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LONDON WOOL SALES

ALL VALUES EASIER

EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE ON FRANCE

(From Our Special Correspondent.) London, December 18, 1919. The fact must be chronicled that things are ea.sier in Coleman Street. Prom tho best to the lowest classes the ■ market is in favour of the buyer. The writer estimates that there is practically .10 per cent, decline all round,'and this can be said to apply to.the best classes of comb-, imr ■ merinos, for which there has notbeen forthcoming anything like the high m-ices seen during the first week of tho .auctions. It has twlny to ho a very good, style of scoured-merino combing wool to fetch the top side of lCfld.. and we no longer see over 80d. paid.for grease combing wools. All things considered it is as well that a spirit of reasonableness lias at last come over the market, but'tho'direct causo.is the intlated rate of exchange .between Franco and this country, for as a .Frenchman, remarked tho other day,'the cost of wool bought in Coleman Street will be doubled bv the time it reaches Roubaix. The writer ventures the opinion that ho man , can work on such a basis, for no matter how srood trade may be, the intrinsic value' has been greatly exceeded when, tho cost of wool has been increased 109 uer cent, between' leaving the selling centre and reaching the. consuming centre. Every user has to look forward t*> what mav be called the effect unon his customer,'and to an Englishman, cloth to-day is "stinking dear." What it will be to' Continental wholesale fabric buyers'when they have' to' mirchaso may bo better imagined than described, for whereas to-day wholesale houses in this country are paying 21s. to 255. per yard for an 18-onnce worsted blue serge, practically double that must be naid for the same cloth made on the Continent, all due to the present high rate of exchange.

France Out of the Market, In face of the above facts the wader can well imagine that France is practically out of the market. This has made a hie difference, and is naturally forcing nil the competition on to the homo trade. America remains in the fiold for Hie best warn merinos, but that is practically all. These are still soiling at aood fiiriires. For instance, a line of West Australian grease combing wools mado 73d; last Monday, other greasy wools made from Gsd. to 72(1., merino lambs 40(1. to 49(1:, even hurry sorts selling ' anywhere from 35(1. to 4(1(1. the mnrket is still the strongest for, shatty warp combine wools, and America is certainly taking up cheaper stocks than a. I'ortniEht niK>.' As a matter of-tact, these wools arc not over plontiiul. i'\c Australian new clip is spoken of as being very lean, fine,. and shorter than usual,, duo to tho cast six months of drought. The deficiency in the new clip seems to have been lost sight of by the majority, nnd wo fully expect that there will 1)9 ns biz a demand for shafty combing wools as over, because spinners are still in search of good warp top?. The; chief decline- is noticeable' in medium length combing wools, and here considerable ground has been lost. There is said to be as much as Gd. per lb. difference between shaftv warp combing wool, and one. say. of 1-V to 2-inch staple. Scoured.) have suffered, in consequence o.i very limited French competition; in fact, ever since the beginning of the second week of the series French buying Ims been disappointing, but . they, have retired solelv on account of the position in the rate of exchange already described. The proposed French loan rmiv do something to renew their activity with the turn of the year, wit it is apparent that the French textile, trade is wanting a breathing space, and the writer will be greatly mistaken if tho 'home trade does not call for a halt before the end of March. The delay m liansiiort, and tho inability of combers to get through their marchings, are tactor* which will have to be reckoned with in'the future, particularly in view ot the fact that combers are still very lar-ely employed on Government matching.' ' The Department, is pressing combers to get done with them, when every comber should be in a position to l>«t his back into matchings owned by topmakers. ... ... , Carbonising Wools. The fact of there now'being about 18 carbonising firms in the. home trade has made u big -difference to' faulty nierinoe and crossbrods, and these wools nave sold well throughout the entire series. Latterly they havo suffered on account of a slackened French' and Belgian demand, but very decent prices have continued to be made, although they, aic lower than last serfo. ■ home scoured comeback wools of tho Uibb mark have sold this week at upi" to .*1i1.,. and Adelaide scoured Ist.pieces M.d b though since last writing a Aew Zealand br. d fWoltor Peak) of tcoured merino comu,g has touched llKid. At the same time big weights of faulty carbonising wools are being offered daily, and som* very reasonable lots can bosecurcd It seem., to tho writer as if some of these wools "hould be worth buying on American account, but apparently their interests are centred upuu grease combing doscnptions. . . Some Cheap Crossbreds, There is no disguising the fact that cro'sbreils are all in favour of tho buye.raud we do not think that even fine classes arc anything like wi h gh in nriee m a fortnight ago. One isnoi teeing Wd. so freely paid lor grease 5U58-I, and even Geelong superfine wools are selling more frequently around Wd to W., while' New.Zealand line 'roared are between 40d. and 50d., alhomd a special lot of beautiful quality S SB's made 52d. a .few days ago. Medium and coarse descriptions are cor tainly 10 per cent, cheaper than last writs, and anyone with a trade for .ids to 44-b can pick up some very decern wooW between 20(1. and Sod. A wpSaker can now produce 40's prepare, tops quite as reasonably as the lecent selling well, and the best brands are fetching big figure*, but medium sorts are certainly cheaper. The same remarks apply o sines The Gear slipe halfbred lambs Lift week made 58(1, a very good price indeed, lambs a still iselliiijr the top side oi 50d., but mo dium and coarse descriptions -are <•«- tainly cheaper, than last-week • Tho writer ia convinced that the advein conditions which have delevopcd nro entirely duo to the standing out. ot V, endi buyers, and financial considerations Ihove been entirely. responsible lor the lowering of market rates. There has ton entered a distinctly more cautious feeling,, and yet, in consuming markets we see steady prices, .except for Sreils. with topmakers very much opposed to accepting less money. J,ho very■fact of trade being so good and spinrets still offering big yarn orders is regarded as solid proof, of a very sound and healthy situation.

The Cape Markot. Tor «omc weeks the writer has been of opinion that prices for tliowtf material at the Cape had reached highwater mark, and that eventually a more reasonable scale of values, would havo. cSmo into force. The attitude of Capehouses in I this centre has been frequent. W commented upon, these firms acknowled«ing that the pace set m - the South African market was one which they co, H not follow. Since last writing, over 1000 bales of Cape won have been offered in Tendon, a omuii ty sufficient to afford abasis-unon winch Cape innmnkoa could decide a policy, and lie. course of prices there has shown that the keen edge has Ji«n taken off, or at least that Bradford firms are not prepared to follow tho same hot pace as has rocenllv been set i'« Sou h Africa. Iho reason' for prices there being, on such „ hi", b ms has been the active operatioiw on Japanese account, and tho needs , hat country for-the time being bar. jm, bee-, wilisfied, and the news of. the nosition" of Capes in London apparenHv aviThad a modifying effect, prices at the Cane itself have been considerably modified-for practically.all classes. With regard to the prices actually paul in London, the greatest ease took place medium snow whites. A really; «u----"rior lot of Pnarl of-combing length was withdrawn at 03d. bid .winch was •,k-.it 7(1 .per "'. less than similar woo •-„; 1 h'ive made if sold at' tliri rer«nl H-el The depreciation in. medium t„l snow whiles was also considerab e, and there was ni fair supply o scription. East London snow whites sold

iit CM., aiKl'gooi"natives' sGtl- Greasy combing wools., of Bradford typo were noil represented bv a really good selection, and the prices realised for these averaged armmd lOfld. clean SMurcd, nine months' wools selling around 84d. The supply of short six tnontlis' wool was too Binnll to form an estimate of values.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19200223.2.125

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 127, 23 February 1920, Page 10

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,477

LONDON WOOL SALES Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 127, 23 February 1920, Page 10

LONDON WOOL SALES Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 127, 23 February 1920, Page 10

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