part bf thelr buying to the spot market to eecnre quicker access to wool as the result of Dominion shipping delays. It is also reported that substantial buying of crossbred wool for Germany fs in progress at the "current London saies, under the recently concluded Anglo-German trade agreement which provides for relatively large German yool purcbases here in the next few months. On the other hand France is reported well atocked with wool and buying little here or abroad. : Yorkshire confidence in good style Merino wool. remains unimpaired by this week's easier note in the Dominion markets but top quotations take account of slightly cheaper Merino wool prices in Australia and Soutn Afri'ca and Merino tops are a pemiv to two pence per lb. cheaper, Inferior:.tops from shabby and heavy burfy wool, are available at evea .lower prices and represent a market feature owing to the relatively large quantities of faulty -wools now being marketed under the stock liquidation scheme. It is important to distinguisb .between good style and faulty tops and the'" price' ease is most marked in the latter. Business here is in small yolume • a-s many spinners* think they will buy more cheaply later. On the other hand mahy large importing !bo.uses. are more interested in buying Wool than selling tops and do not lack Confidence at to-day's woo-1 market prices. i Bradford is paying premium prices for spot wopl hecause »her ma'chinery is. still working at pressure and using yool ;in excess of current imports but she also has a long term buying programme for the Dominion markets and is " uninfluenced by variations in the Continental demand, due to credit Or other factors. There are no accumulations of either wool or tops in Britain, so well does manufacture keep p&ce with wool processing, and this denotes the need for continued wool buying.