LONDON WOOL SALES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2878, 16 September 1916, Page 15

LONDON WOOL SALES

RECORD VALUES FOR SCOURED MERINOS (Prom Our Special Correspondent.) London, July 20. .Last Tuesday the second rouijd of. the current' series of sales began, and this week there lias been 110 diminution in the interest displayed in tho course of wool values. Buyers turned up in a most creditable manner, and a good many, going home last .Saturday for the week-end, an opportunity was thus furlushed for a largo number to bo at tho market on Monday in Bradford, and feeling the pulse of that market no doubt has helped to shape the programme of the week's business liero in Coleman Street.One regrets very much that there aro not. more boutli Australian sooureds available for sale, and it looks as if those who have sold in the colonies liavo for once made a mistake. :No doubt they thought they, had done a good stroke of business when they made sales at record prices, but tliero is apparently no end to the lisp iiCmerino scoureds, and any-, thing above GO's quality is still selling at goo<l values, in years gone by tho word '"boom" has always been more or less a nightman) 'to' the members of thj> wool trade, but to-day 'even that word hath its charms, and certainly nricea are being made series after series which compel one to assert that a veal boom exists. During the week we have seen Is. 2d.' paid for Port Phillip scoured fkiit wools, and the fact of is, being, trade'for South Africaa scoureds shows the strength of the market. Truly wo iii'o 1 living in wonderful times, and when the war finishes and values become more normal/' we' shall' look back to sent booiri and wonder where all tho courago came from to prompt my man to pay anything like the values wliioh are rilling. Healthy Demand for Merinos. The offerings this weelc have been on tho whole good average, these' remarks applying both to inerinos and crossbreds. . We- find that merinos are being bought on a clean .scoured basis of some, thing like 3s. per lb., and many, loto will cost even more. .When 2s. OJd. W paid, for merino necks,.'.giving a clean yield of . 53. to . 51 per cent., the reader can- reckon upon the clean scoured cost of the wools delivered in Bradford, and on the top of the price in Coleman Street must lie added Id. per lb. to cover car■riago. and cost of sorting. The shew f! Queensland scoured this series is nothing like so good, as last; in. fact, there is distinct proof of tho end of the season being at haiid. Considerable quantities of second-hand parcels avo being »«ta. lojucd, aiid merchants are doing very well. It is really amazing'liow merinos are selling, and to-day anything good jh tireely making ljd. above last, swewhile probably the most surprising thing of all is the tremendous rise of scoured faulty pieces, bellies, arid locks. There is here a unanimous opinion that they, are 3d. to '4d: 'above last series,, and it is a daily occurence to see clean scoured locks make up to 2s. 7d.; in fact, tho' merest rubbish is selling around 25., ;the price of good combing in The Highest price paid for greasy combing this series is 2s. 3d., tliis being' made on. several occasions for rather fatty .'Can. miinian wools that showed superfine quality. No doubt we have got through -tiu> best Australian merinos, and as there cannot be any important supply of new wools till the end of the year, topinakorS are buying readily, and paying very good prices indeed. ' . Scoured' merinos are being offered in fair quantities, and selling weil. • Russia is as keen as ever to operate,-and there Bc-cnis to be no end to hc"N-capa.city ior taking wool. Some second-hand paree:/.. from Queensland have been tiffcrwj.which sold anywhere from 3s. to Is. 3d. per Hi. above what the .wools cost ill "Brisbane, and . the importers are doing remarkably well out of them. The Homo trade is also ready to buy, but-of course is bowled bufalmbst'every tioie, liussia purchasing scoured wools at tiffie3 are . trouble<l with. a . shiv. Anything ready for the machines that can bo used straight out of tuo bale is . what our Ally chieily wants,. and tiio prices being paid are certainly exceedingly good. «0 have alreadv mentioned tho tremendous advance for faulty scoureds, this no doubt being due to the capacity the Home trade shows for carbonising flies* wools and celling same. It is very patent that competition for thoao faulty wools is going to be on a much larger scale than previously, and therefore there isevery Ukelihocul of these faulty parcels remaining dear. If America were now allowed to purchase wools there would be a shine, "but -when good clean looks .are selling anywhere from 2s. Cd. to 2s. 9d. it shows an exceed:n°ly fltrong market.

Crossbreds Selling Steadily. The offerings this week of Mew Zealand wools ami also P until. Arenas crossbreds have been considerable, and considering the- quietness which obtains 111 manufacturing circles,-it is really-won-derful how they are being absorbed. I he market is certainly- very healthy and sound, although-we should like tilings better if conditions were, more .satisfactory in Bradford. Somehow fhcre. is not that vim and go iii crossbred , tops that we. would like .to see ,i.u manufacturing circles,. and no doubt the whole trade is more or less suffering on account of all exporting being'cut of!" and-the-Govern-ment interfering with .the movement of 'the - English new clipy Everybody is wondering what is going vto lie the out*, .come of the present Government monopoly, and we see orders, placed for hosieries. Everything seems to be.more or less upset owing to the uncertainty which prevails regarding'tlie future, and these circumstances considered/ it is really wonderful the confidence displayed in Coleman Street and the ready way that wools are being absorbed. "We cannot see any improvement in values, and certainly think that faulty, wastv wools from 50's downwards are fully a penny under hist -sales' prices, it being the sG's and sS's quality wools whero the strength of the market actually lies. For really clean, desirable parcels in the grease,, up to Is. 10d. is .being paid, butof course, these wools are,fast bordering. 011 to GO's quality, aiid are really comebacks. Considerable quantities of decent lopmaking wools arc "selling at Is. -Id. to Is. 5d., an<l on secorid-liaiul parcels bought in New Zealand no profit can bo seen and not always cost price. Scoured crossbreds are. selling splendidly. nnd these are apparently wanted by Scotland and those firms who . are using clean wools for khaki purpose?. Anytliing'showing decent quality is often making a penny' above last sales, and there is 110 decline iii medium and coarso descriptions, but the strongest demand of all is for 50's and. upwards.' There is now being offered the new - wools from New Zealand and some very good scouring is being done. There would bo a shine here if export were allowed for Italy, but competition is entirely coufiiwl to the Home, trade. Sliped crossbreds are also.heing-offered freely; in fact, the time of.the year has How arrived when considerable weights of these are nlwev-s catalogued. Them are some nice half-bred lambs, as well i'S three-quarter-breds, and We c®inot see prices here "very much-different from last series. (Jn 'to 2s. .Id. has been pnidM'or half-bred lambs, 2s. to 2s. Id. for fii|c crossbred*, and even Leicester and Lincoln lambs are selling anywhere from N.' "Id. I'i Is. 1 lil.,- according' to the condition of the parcel. All things considered the movement of sliped crossbreds is most creditable. Conditions in -Bradford. The amount of business passing cannot be recorded as large. The most promiii: ent feature-is .the hardening effect i»"i. duced upon merino top prices by tlio strong tendency of fine wool.} in London. Tn conseouenre of this, e-cn greater irrcf.ulai'itv has been seen :n mcino ruioHtions than during last week and the prices named by tonmakers depend almost entirely upon their individual nasi-, tion with regard to forward obligations. Somo most extreme figures may be met with in naming prices for fit's qualify, the ran™ being anywhere from 4s. .Id. to 4s. 9d. .The latter figure, may be taken as one. which is given out by firms! Well covered, for protective purposes, while an offer of the former might hern and thero result in some, business in the H"(!ond-!iund market. The whole position of merinos is very firm, and fine crossbreds arc also moving 011 similar lines, ,

the inquiry noticed last week for SG's and sS's still being maintained. Tliero hns also been some little movement in the lower qualities, but not suflicent to bring about any appreciation in values, and. while it is doubtless true that the placing of Government orders would bo nioro likely than "anything else to strengthen this department of the trade, there js not likely to be any further development in this direction until fho Government scheme respecting Uiu new English c.liy has beeii completed. Tho quotations generally in medium and low crossbreds are steady, 4(i's carded being at 2Sd. There has been no alteration whatever in the position n-y regards English- wools; old stocks are being very firmly held, and .any sales mi\do still show more hardening in prices.