LONDON WOOL SALES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1518, 14 August 1912, Page 5

LONDON WOOL SALES.

SERIES OPEN WITH AM ADVAXC'E OX MEKLN'OS AND CROSSBKEUS. (From Our Spocinl Correspondent.) London, July 5. Renewed interest is being taken in the course of wool owing to the opening oi tile July series of sale's last Tuesday. A largo contingent of buyers ])ut in mi appearance, America being, represented by o greater inimber than usuat._ This alone ran bo taken. as an indication oi the bound standing of the raw material, and notwithstanding tho impending reducltoi, of wool duties tho fact remains that no change is imminent, otherwi-e United States representatives would bo in a far different temper from what they arc ot present in regard to buying colonial suid English wools. It .is rather significant that renewed interest is being taken in attitude of American buyers towards tho foreign-grown material, and it shows distinctly that they cannot do without marinas and crossbred.? when tliny nve over in' London nnd Bradford taking up suitablo Jots, as has been tho ease during the recent vacation. At .present tho •eal world of America seems to be 'ii a statu r,( chaos, and that being the «is& it can lie taken for granted that importers have faith in the future, .ami finnlv believe that there will be no alteration "in tho duties this year. What 13 going to be tho perplexing problem dining tlis next few weeks is not so imtch the unreadiness of buyers to operate,. as. tho probabio dislocation of the series by warehouse people being unwilling to get in the wool 'for sale. At tlio. time of writing it is har'd to say what is actually giing to take place. However, buyers came"together-oil'Tuesday with strong feelings'of optimism, being quite pre.pir-. Ed to operate, and.it is some satisfaction to know that trade is good iu manufacturiiig areas. , - .

QUANTITY AVAILABLE. The weight -of wool available this scries .is greater than usual, and we have td go Imdc qui to a number of yours to flail ,the trade confronted with such a large line as at present. The extra number . of . bales to hand is chiefly the result of . the very long vacation which has followed the close of the last series, and the trade as a whole will be heartily glad when labour troubles are at an end, and business flows with comparative easo anil freedom. The March, and May auctions had to be amalgamated. on , account of,the ccal strike, and it "now looks as' .if the present scries will bo very much interfered with on account of the dockers' strike, it seems to be anything but plain sailing at present in' the textile world, anil it is to be hoped ' that peace will once more reign. There .is nothing out of the ordinary to need comment except that the'large quantity of New Zealand crossbrotls, 150,000 bales, is a fairly large, slice. Duriug the past fortnight, c the trade has considerably changed its attitude towards this class of material, and the influence which at one time seemed likely to lower values have been entirely removed, and it now appears as if higher prices will bo the'order of the day. The trade came together fully .expecting a very good series, and the initial sale passed off remarkably well. Even if the sales go through without being interfered with by the dockers' strike, it is almost certain that 50,000 bales of New Zealamls will be carried forward to- tho September series. The following shows what quantities have been available for tho July series during recent years:— ARRIVALS FOR THE JULY SERIES. . . . Gross Forwarded Net July arrivals. direct. . quantity, ssries. Bales. Bale*. ' Bales. 1912 ... 49-1,700 247,003 207,700 1911 ... 237,500 ' 101,000 175,500 1010 ... 285,50(1 155,500 -155.000 1909 ... 275,000 135,000 150,000 1908 ... :m,5!)0 ' 73,000 271,-500 . 1907 ... 2!)!),00O US,OOO 100,000 IDOR ... 176,(100 75,500 110,500 1905 ... 183,000 . 80,000 119,000 ; A GOOD INTERVAL. Regular readers,o£ ; .this f issue.ihave been kept iippriseil bf tho 'course of tilings in consuming ceutrcs during the recent interval, and thy good trada dono litis all been a kind of leader for the . current series. A big business has been done in both tops and yarns, and the wlioli; trade came together mi Tuesday quite prepared to bily. The fact is, several firms bavo oversold, ami must. have new supplies. Although it cannot, he reporteil that prices have been' much higher during tho 'interval, there lias been r.o set-back, and in the aggregate both merino aud crossbred tops are about id. above what I hey were at the close of the last series of auctions. This has certainly paved the way for an excellent time, and with everybody being, keen to ocpuira new raw material, the .foundation was'already laid for satisfactory prices when the members of the trade assembled on Tusday.

' A GOOD .START. Before a very'.full •'■roam, the initial sale passed off remarkably well, a good buying spirit being.iii evidence from the very start. The catalogues comprised altogether 10,000 bales, .the inquiry being keen and well sustained. The bulk of, the offerings on the opening jday consisted of crossbreds, and the sale passed . off uncommonly well. The home trade led the van for crossbreds, ami anything' suitable for America went to that quarter. All through the sittings the bidding was excellent, all -sections alike being keen competitors. Considering the character of- the- offerings, no one could find fault with the tono and .spirit of the salo room, and when compared with the close of last series good merinos frequently made Id. more, the less desirablo parcels easily making, last sales' rates. No doubt when the selection is better, fino wools will easily command a full 5 per cent, advance. The way crossbreds shaped was creditable, and American influence was distinctly- felt on all wools suitable for that quarter. Both fine and medium qualities, when suitable for the united States, frequently made M. to Id. more, ordinary topinaking wools being quotable Id.'dearer, while coarse crossbreds were par to id. better. Slipcs, which - were generally somewhat better in character: than last series,- frequently sold, at Jd. more. The same can be said for the I'unia Arenas, while South African wools in. the greaso also niado Ad. advance, though Snow Whites showed practically no change. . Since the opening night, the initial advance has been fully maintained, and the sales arc progressing in a splendid way. Not much troublo has yet been ex- . perienced in regard to the lotting or showing of the wool, although the staff at the docks is considerably under normal. THE OUTLOOK. Messrs. H. Dawson and Co. make tho following observations on the position of the raw material—"During the long interval which has followed the close ok tho second s>riss, several factors . have been operative which have caused considerable anxiety .to those engaged in the wool trade. Happily the.long period of drought in the Australian, colonies', which was the most serious item, is now at an.end, and the disastrous coriscquencrs which w.ere feared a few- w-eelc? ago will not be realised, although there have been in several districts heavy losses of sheen, and as a result there will be a decline in the production.of the nest clip. In this respect some sensational figures have been spoken of during tho past month, but welcome rains have saved the situation. It-is too early to make reliable estimates, but tho latest cabled reports indicate that we may expect at least- 100,000 bales lessened production this next year. -The anxiety of the trade has been seriously increased hy the labour trouble at the Londoii "Meanwhile, the situation ; n tho ultimate markets compensates in some, measure for tte? troubles. The new season's business has opened up very.satisfactorily, a revival c 1 ".ninr.d and harder values being reported from almost every centre. Stocks of lira raw material have been heavily drawn upon, and speaking generally, buyers will come jo this series ji'.mgry for wool. The United States demand promises to lis fairly active, especially for tne'iiuni crossbred grades, and already a considerable business hfis been done during the past (en days ill Bradford in easel .woo'=. There is a large offering available lit it can be handled at the •wuTohaoit?), but the demand appears to be fully equal t.;> the supply, and the prospects are undoubtedly ?octl lor ■ the maintenance of values in nil combing wocls, bo(h crossbred and merino."