LONDON WOOL SALES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2837, 31 July 1916, Page 10

LONDON WOOL SALES

PRICES PRACTICALLY AT THE TOP (L-'rom Our Special Correspondent.) London, June o, lOlti. Tho week under review has been a remarkable one so tar as the sale of coionial wools is concerned, and tho series are finishing with values at the highest point. The fact is, wool -.ieems to have little hi its pathway to obstruct its progress or to check the rush to higher values. It has been tie wntcr's privilege to watch the f-aio of nurinos and crossbreds in London now for nearly thirty rciuw, and the present sale eclipses all the rest. The fact is, one cannot look at a priced dialogue and see pago after i-age of «;auiv.d meri'.os selling at ;ls. 6d. to os. lid., without ietling that something extraordinary, is happening. Last week-end records were m->.ue every day. Take the Toorak clip. There were 655 bales rft'ervl, ami no fewer than ten big lots made the handsome price of 3s. 9d.; in fact, every lot sold from .'ls. 4d. to 3s. !)d., until we came to the stained pieces, the record never being eclipsed in the annals of the colonial trade. Even the locks made 26. 7d., this clearly showing what the market is like. A most pleasing feature in the home trnde competing keenly for these top lines; in fact, it was Huddersfield and Bradford. that really forced the hands of Russia, and the latter topped almost every .bid for the super combing, clothing, and best pieces. Nothing surprised the trade more than the fact that Eochdale flannel manufacturers took no fewer than, seven lots of broken fleeces, pieces and bellies, at !ls. 2d. to 3s. 6Jd., for never before in their history have they paid anything like such prices. The fact is. many firms seem as if they have been operating this series -without limits, simply competing until they got the wool. That -really is the position, and it proclaims eloquently a unique situation. The Week's Sales. The current week's auctions -have not seen catalogued, the high-class merinos that were seen during the opening week, selling brokers evidently oifering thenbest wools in their first sale. They acted very wisely .-in this, because this week «e hardly think that the same extreme values'have been paid, for merinos, though an actual decline is hardly possible. . Tho character of the offerings being rather worse has not led to the same extreme prices being bid, some verv good scoureds selling around 3s. 6ri., which last week would have made a little more. But then it. all depends upon how buyers torce the hand of Russia in determining the price of good scoured merinos. If no one in the Home trade is prepared to bid, the Russian buyer has things largely his own way, and ho wants all the good scoureds ■he can lay his hands upon around 3s. lid. The fljhv that seems: to be proceeding between Home and Australian Governments over the question of the embargo is being watched very critically, and buyers know that if America is put out of action, value will 'inevitably suffer. This may have had something to do with the attitude ot buyers this week, aim while tney have been menu red (o operate vary freely there Hat© not always been the extreiud vaults paul that one saw. previously. As a- matttr of f : ,er, we think that tho advance at the close can be called 2d. io 2Jd. per lb. on good shafty-grease combing merinos, and super scoureds are 2d. to 3d. above April rates. Medium combnig wools- are mostly Md. to-2d. dearer •faulty- parcels, are the' same; in fact! scarcely any class of- merino wool can be seen but what must be quoted' all round . 2d.' lusher than at the previous sale. The call for faulty carbonising wools, both grease and scoured, lias been really wonderful, a proof that the trade is now in a position to buy this class of raw material more extensively. Of course it is useful, and more cuuld be consumed if there were the machinery to deal with the vegetable matter that infests the wool. However, colonial p'astoralists will bo pleased to know that the.Government has sanctioned the construction of more carbonising machinery, firms in Rochdale anil Bradford making the. bulk of if having received/special permission to do this and lay on.,one side the manufacture of munitions. It is felt that if more carbonising machinery is available, it will mean continued satisfactory support for these faulty wools, and- in that wav the Umpire's interests will be served quite as much as by two or three firms continuing to Jiiako other machineiy. The marvellous advance, in. merinos that has been seeii this year is simply surprising everyone, and yet it is all a question of supply and demand. Crossbreds Selling Freely, The catalogues this week have contained, a fairly good selection of crossbreds, to which full justice has been done. There has still been in evidence the full advance in sb"s and 58's, but Sfl's and below have.continued to sell at firm values on the level established a week ago. The home trade is-a free buyer, and will be, but there is not that disposition to exceed limits'that ono has witnessed in merinos. There is'now entering tho market a new .English clip about equal in size to that of Now Zealand, ami as there remains on hand at least 2j per cent, of the last clip, buyers feel that they are going to purchase the coining clip at no more than last year, or else leave.growers with their, wool on hand. The outlook is very uncertain for all crossbreds, both English and colonial. This is due to the attitude of the Government in refusing all licenses, and nonto are going to be granted for some considerable time to conic. It is quite true that prices are high enough to . please even growers, but the granting of licenses would simply mean the opening of tho flood-gates and forcing prices still higher, thus increasing the danger thero.is in extravagantly high prices. Then, too, there is a feeling at Westminster that all prospective supplies of crossbreds will bo wanted for military requirements, especially, in view-of the fact that the Nciv Zealand clip is coming to hand much slower than usual. Wo have seen this week further, big prices paid for comeback wools, the top side of 2s. being paid for Geelong wools, and even OG's to 58's New Zealands have sold at 2s. A big weight of wool is selling from Is. sd. to Is. GJ-d., chiefly medium and low crossbreds, good 50's remaining in tho neighbourhood of Is. Bd. to Is. Dd. Slipes, too, have maintained last week's advances, while scoured crossbreds have continued, to sell .at full 2d. above April rates. .