THE WOOL MARKET

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2151, 18 May 1914, Page 4

THE WOOL MARKET

The third of tho series of London wool sales which.oonjmeaced on April 28 closed on Saturday, and woolgrowers are to he congratulated on the firmness displayed by the market Tho bulk of the wool offered was from New Zealand, and therefore it is obvious that the sheap.tanners of th-s Dominion have obtained the benefit of tho advance in prices, Altogether, about 188,000 hales were available for the series, and the disposal of this quantity was as follows:— Bales. Home consumption 117,508 Continent ~.! tOjJOQ Unite! States , 25,000 JJeM over , 5,30 ' Total lSSjUfltt The striking feature of these statistics is the comparatively large quantity secured by America. At the corresponding sales last fear the Americans bought only one thousand bales. A sale of 10,000 bales to America at the London sales is considered good, but at the sales just closed the operators from the United States have secured an exceptionally large quantity. It is apparent from this that the trade, in America has adjusted itself to the changes in the tariff, and is now free to buy wool as may be required. The Americans have bought sparingly at the previous sales, and the heavy -buying now shows that stocks of the raw material have rim down, but whatever may be the true explanation of the activity of the Americans, the fact remains that the free baying of America., has hardened the market, as it always has dene. According to our cable messages, flm> wools have had. a sharp rise, while fine and medium erossbreds were favoured with keen- competition by Continental and American 'buyers, an-5' rejnsiterod an ,! advance of a penny per lb, as compared with the closing rates of the last series. . Gcmfc. wools, -while ke» tually unchanged in value, exhibited a strong upward tendency. At the morasnt, Wool is a remarkably fine asset, and it so hapnens l-Kvfc tho wet-srsiders, by their strike, have involimtaritv done the farmers'' sniiso food. Had there been bo strike, tho hulk oi the we-iol Would hay* been' marketed at the January and'Mnrrh sales, and so Would have missed the improvement in values that has since taken place.