COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2830, 22 July 1916, Page 12

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

I ■ INVESTMENT SHARES. I Prices of investment stocks yesterday , Were as follow;— 1 Buyers. Sellers. | x £s. d. £s. d. 'Well/ Gas (£10) 14 14 0 - a 8.. British Insurance ... '4 18 0 5 0 0 I Well. Meat Export (£5)... 6 2 6 6 5 0 I Well. Meat Export (£2l2s. 6d.) 3 1 6 3 2 6 Union Steam (ord.) ... : 117 0 117 6 ■union Steam (pref.) 110 — Well. Woollen (ord.) 5 19. 0 Well. Woollen (pref.) 3 15 0 - Weetport Ooa.l 18.6 — N.Z. Consol. Dental 116 — • Sale—Taupiri Goal, 13s. 6d. (r«). A RECORD ,YEAR. Tho balance-sheet of the Stratford Bairy Company shows that the.company has had a record year. Tho milk received amount; ed to 39,463,5281b., compared'with 33,662,9631b: in' 1915.; The average test woe 3.93, com-, pared with 3.94 in 1915. Butter fat, 1,554,3021b. .(1,331,3961b.); butter made, 1,813,3291b. (1,556,7481b.); overrun, 16.5 (16.9); .while the cost of manufacture has dcorcasod. from 1.09 to 1.05. Th<r'averagQ amount paid for butter fat. for the year. wasl6.s4d. per lb. . The €ale of butter amounted to £118,052 16s. 9d., and there is still a balance of £20,941 14s. 7d. to be distributed to suppliers, and £600 has been donated to tho Patriotic Fund, • WOOL, SKIN, AND HIDE SALES. The fortnightly sales of -wool, skine, and hides. were : held yesterday by the various brokers. • • Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Limited, report;— Prices for all classes, of produce were well maintained. We are holding over all - bale : wool for the next special sale, which takes place on August 18. Messrs. Murray, Roberts and Co. offered a catalogue of 3000 sheepskins, 450 hides, and a few odd . lots of. tallow and bag wool. Prices for. sheepskins were well maintained. Hides also sold fully on a par with last sale' 6 quotations, cow hides, if anything, showing a hardening tendency. • Calfskins showed a distinct advance of last sale's price. Tallow was firm. Messrs.. Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ltd., report that competition was not. so keen as'at the previous sale. Sheepskins showed a decline of about id. per lb. Cow hides showed an advance of about id. per lb., and ox hides were, if anything, in sellers' favour. Tallow showed a .slight advance.: -

Messrs. Levin and, Co. report, that the sheepskin market -was found unchanged. Hides were firm,/ and ox hides were unchanged, cow hides higher by \d. to Jd., and calfskins Id. higher. Wool is being held for the sale, on August 18. Messrs. Abraham and Williams, Ltd.-. report having offered a largo catalogue of skins and other produce; which all sold under the hammer to a ful bench of buyers. Tallow, was a little easier, and skins showed a slight decline of'about Jd. per lb. Hides wero on a ,par with last sale, but 1 cows were slightly dearer. Good prime calf sold weH.

The If.Z. Ix*tri and Mercantile Agency Co.; Ltd., report that only a few bales of oddments of wool were offered, all bale lots of orutchings and fleece being held for tho next orutchings sale, on- August: 18. There was a ' good-demand . for all produce offered. Coarse and medium crossbred skins were slightly lower in price, in sympathy with , slight drops in current London wool sales for this quality of wool. Hides and calfskins sold at slightly higher prices than previous sale. Sales -were also held by the United Farmers' Co-op. Association and tho Wairarapa, Banners' Co-op. Association. Tho range of prices was as under:— Sheepskins.—Halfbred,l2d. to 121 d.; fine crossbred, lid. to 12d.: short to lalf-wools, crossbred, 1:fl. to 42d.; medium, coarse 7d. to 10id.; dead and damaged orossbred, 7id. to lOd.;) inferior and badly damaged, 3d. to Bd.; lambs, 83d. to 12d.; damp, salted', and green, 3s. 6d. to 13s. 4d.| pelts, 4d. to Eid.; lambs, salted, 3s. 6d. to 7s, Hides—Ox, heavy, 601b. up, lljd-. to 12d.; ox. medium. 56-59. Hid. to 12& d.; ox, light, 19 and under, i?B. to 10|d.; cow, heavy, 551b. and over, 10/ d. to 10Jd.; cow, medium, 42 to 64, IOJd. to 10 3-Bd.; cow, light, under 42, Bid. to 10-id.; cut. slippy, and inferior, 78d. to 10d.; bull stag, 6/d. to 8/d.; yearlings (16 to 241».), Bd. to IOJd.: calf, superior (up to 161b.), lZd., to 14a.; calf, medium; good (up to 161b.), BJd. to lljd.; calf, damaged, 6d. to 9d. ■ Tallow.—ln casks, 30s. to 315.; in tins, etc., 265. to 325. SOUTHERN MAKKETS. By Telegraph—Press .AssieiatiM. Chrlstchurch, July 21.. The . wheat market is maintaining its firmness. Few eales are taking place. Odd lines of Tuscan are changing hands, but. there is very'little Hunter's or Pearl coming forward,- and the latter is increasing in value. There is such a scarcity of locally-grown oats that no. business can be done in them, and the demand for oatshoaf chaff is purely local. The fact that Bome 17,000 sacks of potatoes havo gone to Aucklan'S, by the last three steam-

crs from the South Islaud has filled up that market. for the time , being, and no fresh business can be obtained ft jprc«cnt. Tlio market is therefore easier. In consequcnuu of buyers being indifferent about making purchases, a few further sales liavo been made at £6 at country stations during the last few days, and it is now very doubtful if the growers' liope of obtaining £7 for August delivery. will .be realised. LONDON WOOL SALES. Australian-New Zealand Cable Association. London, July 20. At the 1/ondon wool sales, prices for greasy merinos were maintained: -scourcds were slower, favouring the buyers; crossbreds were irregular. Tho following prices were realised for fleece portions of the New Zealand clips named:—Birch Hill, 24d. (top), 212 d. (average); Ugurookc. 211(1.. 2dgd.; Thistle, 2fld., 18d. Oiii the Rraro'ord market, merinos and fine crossbrcds are strong; lower class crossbrcds weaker, business being slow. Sixty-fours. 54d.; super sixties, 53d.; common .sixti'es, 52d.; fifty-sixes, 4fld.; fifties, 33d.; forty-sixee, 28d.; forties, 27d. Sheepskins—36oo bundles were offered and sold. Compared with June sales, merino clothings were id., combings id., and all fine crossbrcds id. higher; medium eoa.rse, id. lower; all lambs, id. higher. LONDON WOOL AND SKIN MARKET. Messrs. Dalgety end Company, Limited, have received the following cablegram frora their London office, under date July 20:— Sheepskins.—At the auction, 36C0 bales were offered, and were practically all sold. As compared with closing, rates of last boJcb, merino combing advanced &d. per lb., and clothing id. Fine'crossbrcds were jd. per lb. dearer, but medium and coarse declined id. Lambs' skins were better by id. i Wool.-The sales-continue firm, except for. fine crossbreds, which are slightly easier. Messrs. Abraham and Williams, Ltd.,. received the following, cablegram from their London agents, dated July 21:—Merino unchanged; crossbrcds deciinc of 7£d. per cent.; other- wools down 2i per cent., a/ compared with last sale's rates. Messrs. Murray, Roberts and Co., Ltd., liave received a cablegram from their Loudon . friends, Messrs. Sanderson, Murray and Co., under date July 20, as follows:—"Sheepskins, merino and line crossbred combing, advanced Id. per . lb."

BANK OF ENGLAND RETURN. Australian-New Zealand Cable Association. (Roc. July 21. 6.50 p..m) London. July 21. The Bank of England return issued for the week ended Wednesday. July ID, is as under:— . Issue Department. Koto Issue i73.339.C00 Gov. debt ... £11,015,000 Other (securities 7,434.000 > Gold 54,<890000 £78339„000 £73,330,00 0 Basking Department. Proiirictors' Gov. 6ecuri- ■ capital £14,553,000 ties £42,168,000 Public de- Other Becuriposlts ... 68,068.000 ties. 80,783,000 Other de- '■ , posits ... 66,443,000. Notes... ... 36,379,000 Bost, 7-day and other . ' .■ " . bills ... 3,353,000 Coin 3.0G2.C00 £162,417,000 £162,117,000 The leading items of the Bank of England return afford the following comparison:— This weok Last week Lastyoar ■£ £ £ Bullion ... 54.890.000 57,306,0C0 68.460.000 Deserve - ... 39.441,000 41.85f1.000 44.101000 Note Circulation 36:060.000 35,080,000 33,774,000 Public Deposits . 68.068.0C0, 64,020.000 107,226.000 Othor Deposits 86.413,000 92,500,000 134,620.000 Proportion of . reserve to liabilities ■ 27.29 28.39 18.09 ' GOVERNMENT'SECURITIES. The following are;the latest quotations for Colonial Government Securities in comparison with those ruling last week:

MONEY MARKET. The Bank of England discount rate was on January 2, 1914. reduced from 5 to 44 per cent., on January 22 it was reduced to 4 per cent., and on January 23 3 per cent: On July 30 the rate was. raised to 4 per cent., and on July 31 it was raised per cent., and on August 1 it was Further advanced to 30 per ccnt. On August 6 the rate was reduced to 6 per cent.; on August 7 it was reduced to 5 per cent. Only July 13, 1916, it was raised to' 6 per cent. ( OPEN MARKET RATES. The sleek markets ere subdued^ owing to the uncertainty of the bank rate, but is less depressed, as money ' conditions in New York are easier. , Later. There is no chango in the bank rate, and the stock markets are more cheerful in'consequence. Threo months' bills, 51 per cent.; last year, 5 per cent. Short loans, 45 per cent. ; last year, 41 per cent. COLONIAL AND OTHER PRODUCE. Butter.—Market very firm. Australian shipments have been pactically cleared. A few lots of choicest aro Quoted at from 1555. to 1605.; New Zealand, : 1605.; exceptional, 170s. It now been definitely decided that tlio exportation of Siherian butter will not be permitted, except' possibly small quantity late in the autumn, so that supplies hcnceforwaTd will probably be short. Cheese.—The market is recovering, the lower prices stimulating the demand. New Zealand, 88s., 90s. Sugar.—Market unchanged. Wheat—Market ijuiet, with easier tendency. Flour.—Market firm, no Australian offering. Barley.—Market steady. Oats.—Market quiet. Peas.—Market' firm. New Zealand maples, 555., 635. Beans.—Market firm. • New Zealand spring, 505., '525. '

Variation st . compared btock Frico. witli. ■ __ _____ lest vreok. £ 5. A. . 2i% Imperial Consola 69 2 6 v/g i owe r 31 „ War Loan S7 16 0 25 S lower 44 „ War Loan 96 . 0 0 12/6 lower 1 : ..N.S.W.1933Jan.-July 86 6 0 17 6lower 34 ..N.S.W.lBM-SOMr.-Sp 96 15 .0 f lower « , 75 4 6 ®WS lower 4 ,N.8.W. 1025 Apl.-Oct 73 5 0 7/6 higher 3 „ Vic. 1920 Jan.-July . 94 0 0 15s lower 34 „ Vic. 1921-6 Jan.-July B5 7 n . cs liiRlier 34' 1M0U949 74 10 0 17/6 ower B, ',.Vic.l921M9Jan.-July 66 0 0 27/6 lower 34 „S.A. 1916 Jan.-July 74 0 0 20s lower i 6112 B Unchanged 3 „Q 1 dl915-24 Jan.-July 90 7 (i 17/6 lower 34 „Q'l'ai922-47Jan.-Jn!y 83 0 0 7/6 higher 3 „QTd 182&4TJan.-July 6'6 5 0 ;6slower i N.Z. 19-29 May-Nov. 88 17 6 12/0 lower 34 N.Z. 1912-40 Jan.Jly 76 0 0 12/6 lower 3 ' N-Z. 1920 April-Oct 68 0 0 17/61ower 34 '"W.A. 1915-35 M'y-N'v 75 6 0 5a higher .3 "W A. 1915-35 M'y-Nov 72 10 0 Unohanged 34 ' Tas 1920 Jon-July 73 10 0 lOslower 3 "Taa 1920-40 Jan-July t 66 15 0 Unohanged