YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1960, 17 January 1914, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Speclai! Cerrespon-dents.) !s : o Bratl{o '^rDccember i l2. ; v '"' Sirica > : wo''ilastvivroto, , ' tho-end of the' final 'series' of colonial sales .has/come'. It is.-surprisingi : what diffcronti'-Views , aro'..csi)rcssod^in regard ■ to ■ tho.' , finiah, views wliicluvary according a.s,.;,thb results aro/regarded:from the" standpoint of tho-grower or the consumer , : .-■ To tho former they, cannot hut :bo.looked.upon as anything but satisfactory /and to the latter, while enabling users: .-loV:obtain cheaper raw. : material, .'"they"" have left ■ the-. "■■. market/-/■■'without. ■:' ■■' ■ any inspiration,"' : and.- :'given ■~ ■ everyone to Beo ' that \tho --:,; raw:..' material does not stand'to-day , 'upon-the strong foundation that ithoS:done durini; recent years. When prices for most of the wools fall about Id.- per lb. it shows that -everything is not what it should be, and 'although.' tho very cream of tho morinos. catalogued showed not a greatdeal of change, yet tho bulk of tho wools declined unmistakably to a' tower level than the majority expected. .Wo cannot eay that we arc in anywise surprisedi although disappointed, for notwithstanding tho great doings on the part of. French and German buyers, yet by tbemsotves they are unable to sustain prices without tho material aid of tho homo trade, it being tho position and attitude of, tho large users in Yorksliiro which has been really responsible for letting down tho market. But the question arises, Could thsy do otherwise? If tho 3iome trade is anything to ro by at tho moment, tho struggle for lower prices is warranted.' Up to tho, present home buyera havo to a. large extent stood aside and Ist their foreign competitors monopolise all Belling centres, boJiig satisfied to adopt a liand4o-raouth policy beqauso trade- has _ so materially fallen off in tops, yarns' and pieoe-s alike. For tho -first time for several years tlio West- Riding, trade has plaved tho second part in tho pronrrammo, and it has been very galUng to many firms to have hem unable to play the part they havo been accustomed 'to do- All tho same they have felt that their policy of abstention was tho safest and best andor present circumstances. •' ' '. '■ The Closing Days. The last few.-days of the series cannotbut bo regarded as a-timo of-weak-ness, and to be candid there were times when wool showed a very decided easo compared with th-o first week of tho mictions. In cases where .clips wcro offered in two portions, at different times , during the series, those- sold during the closing days sometimes brought prices Id. bebw thoso of tho earner days of the series. The decline was most in ovitfciJco on medium, _ wools that would not give a clean yield of more than 48 pei' cent., while on. faulty descriptions likewise tl)o loss was Jd. to Id. Buyers seemed to settle down, to work only ou condition that they secured cheaper wool. ■ All sections of the trade received word from Home that tho response has been nil, that! wool must come cheaper, and unless it did they must buy ieta. ..Realiy speaking tho chief cause of the ease.was tho abstention from buying of tho homo trado during the earlier portion of tho series, this having anything but an inspiring effect upon Continental buyers, several assorting that they wore- concerned regarding the less active'compctjtioii on the part of Bradford' in. particular. Both French and German buyers candidly stated that- thov ,sajv no justification for thcijf o-fiisiajught a-iid.tlteir," paying prices', a i'ull 5 -per cent, abovethose of tlio homo tratlai. -hence, when their most urgent requirements were filled, they lowered their '■.limits and began to operate only at distinctly lower values. Towards the cud Aniericaa buyers also gave less active support, in fact, the 3000 bales they, are reputed to have taken is a mere bagatelle, and during tho last fow days of tho series the/ purchased less than during the former part of tho auctions. Som'o are of the opinion that in view of tho heavier con dition of the Australian clip tho decline in- price is mote superficial than real, but all tho same, instead of buying wool on a clean scoured basis of 2s. 6d., as was the'ease lu-st May, operators have been valuing this series on such a basis as , to bring in tops at 2s. 3d., which is a different thing altogether. ■ Results summarised. The following are the final results as set forth by one of the-leading selling brokers when compared with the finish of tho previous auctions;—Australian. — Ureasv merino, superior, pur; average to ,good, Jd. to Id. cheaper; poor condition, Id. cheaper; inferior , pieces and locks, Jd., cheaper. Scoured merino, superior, Id. cheaper: average- to good, Id.-cheaper; inferior, Id. cheaper; faulty pieces and locks, Jd. cheaper. Greasy merino, lambs, superior, par; lambs, medium, par; lumbs. inferior, par. Greasy crossbred, line, superior, Id. cheaper j fine, ordinary, Id, cheaper; medium superior, Id. cheaper; med'um ordinary, Id. cheaper; coarse superior, id. cheaper; coarse ordinary, id. cheaper; inferior pieces and k-cks," «d. to Id. cheaper; lambs, superior, -Jd. to Id. cheaper; lambs, ordinary, id. to Id. cheaper. New Zealand.— Greasy merino, good condition, id. per lb, cheaper; poor, id. per !b. cheaper:" inferior pieces and locks, id. per lb. cheaper. Scoured merino, superior,' Jcf. to Id. per lb. cheaper: average to good, }d. id Id., per lb. cheaper; inferior, id. to Id. per lb. cheaper. Greasy crossbred, fine

superior, Id. per Hi. cheaper; fine ordinary, Id. per lb. cheaper; medium superior, Id. per lb. cheaper; medium ordinary,' Id. per lb. cheaper; co-afso superior, £d. per. lb. cheaper; coarse ,ordinary, id. per )b. cheaper; lambs, superior,. par; lambs, ordinary, par. Scoured crossbred, line, id. cheaper; medium and coarse, par to Jd. cheaper. Slipo ;.crossbred, fine, £d. cheaper; medium, par to Jd. -'cheaper; ■• coarse, par; ..■■ ::" ". : : '■ V ■ ' ■ :." South African.—Snow white, super, par; medium, par to Jd. cheaper; inferior, Jd. cheaper, lireasy combing, light, par to id. cheaper; heavy, id. cheaper. Greasy clothing, light, par; heavy, )d. cheaper. ... The following are Messrs H.Schwartze and Oo.'s particulars showing tlio supplies'and deliveries of colonial wool for tho year, as compared. with last year, the figures for 1912 being given in parentheses :—Homo consumption, 1,043,009 bales (1,055.000); Continental consumption, 1,670,000 (1,778,000); American consumption, 54,000 (101,000) j totals. 2,767,000 (2.934,000): ■ ■ The deliveries this ■ year show a decrease of 167,000 bales. The Lome trado ; lias taken -12,000 bales, tho Continent 108,000 bales, and America. 47,000 bales less. ' • ' • ■ Conditions In Bradferfc The state- of tho Bradford market is still largely disappointing, tho course of tlio saies having made practically no difference to it. As a matter of fact, tho hand-to-mouth buying is still iii operation which has been so long .in evidence, no'sootion of tho trado being yet disposed to largely fuitieijpato tho future. At tli© same time wo havo every reason for saying that tho .market' is, if anything, somewhat hotter, .. at leafet, whilo no moro mc-fiey is possible, the turnover has been rather larger in practically all descriptions' of wool, topf, yarns, and pieces. .We heard on good authority that a little more yam business is doing, based chiefly on some reasonable orders for coatings which have been given out on American account. We know ono/shipping house that has recently booked orders to the extent of £30,000, all for coatings and serges, aiid naturally this manufacturers receiving these have had to huy. Still there are many as to the comparative absence of activity on home account, and a. very small voliißie of trado is passing. Prices are to a largo extent nominal, andgood'G4'stops can still be bought at 2s. 3d., with 60's Id. more. It is impossible to ma|to more,, even for yams, and 2-<lß's spun ont of good 64' a tops can still bo bought at &. 4d. ' This moans that tho spinner has about Bd. for.spinning between' the .top a»d--tihe yatn price, and whilo the margin, is sufficient to prevent a loss, still a little profit will result. Crossbreds are slow, in fast if anything they are jusfc a' shade weaker on tlio week, and while common gossip has it that 40's prepared tap 3 have been sold as low as 14d., yet we do not beIhico any such statement. As a matter of fact,' 14$ d. is the lowest pricp yet taken, although there is a persistent ramour to'dayon 'ChanfM that 14Jα. has actually been 'taken. Mohair ia' stagnant and prices are n6 mort than nominal.