LONDON WOOL SALES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3086, 17 May 1917, Page 8

LONDON WOOL SALES

MERINOS SELLING AS WELL

AS EVER

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

London, March 1. The days of high wool prices have by no means passed, this week seeing prices paid for Wist Victorian merinos which constitute a record for, that class oi .staple. The .Mount Bute clip was offered last Sal unlay—Government wools—when 3s. 6d. was paid for- grease combing, a price highly satisfactory both to the grower and Hie Government. It would bo most interesting to know what is the Government's scheduled price which the Mwner will receive for this clip, but in any ca.se the actual values realised clearly'indicate a high standard of* values for these wools. But then the character of the staple is such as to command the undivided attention.of anyone desirous of possessing really excellent wools, for not only is there quality, but also length, soundness and condition connected with West Victorian merinos, and for that matter even croashreds, which calls forth latent buying power. This fact serves to show what big values are being paid for flood, light-conditioned combing merinos, and as these wools are only available dnriiiK a limited period of the your, wo fully expect there will be a. very satisfactory demand for wools showing; such superior characteristics. H only makes oh ft think of what values would have.been ruling if (here had benn available any American competition, but, of (tnurse, the Home |.rnde is entirely responsible for paying current high value?.

Merinos Scllinn Very Well,

There liavo boon this week two dayp reserved for tbe offering and salo of Government wools, and as usual some fair quantities were taken straight out from the calalogiies, notwithstanding the wools had been singed ready for valuing nnd sale. If is now eemi-offici.illy announced that tlit! authorities are determined to create stocks of wool and hold on to siiino ready for emergency purposes. Everybody knows there is going to,_be considerable delay in bringing wool from Australasia to this country, and the Army Contracts Department is by no means) keen to lot wool go out. of their hands in fiew of very largo requirements for our own Army nnd Navy and those of our Allies. Them is wisdom in this move. The week under review bas seen catalogued Bomo very decent wools, but the trade has felt more at liberty to compete for free woJf? than tlv>se owned by the Government. The fiafes hare manifested iv very good spirit, and wo think in the aggregate that more money is forthcoming for decent bulky lines of both scoured and grease. AW have been greatly surprised at the big figures paid for second-hand parcels of hurry combing wools. A. good many, whilo catalogued as combing, aro no more than clothing, a rulo little more than two inohes long and often very burry wools, which if .they had realised Is. Bd. would have made very good prices. As n matter of fact, a lnrgo proportion aro selling at Is. ind. to 25., and they will liavn to bo blended with wools of long etaplo to produce 1 even a medium top. That really is the position to-day. When we come to scoureds, we have the same talo to toll. Headers will know the debacle there was during the last two doys'of tlio January series, when good scoureds wero sold showing a depreciation of anywhere from Sd. to 12d. per lb., although .that decline was not reported a,t tho time. There havo been wools this series that have realised up to Is. por Jb. move t'hnn was bid oa the last two days -of the first series, simply because confidence was then shattered on account of the trade not knowing what the Government was going to do. Since then, there has been considerable agitation, and it certainly is refreshing to know that tho trade i.s not taking lying down all tho latest proposals of the Army Contracts Department, for a large number see distinctly that their valuable businesses will be largely defunct if tho present regulations are carried out.

Very good scoured morinos have sold this tt-eek at up to -in. Bd. per lb. and over, oven Adelaide scoureds at 4s. 7d. renlising figures wliicli Jito cminoutlj satisfactory. It can safely bo said that anything decent is to-day making fully 10 pw cent, nbovo last series, and tho snmo remarks apply both to medium and faulty parcels. In fact, a totally different spirit animates buyers to-day than was seen last series, for all alike realise that unless they have even reasonable stocks of

free merinos, they are going to be in a very poor way indeed for doing business in the near future. The writer has maintained all along that free merino wools will be in exactly the same position as English fleece and skin wools have been during recent months, and now that tho Government has taken over any balance of the 1915 clip, this narrows considerably the interests of the trade, and is bound

to limit operations by confining everyone to dealing exclusively in merinos. This appears to be the worst knock that the trade has- yet received. Crossbreds. Since writing last a few lots of greasy crossbreds have been offered, these etill being.left alone by the Government. Of course the bulk of the wools have comprised Australian second-hand parcels, but they have continued to 601 l remarkably well, very different from what they did in January. One or two small new clips from New Zealand have also been catalogued, and have likewise done very well indeed. It can be Baid with all truthfulness that these are making today 2d. moro than last series, average 40's to 50's wools realising in the neighbourhood of 25.; exceptionally good figures are forthcoming for New Zealand crossbred lambs. Of course they are all old wools, and vet on average they are making well on towards 2d. more than last series. Some very nice lines of light-conditioned lambs have sold at lid,; in fact, heavy-conditioned lambs have easily made Is. 9d., a proof of the acceptableness of this class of staple. Good comeback lambs pulled from Sydney skin wools have been valued for Government purposes at over 45., and even crossbreds showing 50's quality have made around 2s. 6d. These were free wools, but barred from public sale by the Government. In fact, the embargo still holds "ood that no scoured or eliped crossbreds owned privately can be fold at all, and tho trade has very much missed this series of well-known Kaputone scoured crossbreds from Chrlstchurc.h, the Government having appropriated, every bale I However, the market remains a good one, prices are very firm, and every class of raw material is selling at the highest point of the series. Trade Agitating for Revised Conditions. Since the memorable speeches in the House of-Commons, the largest members of the West Hiding industry have not been asleep, several meetings being held in Huddersfield and Bradford, all with a view of asking tho Army Contracts Department to revise their scheme W Government control. The utmost loyalty is expressed, and it is taking many practicil shapes. At the same time a good many of the leading firms seo distinctly .that their businesses as. buying brokers and merchants are going to be killed it the known programme of tho Army Conn; cil is to bo strictly carried out, Hence ill associations from tho buying brokers to the manufacturer aro meeting to oner ~, m ,ited protest against the present nrbgrammo being enforced. What Uio trade feels to-day it that the Government should take all tho wool * ™"J» »° s-itisfv Uio military needs of the tSnpii Kiuni'ro and her Allies, but having done that it should hold its hand and placethe balance- of all clips at lie disposal of tho trade, offoring all wools by public auction Tendering to different sections t1,7 wool wanted at different prices is wrong in principle, encouraging as it w II underhand and lyiig methods, and J" are certain that nothing will satisfy Uio trade so much as following out the programme hero outlined.