COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1412, 12 April 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHABES. Sales of. investment shares recorded yesterday were:—Westport-Stockton Coal at 3s. 3d., and Leyland and Timber at 295. oil. The buying and selling quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. Bank New Zealand 11 5 (I — National Bank 518 0 -- Well. Trust and Loan ... — 713 0 Rhristcliuinh Gas 9 0 0 9 5 0 Well. Gas (secand issue) 16 2 6 — Gear Meat (£4) 12 10 0 .. 13 0 0 Gear Meat (£l> 3 4 0 3 6 0 Meat Export (£5) — 6 5 0 N.Z. Shipping — 16 5 0 Union Steam — 2 10 0 Woll. Woollen (pref.) - 2 19 0 Jlikurangi Coal — 019 6 Taupiri Coal 113 1 .1 ? Coal — 17 3 Westport-S-.ocktoa 0 2 0 —i Loyland-O'Brien — 19 6 N.Z. Powell Process — 13 0 C. M. Banks, Ltd - % 10 0 Donaghy P,ope and Twino -- 12 6 Goldon Bay Cement — 14 9 N.Z. Con. Dental — 116 N.Z. Drug — '. 211 6 Sharland's ordinary 146 LONDON WOOL SALES. < The postponed sales began. in Coleman Street, London, las', evening, and it is difficult to say how prices will move. Early last month and before the coal strike commenced there were signs of improvement in the wool trade. The London correspondent of the Melbourne. "Age, 1 writing soon after the coal strike had commenced, and referring to the indications of improvement in the industry, stated: "The movement, it was believed, ■ came from the quarter where it was most needed, namely, the consuming end of the 1 industry, and it was not confined to the internal requirements of the country, but was participated in by the export branch, more particularly ill so far as crossbred descriptions were concerned. The effect was to infuse new life throughout most branches of the woollen and worsted trades, and to render wool merchants and top-makers more confident as regards their position. Doubtless the earlier transactions in raw material and tops took place at low figures, these holders who had been tendered uneasy by a. succession of quiet weeks, and who had been offering eoncessions to stimulate buying, being only too glad to meet n, customer wbj was prepared to deal. But as it became known that a general buving movement was in progress values stiffened, and even the conservative firms, who all alone had maintained tli'ir quotations, obtained a share.in the trade that was doing. As long as business continued to be done, the hardening of rates on the part of holders was maintained, a.nd to some extent possibly the slackening off. which has occurred in the last day or two, may bo attributed to this cause. It is, however, much more reasonable to suppose that t.ho uncertaintv which envelops the immediate future is the dominating feature of the moment. The postponement of tile Ructions here is. of course, calculated to limit supplies of the raw material for the time being. and people who had been waiting for the colonial wool sales may find it necessary to uint-p provision for their immediate ' necessities how and where they can. But. holders of wool and tops would be very shortsighted te squeeze money out of their customers under, the pristine abnormal conditions, and it is likewise to be borne in riiind that, in the dire e\ent of the coal strike continuing for some weeks, menv ici'ls would he compelled to uton for lack of fuel, and therefore the outlet would be greatly reduced. As far us can he seen at present there seems reason to believe that, the condition of the industries of which wool forms the basis is modern teh" satisfactory, and, if untrammelled by abnormal circumstances, its development should be rood.. A continuance. however, of the. situation as it K to-dav. is calculated to throw the entire trade of this country out of gear, and its effect on wri»l, "ven should other (\atio"s got some of the t.r'de lost by Britajn. "ould not be otherwise than depressing." WOOL PROSPECTS. The list for the series was closed on or about March 25. The arrivals totalled 602,500 bales, of which 345,500 bales' were sent direct to manufacturers, leaving, with the quantity brought forward from the previous sale, 273,0C0 hales. The onantity jj not very large, and should, bo well within the scope of the trade to absorb. I The question is, what view will manuf factum's take of the immediate future, taking into account' the effects of the I strike with' its enormou3 loss, which is estimated at £50,0C0,0C0. No doubt many • will bo disposed to be pessimistic, ami 1 to a certain extent this view will lie war : ranted, but on the other hand there arc ' signs that the situation is not as desper- • ate as appears oil the surface. The last 1 cable message stated that the Bradford : top market was firm, but quiet. At Hit sheepskins sales liekl on March 31. practically the entire uuantitv offered sold, and t,he market exhibited a slighl upward tendency, and crossbreds advanced one-eighth of a penny to a furlhine. Al the Antwerp wool Ealc3 on March 31, 4d2. bales were offered, and only 2334 sold, thai is a little more than half the uuantit? offered changed hands. Merino" advancc< 3 per cent., and crossbred:; 5 to 7 nei cent. Perhaps it was this advance tha checked business, but that there was at advance at t-Mieh a time of industrial strifi is remarkable, and tends to illustrate tin Soundness of the position. There an strong indications of an advance in price? knd it will be surprising if crossbreds a least do not exhibit a- gain of 5 per cent LONDON MAItKETS. The New Zealand Loan and Merranlili Apr'ncv Company, Limited, have receiver the following cablegram from then-Lou (ion house, under dale April 10:—Wheat. We have sold an Au.-trali.au cargo at 39:iid c.i f. The market is linn with ai upward tendency. There is a fair demand and the outlook is encouraging. tt quo l c. per qinrter. __v.i.f.; -Nov /cilain wheat, long-berried jis. 6d., short-bernc ■375. WESTELLA ESTATE. At the sale of the portion of the Wercll E-tnle, held yesterday by Messrs. Abrahai nnd Williams, Ltd., at the Skating Rlnl Eeilding, there v.'iu a large ■ attendant and tlw following sections were dispose of;~Scction 1, 35 acres, to He. B. l)run

moiicl, Kauwlinta, at £51 65.; Seciian 2, 35 acres, puffed at ■£« 55.: Section 3. 31 rnT- to Mr. F. ltoli.-oii. Chri-tehurch. at £43 5s ■ Sec ion 4, 39 acres, to Mr. I'. Hansen. Kauwhata, «t £49 10,.; Se-li-in 5. 39 acre- passed lit A4l: Section 6. 58 acres to Mr C. 0. 11. Christenscn. at £45 10.-.; Section 7. 60 acr.'JS, tti -Mr. 11. Ilrninnrjnil. at £48. There are several inquiries for tlie two passed-in sections, ami these will probably lie fold before lons. THE OIL OUTPUT LAST YK.MS. Til" trade in petroleum was much steadier in 1911 than in 1910, despite the fact that the production of the farmor year increased slightly over that of the latter vsnr, which up to that lime was a. record breaker. Tlu- market apparently hid found means to absorb the inuiiemc. additions imide bv the bringing in of the Lake View "islier and other large California!! weil= and more-aver had become accustomed to the unusual wells in the Caddo i Field of Louisiana. The following table produced from "llradstrcel's" gives a_ comparison of the final figures of the l>mted States geological surv.ey for 1910, and the estimated output for 1911 in barrels:— 1910. 1911. Appalachian field 31,985,515 28,000,000 California 73.010,560 81.C00.0C0 K'an=as and Oklahoma 53,157,386 65.C00.050 Lauisiana, 6.841.395 10,000.000 Tern', 8.899,266 9,000,000 .Miscellaneous 35,661,926 33.C0a.DC0 ' Total 209,5:5,048 217,000,000 The development of the Kleetra Oil Field in Northern Texas was the moA. striking feature in the year of the industry. The gain in production in a single State-Cali-fornia—was greater than Ihc net gam shown far the country as a whole, the usual decline in the older districts, offsetting the increase in the middle west and south. Once more the refining interests and marketers of fuel oils, etc., have by strenuous efforts almost compensated the increased production by bringing about an increase in consumption. There is -no longer much doubt that a plentiful oil supply will be afforded for many years; rather, the general feeling expressed by the uuestion, "Where will oil break out next?" is a disturbing element. In the Appalachian field the pipe-line price of ss. sd. a barrel prevailed steadily ihroughont the year, at the end of which th:2 price of oil of Pennsylvania grade was raised from ss. sd. to £s. 71(1. a barrel. This is the. first advance in price since March, 1907. In Illinois the changes have bcL'ii as follow:—At the beginning of 1911. 2s. 6d. a barrel was paid for light oil and 2s. 2d. for heavy oil. Light oil war, raised on Slav 2 to 2s. 7Jd., and on .Time 14 to 2s. Btd. the Imvy oil was raised to 2s. 3>d. on Jlay 2. The Mid-Continent field began the year with oil at Is. 9d. a barrel, and on January 2 the price was raised to Is. lOd. On May 2 this was changed to Is. lid., on June 14 to 25., and on September 15 to 2s. Id. In California the prices were held at Is. 3d.' to 2s. B£d.. according to finality, with higher prices for oil near the Los Angeles market. Customs duties collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £2584 IBs. lid. LINSEED. The Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourists has received the following cablegram from ths High Commissioner for Xcw Zealand, London. (Note: Quotations unless otherwise specified, are average market prices on spot);— Linseed: The ,mark;t is quiet, with a tendency in favour of buyers, in anticipation of larger supplies than last year. Present selling price is.—Ex granary, per 4161b., Bombay 70s. 6d., Calcutta 705., Plate 655. 6d. N.Z. EXPORTS. The value of the principal products exported from New Zealand totalled £2,465,077, as compared with £2,492,318 for the corresponding month of last year. The value for the twelve months ended March 31 wis £17,626,946, as against £19,946,978 in the previous year, thcr-3 was thus a decrease of £2,320,032. The items making up the totals are as under:— March 31. March 3. 1912. 1911. £ £ ' Butter : 1,774,897 1,860,546 Cheese ' 1,297,083 1,216,137 Beef 250,522 594,542 Mutton, carcasses 1,177,391 1,341,327 Mutton, legs and pieces 46,217 61,975 Lamb 1.748.434 2,175,163 . Whsat 197,623 232,347 Oats 37,502 K,«O Potatoes 6,433 3,681 Hemp 310,884 405.679 'Rabbits 78,041 76,395 Tow 23,289 31.090 Kauri gum 365.224 448J19 Grain and pulse ... 96,078 69.687 Hops •. 11,594 16,630 -•■■• Hides 159,633 223,037 Skins 682.C35 877,744 Tallow 564,589 761.659 Timber 468.147 403,751 Wool 6,578,924 7,194.444 Gold 1.749,341 1.915,876 £17,625,946 £19,946,978 WHEAT. By Telesraph—Preie Association—Copyright London, April 10. Two Australian cargoes sold at 395. 4Sd. and 395. respectively.

.The American visible supply of wheat is 109,210,000 bush.ils.

RIVER PLATE MEAT. Br Telccraph—Press Aesociation—ijoDYrischt London, April 10. River Plate shipments of mutton total 233,500 carcasses; lambs, 65,370; frozen beef, 94,500 quarters; chilled beef, 217,500. ' METAL MARKETS. By TeleErai!li—Press Association-Copyright London, April 10. Copper.—On the spot, £70 10s.; three months, £71 7s. 63. Tin—On the spot, £198 155.; three months, £195. Ljad, £16 3s. 3d. per ton. AUSTRALIAN PRODUCE MARKETS. By TelcEraph—Press Association-Copyright • (Rcc. April 11, 10.50 p.m.) Sydnoy, April 11. Wheat, 3s. lid. to 4s. Flour, city brands, £8 155.; country brands, £8 12s. 6d. Bran, £5' 15s. Pollard, £6. Barley, Victorian Cape, 4s. lOcl. to 55.; English, 4s. 6d. to ss. Maize, 4s. lfld.; white, 4s. Bd. Oats, Tasmanian Sparrowbills, 3s. 2(1. to 3s. 3d.; Giants, 3s. 4d.; Algerian, 3s. 6d.; New Zealand, 3s. 4d. to 3s. 5d.; Giant, 3s. 6d. Onions, £11 to. £11 10s. Potatoes, £8 10=. to £10 10s. Bacon, 7j. to 7J. Butter, selected brands, 1205.; prime, 108s. to 116s. Cheese, 85d. , •> ~ Adelaldo, April 11. Wheat, 3s. 9d. to 3s. 9£d. Flour, £8 17s. 6d. Bran and pollard, 15id. Potatoes, £8 10s. to £10. Onions, £10 to £11. MELBOURNE HIDES MARKET. By Telczrpnh-I'rn" AKsnn^tlon—Conyrlshl (Rcc. April 11. 10.50 p.m.) Melbourne, April 11. There wore no skin sales this week, owing to the holidays.