LONDON WOOL SALES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 461, 20 March 1909, Page 8

HUCES STEADY AND FIRM. (FROM OUIt SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, February 5, 1009. Another good week lias to be chronicled in Coleman Street Wool Exchauge, the sales having bucked np somewhat sinco 1 last wrote.. Last Holiday more buyers came on to the scene, some having stopped away thinking that they would get cheaper wool the last..week. It is really surprising after three weeks of hard, continuous toil with large oilerings tlint wool should be snapped up as it is, but it just shows that notwithstanding very heavy direct arrivals, prices remain steady and firm. Evidently the trade luis confidence in to-day 3 rates, for all sections are buying most liberally, and particularly the Homo and Continental. America is evidently disposed to maintain its reserve in regard to merinos right .to the finish, its principal operations centring around medium and coarse crossbreds, some good quantities being taken. New Zealand clips will considerably benefit where tho wools have been light enough for that market, and the Home trade has given splendid support to all classes of erossbrecls. Looking at merinos, Yorkshire buyers this last few days have operated very extensively ill fine wools, and have paid somo really good prices. Fine super greasy lambs have sold lip to Is. lUd., several lots making from Is. 6d. to Is. lid. Tliero lias been a splendid display every day of medium to combing wools, anil this has found the Continent also very active. The clips from New South Wales and Victoria have been very good, whilo tho bull; of the. Queenslands have been. in .the scoured state, though two or three good clips from the Darling Downs and Mitchell districts' have cut a leading figure. AY est Australian wools have bulked very largely, topmakers being keen upon thein, and practically taking the entire lot. Good scoured wools seem to ns as cheap as anything on the market. Capes have sold just about on a level with last week, tho longest grease combing soiling readily, while tlie short, wasty fix month? Parcels have very frequently to be withdrawn. - Taking the sales as a whole, a good tone still prevails, competition is extremely keen and animated, and prices genorally have got back to the opening week for the best classes of faulty, shabby wools, both in grease and scoured, still being down par to 5 per cent. SOUTH AFRICAN WOOLS. This series there has been catalogued some of the best clips that are grown in South Africa, only one lot making lid. for grease combing, and perhaps lialf-a-dozon more lOd. and 10Jd. Such figures look rather small compared to 12d. to 13d. which i? a very ordinary price for Australian wool, but even lOd. for Capes is not to bo despised. Evidently the Western Province, ani} Kaffraria produce tho best clips, and buyers .have noticed with pleasure that a better attempt has been made on somo of the' clips grown in the Adelaide district to send the, wcol ito market skirted and classed in Australian fashion. Look we will, there, is undoubtedly proceeding throughout tho wliolo of the Cape, as well as in the Orange liivey Colony, the/Transvaal, and Natal, a more progressive policy, tho largo imports during tho past two years of somo of .Australia's best stud stock.being a move in the right direction. Nobody grumbles to-day about the quality of South African merinos, but there is room for improvement both in length, density, and shaftiness. of the wools. They aro already heavy enough in grease, most of the wools being somewhat excessively fatty, or volky. We hardly know how it is going :to be done, but a lighter condition in ninety per cent, of tlie clips would be; a vast improvement, besides causing as much money to flow into the pockets of tho growers. Then shearing twice a year is a curse and not a blessing, for while this series wools o£ nice length liavo sold readily, short, mushy, wasting Capes have been a' So long as there is an ample supply of-even twelve months' grown wools ; from'Australia of even second rato character, 1 they are bound to adversely influence the sale or six months' Capes. The agricultural officials in each of the respective Governments aro no doubt doing their .very best tu eradipato scab,- and thiswould undoubtedly be "a boon and blessing" to th« entire trade. Wherever this .insidious disease exists the wools of that country always suffer, and it is to be hoped that the day \V' ot fa F distant when scab, throughout Souti\ Africa will be a thing of tlio\past. The writer has maintained, for years that if the Capo wcol trade is ever to rise to the. position it ought, it will have ta be done by tho.iindividual woolgrowers of tlie vljolo colony', • and when the rait, niateri il is all,owed to grow twelve months, and then prepared for marktet "J , A \ ,s,:r ' l ' iau fashion, it will be the beginning of better days for tho whole of South Africa's pastoral industry. BARELY STEADY.;

- Since writing last, conditions in Bradford liave' not assumed altogether a satisfactory state, quotations having fallen a trifle. The last market day of. last week anything but iirmness .characterised topmakers, all aliko having shaded quotations about'ld. Kven that has not been sutficient to induce any speculalion, and the turnover has been very limited. London s partial weakness has done no good whatever, and the reported firming up of wuol has not yet inspired, a great amount of confidence ill the future. It looks to the most experienced as if 'prices for the timo being had touched the highest point, and that we are in for a marking-time movement. Topmakers who are ■at present receiving some very largo quantities of direct imports—bought at decidedly less prices than vliat are current.in Coleman Street' to-day—are disposed to meet a customer, and to sell at a reasonable profiti" Even at\23d. for super GO's (op importers find? there is a very reasonable margin, and they are going to sell-if-they get the chance. New contracts seem to bo scarce, but that can only.■ he - expected. No doubt if the price of snptr GO's (ops got back round 22d. there would again be another gflod buy, but for the next two months it looks as if wool will go readily into consumption, and deliveries will bo miide to completo the contracts fixed up last year. 'So long as the raw material is shii'tcd, nobody need care, and. as far as one can see, wliilo business may not be as good as desired, still wool will be shifted, and that is the satisfactory feature of to-day's market. .Crossbrcds are slow, and prices have again got back round a shilling for -10's, and less is being taken generally a good top. There is really 110 now feature, in (his department. Commission woolcombers are not so busy here as those combing merinos, and on the whole there is plenty of room for improvement. The prospect of-very adequate supplies of crossbreds is 110 doubt causing users to manifest 110 keenness to.opsrato, for there is still slackness among many spinners of crossbred yarns. .Some shipments are being made in carding "descriptions to the Continent, and the outlook here is no worse than it was, but'spinners say 'hat particulars come to hand in anything but u satisfactory way. Mohair is very slow, thfre being practically no demand for either Cape firsts or' Turkey average, the best to sell being Turkey matching, which is very scarce.