LONDON' WOOL SALES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1841, 29 August 1913, Page 11

LONDON' WOOL SALES.

» AN IRREGULAR FINISH. j SOMETHING ABOUT PROSPECTS. : i (From Our Spcckil Correspondents.) ■ j London, July 18. | Tiie end camo last Tuesday to tlio J fourth series of colonial sales. Wc ] often think it scms a pity when two ' or tlireo auctions have' to he knocked ' off in order to help to save the mar- 1 lcet, hut under tho circumstances im- • porters and merchants have rightly dc- I cidetl to ease consuming centres all . they can until the pressure of the present adverse circumstances passes away. It seems to us that the past 1 six months has been a time in which tlie wool trade has been dogged in a ; manner above normal, and had the situation not been healthy and sound, prices would have suffered seriously. ' As it is, conditions have not been so vigorous in Bradford as many would have liked, it being an uphill task liver ainco Whitsuntide to maintain, values, or to secure new business. When wo think of the long-continued Balkan troubles, dear money, and other disturbances of various kinds, it is indeed a marvel that wool values havo not been- more detrimentally affected and trade shown .a greater falling-off. Many of the best-informed arc inclined to think that the great business placed during the first two months of tho year has turned out to bo rather a mistake, simply because so many spincrs and manufacturers anticipated their requirements as far forward as next October, that fresh buying has been very limited indeed. We havo maintained during the past three months that tho continued briskness of the Home trado has saved the wool industry from financial tiroublo, OJid but for the Homo situation, we are certain that the recent auctions would have ,bcen 'much worse. Taking all tilings into consideration, tho series have passed off fully as well as anyone could expect, and although weak spots havo been revealed, the actual business done has been large and extensive. Merinos Sell the Best. We need waste no..spa.ee in setting 'forth tho final results. The last few days of the auctions brought out nothing very different from what wo havo outlined in past letters, tho demand for merinos remaining good and satisfactory right to the finish. In fact, one of the most pleasing aspects of tho market throughout the whole timo 'they havo been in progress has been the call for merino wools. Of course, ithe selection has been considerably en r hanced by tho largo offerings of secondhand parcels, and if these had not been forthcoming, supplies would have been greatly delicient in quantity as well as quality. Still, tho wool camo from somewhere, and owners manifested a strong desire to realiso their stocks. Considerable weights came from Yorkshire, which of itself is rather significant. It is not often owners in Bradford and. Huddcrsfield manifest a desiro to realise, but this season they have made no secret of their wishes, | prefering to handlo sovereigns rather than hold even merino wool. Wo think their dcciaion will -ultimately prove to bo a wise one, for with tho prospect of very limited supplies for tho Septembersales so far as fine wools are concerned, merinos, should hold their own. Through; out the' entire auctions fino wools luivo sold tho best. Bradford topmakcrs have been -ready to operate, and even France and, Germany have taken reasonable quantities, ltnssia also buying some good weights of deep G4's wools; as well, as Now Zealand scoureds. Even, the faulty carbonising wools represented by such parcels as come from Adelaide havo done better than at one time looked likely* and for , all these there is practically no dcclino compared with May rates. All sections of tho trado alike, including importers, acknowledge that merinos have sold vory woll, and wo think they havo acted wisely in meeting the market. There may. ho a struggle to maintain values during the forthcoming two month's of 'holiday, but all the while machinery is kept going it should shift present avail l able supplies, and as far as one can seo, prospects point to fino wools continuing to be callod for. It is rather noteworthy that among the . withdrawals, the quantity of merinos carried forward is only about 15,000 bales. Alterations Sean. As compared with tho closing rates of tho previous series, wo now quote: Greasy merino—superior par, average to good, £d. slieape-r, poor condition, Jd. cheaper;'inferior locks and pieces, |d. choaper; scoured merino—superior, fully par; average to good, par to id. chcapor; inferior; id. cheaper; faulty locks and pieces, par to $d. cheaper; greasy merino—lambs, superior, par; lambs, medium, par; lambs, inferior, par; greasy crossbred —fino superior, Jd. oheapor; fino ordinary, Jd. to Id. cheaper; medium superior, Jd. cheaper; medium ordinary, }d. to Id. cheaper; coarse superior, par to id. cheaper; coarse ordinary, par; lambs, superior, id. to ld, cheapor; lambs, ordinary, Jd. to Id. cheaper; scoured crossbred —fino, Id. cheapor; medium and coarse, }d. to Id. cheaper; slipo crossbred—fino, par to Id. cheaper; medium, id. to Id. choaper; coarse, i-d. to Id. cheaper ;> greasy Punta Aronas—well-conditioned, id. cheaper: wnsty, id. to Id. cheapor; greasy, Falkland Islands, id. to Id. cheaper. Supplies and Deliveries.; Messrs. H. Schwartze and Co. furnish the trado with particulars showing tho movement of the curront colonial clip, and'they are of more than usual importance. They offer an explanation of the large quantities of raw material which are at present in home wool coil-, suming markets, and the surprise is that such big weights should bo in tho hands of English users. Adding transit wools and direct imports, the total deliveries to the trade this year and last compare as follow:— Total year, 1913. 1912. 1012. Ba,los. Bales. Bales. Homeconsump- „„„„„„ , n - nnn tj on 880,000 869,000 1,000,0 M consumption 1,328,000 1,+70,000 1,778,000 .15.009 M.MO 101.M8 2,153,000 2,430,000 2,954,000 The deliveries show a net decrease of 177,000 bales. Tho home trade has taken 11,000 bales more, while tlie Continent has taken 142.000 hales, and America '16,000 bales, less. The Outlook. Messrs. H. Dawson and Co. make the following observations regarding the outlook: "Since the opening ol the series terminating; last- Tuesdav tlie market has developed considerable irreculnritv, and certain classes, raiißin? chiefly around the medium and finer crossbred sorts, have had to suiter some shrinkage in value. This- class of wool has been in somewhat large supply and is not always realised how lamo :i 'contribution to these finer grades the I'un'n Arenas shipments make at tins time of the vcur. Tho weakness has resulted in heavy withdrawals, and perhaps all exaggerated impression ol the extent of the' decline has thus been produced. Consequently. although r-narse grades of crossbreds, along with •ill coniiii" merinos and scoured wools rcencrallv. have been in keen request, at firm prices, there has been created throughout tin industry a feehnc oi nppreliensiveness which coutrasts strongly

with the buoyancy and confidence which 1 previously obtained. , "Tho market latterly has been sub- j joei to an abnormally suvero strain from i a variety of adverse influences, it has yielded at its weakest point. Tho lack of United States support on these.. ; sorts tiiis year, together with dear and ' scarce money putting an effectual check j on all brisk demand, and tho Balkan j trouble, with its far-reaching effects, are factors which have directly and ser- ■ iously affected our market, and it is j only surprising that an earlier and moro general shrinkage ill values has not been j experienced. There has undoubtedly ' been a pause in business during recent ; weeks, and many traders have begun to j fear lest it indicates the termination of tho trade 'boom' of the last three 1 years. There would seem to be little j ground for anxiety on this score if'tho : real factors which govern the demand lie examined;' In all the great cons'um- j ing countries there are no signs of tho ; standard of • living being lowered or of : tho working, classes which furnish tho ] spending power for 'necessities' becoming poorer. Tho tendency is rather in ] the other direction, and tho increasing j call for woollen goods in insistently no- : ticoablo from tho newer as well as from the older centres of consumption, which facts encourage the hope that any . cheek to demand should be incidental ; 'and temporary. Taking shorter views,' ' even if the financial stringency and political unrest be further prolonged it is general)' acknowledged that stocks of woollen goods in all European centres aro meagro and unusually so in tlie United States. This, together with tho : statistical position of the raw material should save -the'industry from any fear of serious shrinkage in values, this year. "So far as merinos are concerned the shortage of 302,000 bales in Australian is just beginning to bo felt. It has been evident at this scries that tho year's supplies wero nearly exhausted, and tho offerings would have been sensationally small, but for speculators' lots. The bareness of supplies, except for some Queensland now year wools, will probably be- felt until November. In crossbreds tho position is not so clear. South Americans aro. practically cleared from tho market, and tho London offerings, until January next, will bo small, but stocks in Bradford aro reported to be heavier than usual. The export trado in tops and yarns to Central and Eastern Europe and <tlio United States demand for raw wool havo alike shown serious falling-off, but it is certain that tho available supplies of crossbreds for tho remainder of tho year will ' not bo burdensome, whilo tho advent of United States support and a revival of tho export trado would. quickly give avery'different'aspect to the outlook in crossbreds."