OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2814, 4 July 1916, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

.-SERIES FINISH WITH MERINOS IN THE CLOUDS 1 j(From Our Special Correspondent.) . . . . Bradford, May 11; 191*6.' '--;Since. writing last the third series of colonial sales liave come to'a finish. One can hardly' comprehend the vast change which.has come over the situation,.and ■when one contrasts, the results with j: the" March the - advance is . simply astounding. ".'.Of',.course 'it :is. entirely dueto' the changed;, attitude'of .buyers; The short Eas-ter recess was one of the finest things that over ..happened, and ■ j*ave everyone the opportunity of going .home ' and feeling the pulse of such centres as Bradford and Huddersfield, where important' new, business was placed, all leadjng to': the impression that, wool was going to .be wanted, and that nothing cbuld prevent prices from appreciating. Everybody went back to Coleman Street with whetted appetites; and nothing..".would suffice but that?everybody' must acquire the-raw material and x>urchas'e'all the.v can lay _their. hands upon: ' A sense of reasonableness prevailed far more .in crossbreds than merinos, due no doubt to the' 1 prospect of fairly : large supplies at !the.tiro next-.series,.when there should be to. hand considerable quantities of New Zealand crossbreds. But that cannot "be said- regarding- merinos. The. fact: has to be"faced'*thatLsu.pplies are going to.be exceedingly limited, and many are looking forward to a squieeze in fine wools. That will depend a good deal ,upon what stocks are'actually in consuming centres, ai}d if the. verdict of,combers is anything to go by,, there are still available fair weights of.'raw material. It is quite 'true that, the.railway stations in Bradford, where before the war huge quantity of wool were stored, are to-day practically empty, and'we are. not so pessimistic'regarding supplies as some are, believing that the 'wool'will be forthcoming to meet the actual needs of the-trade. At. the same time we do not'want, to-day a speculative movement, /resulting in tops be.ing carried much' higher: -'There-is,a limit to 'everything, and the higher wool and tops go- the more difficult it. makes business, besides' engendering feelings 'of .fear regarding the possibilities ot a serious setback." But no one; to-day can see anysigh of a slump; in fact, all' that -men talk about is still higher'values. A few th'jjik. that, is the surest sign to call a halt, but apparently topnikaers are so heavily..sold . forward that they -: care '; neither one 1 jot or tittle, about the possibilities of- the ! trade l in that direction: They point to. the fast diminishing'supplies of fine wools, a still unparalleled consumption,' .with prospective stocks growing less and not more. :

i : How Merinos Have Advanced. ~ The .last few .days of the auctions saw {■*~ Riling brokers recataloguc several, withJdrawn:.lots from, the March series, and L: . wp' give a few particulars beloiv which ■- will make the mouths of many colonial ■\ . grower.-) water. It only makes one ask the..question, What :is. a penny per lb. : 'ou w'ool when buyers ha.ve confidence; in , i ■ the future, and they know it will bs • •: .' -wanted ?' ' The advauees seen are. simply S: ■ marvellous, but they riiust -not be taken as altogether. indicating, a general iin- : provement. Still, tliere were thousands' ' . 'of lots that'mado~sensiblo advances; and ■f'Tselling brokers .felt in March that they "wero doing an injury to their own clients ; -' "by letting wool go at thepriccsthat vvere r' -Ttileu bid. No doubt they had' tho order . ' 'from. fteir importing merchants to. /let - "the wool-.go. if there was good competi- . *tion, but it does make one -feel little ; ' "out of gear with themselves wfcc-i in-the ■ . 'short, space of a month "they could' have "inado at least an average of . 2d. per lb. ./more on meriubs. Wo could never see 'any distinct' advance .in- crossbr'qds, tlic : . 'improvement' being by. far the most ! "marked ,in medium, and coarse classes. "Below ive give the particulars of a West i - ? "■'Australian.'clip, all the : lots being with"drawn on March and offered on May 4, "and the reader will see with what bene- . "ficial results:—. - . ' ' " JUXILYA.'.MI. (W. Aust. Wool.) : , ". ■. . . .. ~T Offered. Sold. . _ . March 1. May 4. ' IBales," Description. 'd. s. d. .(i grease.B combinglo bid 1. 4 : . —Hi grea'se 'BB combing' 1 ;.10 bid 1 -2J -..3 grease B fleece .. ..... No.bid 1-1 1 10. grease: dyuble fleece No bid 011

7 grease necks 11 bid 1 2| *6 grease A pieces 1) bid 1 1)5 The above brand represents typical Bradford topmakiug wools, and although somewhat ot a red character, yet it will produce a good Cl's top, nice length, and certainly very desirable wool. It is this class of wool which has made West Australia what it is to-day, and that State is turning out quite as big a. variety of merinos as New South AVales, the wool selling anywhere from Is! 3d. to Is. 10d., the well-known Gabyon clip from AVest Australia selling the last day of the series at Is. lOd. per lb. for grease combing. This is certainly a very good clip, full of sound lnuiufacluring properties, ■ light and attractive, and will give a clean yield the top side ot' 50 per cent. So long' as, buyers are able to estimate fvJrly reliably the clean yield of the wool, they are 'satisfied, and if wool shows a fair length of staple and is sound it will never lack buyers. . Changes Seen. "We give below a reliable statement of the changes compared with the close of the second series, and the reader will sec that the alterations are important:—

Greasy merino, superior,-Id. to lid. dearer; greasy merino,. average to good, 2jd. to 3d. dearer; greasy merino, poor condition, 2d. dearer;, greasy merino, inferior locks and pieces, Id. to lid. dearer; scoured merino, superior, 2d. to dearer; scoured merino, average to good, 2d. t0,21d. dearer; scoured merino, inferior, 2id. to 3d. dearer; scoured merinij, faulty locks, and pieces, 2d. to 3d. dearer; greasy merino lambs, superior, Id. dearer; greasy merino lambs, medium, ■Id. dearer; greasy merino lambs, inferior, Id. to Id. dearer; greasy crossbred^.fine superior, }d. dearer;'greasy <crossbred, line ordinary, id. dearer; greasy crosstired, medium superior, Id. dearer; greasy crossbred, medium ordinary, Id. dearer; greasy crossbred, coarse, superior; id. to Id. dearer; greasy crossbred,. coarse ordinary, Jd. dearer;; greasy crossbred lambs, id. to: Id; dearer; .'scoured crossbred, fine, 2d. dearer; scoured crossbred, medium and coarse, 2d. dearer; slipe crossbred, fine, lambs,, id. to Id. dearer; slipe crossbred, medium lambs, id; to Id. dearer; slipe crossbred, coarse lambs, Id. dearer; slipe crossbrr.d, faulty classes, Id. dearer; greasy Pnhta Arenas; well conditioned', id.-'to Id. dearer; greasy Punta Arenas, wnsty,' id. to Id. dearer; greasy Falkland. Islands, -kl. to Id. dearer. South African AVool.—Snow white, super. ■Westerns, Id.' to 1 Jd. dearer; snow white, super, Id. to lid. dearer; snow . white, medium, 2d..dearer; snow white, inferior, 2d. dearej'; greasy combing, 'ljght, Id. to ltd. dearer; greasy combing,' neavy, Id. dearer; greasy clothing, light,..Jd. dearer; groasy. clothing, heavy, id., dearer. The Outlook, ; , The trade to-day is "up against a very fcerious problem as they look forward to tho future. ' At the foundation of the rise which has tafcen place there is undoubtedly the belief that the supplies of merinos are going to be limited, and that there'is nothing to warrant any setback in values. Supplies are coming to hand very slowly, and the present (state of the textile industry makes it certain •'that if there are hands to work machines, :then all the wool in sight will, certainly be wanted. We certainly regard the outlook as very favourable. Perhaps the limit, to value is being reached more quickly than anyone expected, especially when 64's tops have risen in Bradford at least 6d. per lb. since March.' The rise is certainly very rapid, and to all appearance the top has not been reached. Even the Government itself is satisfied that stocks in sight are going to mo no ufore than tfie trade actually.wants, and therefore we certainly, think'that-still higher values are well within range of possibility for both merinos and crossbreds.