LONDON WOOL SALES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2758, 29 April 1916, Page 8

LONDON WOOL SALES

* PRICES KEPT DOWN BY EMBARGOES AND LACK OP LABOUR (Prom Our Special Correspondent.) London, March 9, 191 U. Tho sales were res-unied last Wednesday, and have boon, conducted each day under rather varying conditions. Thd most disappointing featnro continues to be the irregularity seen.-in merinos,-and certainly one would have welcomed the opportunity of seeing values move on last sales' level. But such has not beeu tho casu by any means. As a matter of fact, business is only possible, and sales can only be effected where importers arc pre; pared .to ' ( accent sensiblo reductions, ami it lias not been altogether easy to obtain maximum limits. It has made one think this last few days whether or not it would have been a wise move to have swa the serios finish at the end of tho second week, but apparently those owning wools aro still prepared to meet tho market, and on that account nro still free sellers. It is a very debatable question whether.they'would do better by not, doing so, there being many arguments both for and against holding over merinos. What we are impressed with most today is that tho wool situation is still as it was before prices received a check, uud it is not altogether clear what is tho cause of the present decline. The impres"sion prevails in many, quarters that the setback is entirely due to the uncertainty about machinery being run in sufficient quantity to absorb arrivals, for the Government is determined to have men and let businesses take care of themselves. Of course, everybody realises that tho first business of the British Empire is to win tho war, ijj cannot bo done .without men> ,«nd therefore tho appeals before the tribunals receive only very scant con-' sideratiou. i The Irregularity in Merinos. Wo are faced to-day with the fact that fine wools are selling very irregularly. Even the very best and shafticst merino's are not moving on the samo high level that they did last series, the reduction here being generally,2d. per lb. This lio doubt is. due to the long time which topmakers aro having to wait before b«ing able-to get the wool combed, arid the big amounts of money which are having to be found to finance supplies. One or two leading Bradford topmakers contended before the series commenced that it would have been a wise thing had the auctions been' postponed and only two series held before Easter. In the opinion of tho writer the current series ought to havo finished at the end of the second week, and'if 9000 bales per day could .have been staged, this would have, been done. Of course, dock authorities to-day have to be very seriously considered, and it is the inability to stage that weight of wool' which is causing the. auctions to last to the end of next week.. Pottering about in London for three weeks and being cal'l~ 'ed upon to value under 8000 bales pet day, does not go down with everybody, especially when buyers' energies are wanteel elsewhere, particularly at a time like tlie present, when, firms are so under, staffed. . However,' the week has been productive of some decent sales, although wo arc not able to reporf any improve, ment on last week's prices.. Of course, tho more l'rco of fault the wools hrc, com. bined with iongth of staple, the better the prices realised, but still we' have to face a general decline of 5 to 7J per cent, on good' wools, and 15 per cent, on me. dium and faulty parcels. In other, words, tho decline is often 2d. and sometimes 2J- per lb, on West Australian average topinaking' wools. This means that values havo now fallen fo tho lovol oJ Australia, 'and we certaiuly think that it is useless not taking readers into confidence and explicitly stating what tho decline is. Even scoured merinos arc not selling on tho same high level of last series. . Wo find that wools for Eussia are generally! Id. to 2d..below tho average prices rul-' ing in January, while certainly medium and faulty parcels aro often fully 2d. under tho first series. . ' Crossbreds Selling Freely, There hive been this .week some very good offerings of New Zealand new clip crossbreds, which have received a most hearty reception.- The New Zealand clip is apparently in very nice order, and'favourable 'remarks havo been heard several times as to tho growth of the staple and condition in general. Apparently there is now'no incentive on tho part'of buyers to imt on an extra nnnnv mr lb "nml

Crossbreds Selling Freely, There have been this .week some very good offerings of New Zealand new clip crossbreds, which have received a most hearty reception.- The New Zealand clip is apparently in very nice order, and'favourable'remarks havo been heard several times as to tho growth of the staple and condition in general. Apparently there is now'no incentive on tho part'of buyers to put on au extra penny per lb., 'and the extreme ■ prices of last January no longer obtain. l "We favour the opinion that prices generally have declined 2d. to 21d. per lb., and that at. the lower level Bradford buyers are now operating freely. . Thore. is still great faith felt in the future of crossbreds, only no one is prepared to pay more money,, and with there, being an absence of 'outside competition, it is all in favour of tho home trade securing the remainder of the New Zealand clip at about current values. What we want to-day is no doubt to'soe good buying on the part of Italy and America, but licenses are no longer obtainable for orosslkeds, and therefore it is useless apply ing, for same.. Wo find good half bred, combing selling anywhere from Is. Bd. to Is. Od., it having to-day to be a very good staple indeed to fetch, the latter figure. Medium'.'wools arc sail-, ing all 'round Is. 7d., and low crossbreds aro available anywhere from Is. sd. to Is. Gd. • Practically no scoured crossbreds are at present available, it being too early in the season to see these catalogued. The: few slipes which aro selling all show 2d. reduction, and as a matter of fact the' wools which are now on offer, are mostly second-hand parcels, and owing to the owners being unable to realise a profit the, wools aro being mostly -withdrawn.' We do not expect to see very much wool held over the close of the series, for the home trado is still a keen buyer of crossbreds, and therefore is prepared to take all offerings at current values. Cause of the Decline, '■ The question has been, rightly asked, What is the real cause of the present setback in values?. The reason is not very far to seek. On the one hand wo have the general upsotment due to the taking effect of Lord Derby's recruiting scheme, the withdrawal of important male operatives from the various branches of tho textile-trade,-together with the fact that licensos are boing granted very sparingly, and also to tho general impression that wool values aro resting on a somewhat high and dangerous' level. Nobody has any faith in a slump, and do not even, discuss such a possibility. At the same lime, all recognise that m January prices wero unduly high, some readjustment was necessary, and even the yields which buyers put upon wools have had to be somewhat modified. No party is croaking sufficiently to indicate .tint they are fearful regarding the future, but on the other hand are preferring to ,confino their ideas to simply' a little modification in prices, and then they think that wool is still worth buying. The writer on the other hand is inclined to think that top-makers especially are doing their utmost to increase margins. Out of January wool both merinos and crossbreds, margins were practically wiped out. A good many of the best tops would cost iu tho neighbourhood of 3s. MM. to 45., but to-day they can be made somewhere' around 3s. 5d., and this price is more in harmony with what they are worth in Bradford to-day. The best feature of all wo think is the general confidence in the future of prices, and tho knowledge Hint big weights of wool are going to be required for trade purposes in general. • As before stated, there is nothing inherently wrong with the position of affairs, and if.the War Trade Department would grant licenses at all freely they could soon be doing a big export i trado in both tops and yarns in-all qualities- We aro therefore inclined to regard the present slight ease as being more a question of adjustment than anything else. Conditions in Bradford. • liccciit markets may bo summed up by tlie words "marking time." Top-makers are not finding new business at all good, but thero is no depression. As a matter of fact, all firms alike aro so heavily sold forward that they seem to care lucit? »ibout future business, thoir chief concern being to t increase margins. Even on to-day's selling basis for tops, there is a • greater, margin than has oee.n 6een for

tho past four months, and apparently this is tho chief object in wools coming cheaper in Colmnan Street- Sixty-four's tops are to-day quoted around 3s. 7d., and we find thai most firms are still very much, behind with delivery. Licenses nro being granted very sparingly, and every application has to be ■ backed .up by strong military representations before a license is obtainable. In crossbreds, quietness is tho order of tho day, and tlieso nro entirely supported by the homo trade, export' not being allowed nnyw.here. Wo do not find very much reduction in quotations, top-makers 'being- content to allow prices to take their own course and to wait and see if a spinner will offer a price. English wools are certainly quieter, but stocks' are so light that country holders and Bradford dealers are unwilling to shade prices, and tho same thing obtains in pulled wools, though here it is possiblo to obtain a fraction reduction where sales are forced. Thero aro still good orders offering in yarns for hosiery I purposes. So far spinners have not seen lit to shade quotations in the least, and say that machinery is still the dominant feature, and thore is no need to accept less because orders are still very plentiful.