LONDON WOOL SALES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 235, 30 June 1919, Page 8

LONDON WOOL SALES

PRICES MAINTAINED FOR BEST OFFERINGS ' "(From Our Speoial Correspondent.) tr .London, May 15, 1919. . ■ No small amount of attention continues -to-be paid to the London wool auctions, p- tnese now having eutereu upuii tun s&onu week of the second series. No improvef'' nient has taken place .in the general ' and character of the wools, tho opinion f . . being unanimous that compared-wicn the first series," there is not tlio same excelf. ..lent .style of wools to select from. All i tho same competition during the first few ('/ days jvas exceedingly good, and so far I. ;as the present'week's operations have rei:- vealed, there' has been_uttle i abatement in . buying energy. Tho interest which has ■' been shown by operators has been due -. ' largely to , the fact that' a very active time has been experienced during tiie interval in the West Hiding. _ Very

i. large orders have been placed on spinning p'. and manufacturing "account, the result f being that values for' merinos and fine [/ crossbreds- have' shown a decidedly "lip* 1 waid tendency, and the position of many I- to-day" Is' that they are unable seriously [■ to : consider, the acceptance of fur tiler j; orders;}.' It has been demonstrated beyond i -doubt that despite the'high level to ; which'values have attained, very strong. feelings .of: confidence exist with regard ; to the future of the wool manufacturing; j .industry. •• • These facts, will - need to-be kept in mind by readers in perusing what is said later in the course of tliis '• article, for it will be impossible to say ;.. that in every instance values for the raw i material are maintained on the extreme ,' ' level' at .which the first series of London sales closed., Where there, baa been :■ anvthing in'the'nature of .a depreciation t' . itV'has .been brought about entirely by r . the intrinsic character of the wools, and not % any abatement of the interest on iV* consumptive-. account. Hitherto the f■ l- field.has been occupied,, most largely'by [ . representatives of the fyome trade, _ the | only outside buyers who have had given i'. to them the privilege of purchasing being [I Belgian, representatives. t ,r liese have 'i-.undoubtedly made good use of the scope £> ' which has been'given to them, by %king the classes of wool which that section of pi the.trade usually handles. -

[j The Demand for Merinos. I On soma days during the present series no superior combing merino wools have [;■; been offered which could'be described aa |t being equal to those available during the R last auctions, but op others the previ- :. .ohs sale's.wools, were far excelled, some' f - of'tha. very" cream of merinos and fine L ; -crossbreds being oifered. As a -matter polkas the West Victorian: wools have k.. been', the' salvation of the whole series. • These sold'up to GOd. for .greasy super -. combing'and 42d..t0 4Bd. for greasy'fine crossbred. The offerings have been j. chiefly of the average top-making type, i and not the spinner's specialities which ! . when available are usually taken at. the Nvtop-price of the market.. Some greasy ! , West Australian made-up to ss. ihl., j: though this price' was.well, above the i average level paid. Tho quality was not , more than Gi's, and the yield about 55' | ',- 'PSE- cent. . Many ..of the lots dill not i' show sufficient length to 'be "described 1- as; combing. They were really only of j clothing length, this applying particular. |\ ly to .several West Australan and Syd--f;s ney* clips. ' , Offerings from other sources ; were none , too good in ;the. matter of ; - etaplo.' Many of them were more or less f realised up to 3s. sd. per lb. ; Buyers-estimates of.the cost of good &i'a j to 70V warp, tpps out of the Queensland j.:, were.. that they would cost up to i 7s. 6d. ' There was nothing very attracj:' tive about" scoureds. , One well-known | line of scoured pieces from Brisbane sold at 3s. 3Jd. to 3s. 6d. This lot was not of very, good'colour and was also short -■ and seedy.

•.. • The Crossbreds.These have..-been none too good. Indeed,, the selection was poor in style, the result-being that many lots of. Austin"??::Ceces and bellies only made a dragS! u ?were too . heavy ajiu dirty, in' condition to bring forth'animate ed competition, the prices realised rang-'i . lng, from '. 16d. to 22d. ' The crossbreds ! from New Zealand'were'mostly.slipes, and •included some .wools of very good typ'G. bydney greasy, wools, which were really tho best offered, made up to ss. 9Jd foiwoc,s giving well over 60 per cent, yiela. The Trend of Values. In connection with this phase of the sales, what has transpired has been very little different from what was anticipated. The' opinion has been unanimous that where good combing merinos and superior greasy fine crossbreds have' been concerned prices havo advanced often 5 to 10 per cent. Merinos of ordin-ary-combing length,' whether greaay or scoured, have shown practically no change, but have certainly not been .cheaper. Other descriptions have general-ly-failed to come up to the level of the previous auctions. The character of tlia medium and low wools was often such as to prevent buyers bidding with any real freedom, this being equally true of greasies and scoureds. The .fact hiu, again beon emphasised throughout the whole course of the sales that where really good wools are concerned the buying power and disposition of tho trade never flags. Though the time may not be just yet, there is evidence that ultimately more outside competition for the . wools which are not the Bradfoz'd prime sorts -will have to be allowed.

There is already sufficient . indication that the weight of carbonising wools which will bo brought to this conntry will bo such na to prevent' values for' these being maintained even on the level at'which they now stand. It is, of course,' recognised that the prices of all o-asses of raw material are on an abnormally high level, and one of the inevitable results which may bo expected to develop out of the present position of wool supplies and the capacity of the machinery.in the West Biding is that these inferior descriptions will have to be disposed of not .only to customers wlio for a long time had jio opportunity to buy, ]>ut also at more reasonable rntea than those current to-day. It is possible that an excellent opportunity will be afforded to commission carbonisers in the 'liandling of. burry. wools, but even then the assistance of/the Continent will bo needed. During the current.week burry wools of all descriptions have met witli wore indifterent competition:, and even superior merinos anil.fine crossbreds have not sold quite so readily.

Cape Offerings. There has been nothing very special about these during the whole of the series. 'J'he majority of the offerings have only been of clothing length, • and during the present week the prices realised show an -average depreciation of about 10 per cent. Large weights of scoured stained pieces have been offered, which are often sd. per lb. cheaper, and good'greasies liavo fallen 2d. to 3d. Bradford Prices Very Firm. . ' The local top market has not been greatly affected "by tho progress of events in London. Values for merino and fine

crossbred tops are undoubtedly very firm, shoving a hardening tendency. This is largoly duo to tlio fact that topmnkers are well booked forward, and see no prospect of being able to givo delivery except for distant months. The result is that quotations both for spot and future are both on the upward grade. There seems' to bo little probability of combing machinery being able to cope with the Wool at such a pace as will satisfy requirements as readily as required. Though medium and low qualities of tops show no improvement in price, rather more inquiry has developed for the former during the pnst week or ton days, and in spite of tho lack of interest in the latter, ii fairly strong feeling of optimism is noticeable. The majority of spinners have such largo or /numerous orders on their books as to be mostly indifferent about accepting further commitments for fine qualities. Values are therefore nominally dearer, and manufacturers are in some cases offeriii«c high prices, in the hope of setting' their own orders covered quickly.