OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 811, 7 May 1910, Page 15

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

OUTSTANDING FEATURES OF THE SERIES. (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, March 25, 1910. Tho second series camo to a finish Inst Wednesday, and Coleman Street no longer resounds with tho shouts of an excited crowd of men bidding frantically for wool. Only about 8500 bales have been carried forward, thus showing that tho trade has absorbed something like 132,500 bales. This is a good meal, considering what is going direct into manufacturing districts, and for the time being men have- had 'enough. ' One cannot' but feM a little disappointment at the comparative quietness of America, aiid absorbing only GOOO bales is just half what they bought in January. Buyers from' across tho Atlantic purchased quite as much as I expected, and the wool will certainly be cheaper than what they bought at at the first series. It is now evident they came to London with lower limits, one buyer affirming that medium and coarse crossbreds sold during the recent interval.at 3 to 5 cents per clean scoured pound cheaper than' .at. the beginning of tho year. ' American manufacturers cannot afford to pay more than a market price, and thero is no doubt when 5Jd. per lb. duty is added to greasy wool, it makes the raw material look comparatively dear. This certainly is -a, very expeditious way 'of furnishing the exchequer of the Government, , and' the British public would soon bo up in arms if its manufacturers had to pay anything like such an import price before they handled the wool. However, that is tho American method of doing business, and so long as its populace is satisfied I expect outsiders have nothing whatever to do with it. The leading 1 ' feature of tho series has been the backward move in. medium and coarse crossbreds, and it is a pitv ■ that we have had any rebound at afl. Of course, this really is the direct outcome Of what took place in January. Half a dozen buyers wanting tho same article can soon make Id. to 2d, per lb. difference in the price of that material, and that is exactly what took place at the first series. We all know that American buyers bid ljd. per lb. moro than what either Bradford or German buyers could afford, and now when the present requirements of those parties are satisfied, lower limits have brought about the inevitable decline. HoweVer, this check can bo the means of doing far more good than harm, for certainly in face of new American and English domestic clips, a little readjustment in values. Was an absolute necessity. . Many a mail shudders, to think that if present prices are going to obtain when :the English new clip has to ho tackled, it will be a very serious affair, for with a rise of 2d. to 3d. per lb. during the year, it simply means. merchants and users will be placed in a very uncomfortable and,somewhat dangerous position. Even wool, can be. bought too'dear, and above its real intrinsic- value, and When that obtains.such a state of affairs never continues for long. The series are ever, the air has been cleared, and We see Once more where Wool actually stands.

/THE SOUNDNESS OP MERINOS. Nothing, but satisfaction can be er. pressed Over the course of merinos! They began Well, continued in a satisfactory way, and finished with the saiiie degree, of strength. When One takes cognisance of the fact that very heavy direct imports are going weekly into,tho hands of Continental and English users, it is a little Surprising that fine wool should havo sold so ufiskly, but it proves two things— namely, first, that users must be very largely sold'forward; and,, second, they have faith in the present range of values. I havo often thought it would be interesting if it-was * possible to know the amount of forward business which is done in a centre like Bradford or Roribaix, but reliable information cannot be extracted from any single authority. All that men make are simply broad, general statements, ; and one has to infer a great deal from,-what .they see on the surface. Howeverv-the free way in which fine wool has moved out of hand has been eminently satisfactory, and thero are iio stocks to carry forward. It is hard to say which .'section of'the tirade has been the most active, Germany has played a prominent part ■ almost - every day; Prance has bucked up wonderfully during the past week, while the Home trade has all through given excellent support both to combing and clothing sorts. There is, no doubt, a very big consumption of merinos,. and the raw material has been supported itt a most encouraging way. . The. selection has been on the whota fairly good, although perhaps hardly so' high class, as we had pub' mitted at the two previous series, but for all that good, sound, well-grown, attractive parcels have been numerously catalogued/ During the sales a fair

freight of speculator's WOOI9 have been catalogued, and they have met with n somewhat mixed reception. Adelaide wools have not done over well; in fact, a largo number of the best parcels halve had to be taken in owing to the wool showing no profit. An importer to-day wants lid. per lb. over the colonial cost price if ho is to, get out with a small profit, but somehow, these deep stapled, broad, shafty Adelaide wools are not selling like Victorian, New South Wales, or even Queensland parcels. • Evidently: the majority of users want quality, and with there being an absence of American buying, these Adelaide, imports have not fared too well. I reckon if there had been any Boston competition, clips like Canowio, Bundaleer North, Tjlooloo, Rhine Park, and Hawker Bungaree \vould ' have easily made 13Jd., . whereas 12{d. has been the top price paid. Perhaps the broad, deep stapled, 6hafty West Australian.' wools have .somewhat' militated against the sale of these Adelaide clips, but this series will no doubt see the last of the West Australian clip, consequently, the shafty South Australian wools will" do better at the July and September sales, when there is certain to I be a scarcity of this class of material.

CHANGES SEEN. When compared 'with tho close of the January series; the following alterations have taken place :—Grease merino, superior, par ; greased merino, good, 5 to 1\ per cent, higher; grease merino, medium, 5 per cent, higher; grease merino, inferior, par; 6coured merino, superior, 5 to 7i per cent, higher; scoured merino, medium, 5 per cent, higher; scoured merino, inferior, 5 per cent, higher; grease merino lambs, good,' 5 per cent, higher; grease . merino lambs, inferior, par; grease nrossbrcd lambs, par to 5 per cent, higher; grease crossbred, fine, par; grease crossbred, medium bright, 10 per cent, lower; grease crossbred, medium ordinary, 5 per cent, lower; grease crossbred, coarse bright, 71 per cent. low.ef; grease crossbred, coarse ordinary! 5' per cent, lower; sliped crossbred, par; scoured crossbred, par. GENERAL 'SOUNDNESS IN EVI- ; . DENCE. The general impression at the close of the sales was that on the whole tho series have been good, and that prices are resting on a very firm foundation. The fact of merinos advancing at. all has exceeded the expectations of the majority. Many - thought that possibly we should see an occasional advance of 5 per cent., but as the series developed tho improvement became more pronounced and wools sold splendidly. ' At no time was there the least hesitancy, all sections aliko being keen upon ,buying fine wools. Quality seems to have been an outstanding feature of tho series, and anything well grown and fine has sold partitmlarly well. America has boon quiet, simply becnuso they have bought enough in the colony to satisfy their requirements for the next six months, and the very fact of a fair weight of imports being intercepted and offered in London which ought to have gone to Boston, is proof that importers arc prepared to realise if they can possibly do so. I have looked carefully into the offerings, and what, was the original cost, and on many of the lots catalogued only }d. was bid above cost price, conscouently Ihey wore taken in. However, the series have come to a finish in a very good way, and n feeling of strong confidence obtains regarding the future of fine wools. The trade is hardly so strong-in its opinions regarding the future of crossbreds, but personally I cannot seo any serious fall, unless America funks altogether. It is just possible dint-between now and nnxt June there mny be a little shuffling of tho cards bv Bradford and American buyers,. in order to influence the two domostic .diss, but that 'remains

to be seen. Tho feeling. generally is of a hopeful character, and so long as consumption is maintained there will not be a great chango in tho course of wool values.

Conditions in Bradford do not show a gfent deal of chance compnred with a week ago, business continuing on tho quiet side. Tho weakness in crossbreds in London has somewhat disturbed tho equilibrium of the market, and nobody is now prepared to ro forward. Merinos claim the most attention, and a quiet steady business is passing in tops. This week 27-jd. has been made for a, good standard super 60's, and this is a general price. Crossbreds are quiet; fino descriptions are steady, but medium and coarse qualities are on the weaker side. In other .words, a good 40's ton cannet bo called more than 15d., and 46's 17d. to 17Jd. and business in them is very quiet indeed.