WOOL VALUES MAINTAINED

Evening Star, Issue 19796, 21 February 1928, Page 4

WOOL VALUES MAINTAINED

KEEN FIGHT OVER FULL RANGE THE AUCKLAND SALE f.Psn United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, February 20. Spirited bidding, at times excited and always firm for every description in the catalogue, placed the opening of the second Auckland wool sale this evening on a comfortable parity with values at the last Wellington auction, which was the best of the season in the dominion. Bidding commenced galvanically, and was supported throughout the evening by a full bench of buyers in snappy fashion. Rarely indeed did a call from the desks go uncontested, as the representatives of the woollen manufacturing centres of the world frenziedly fought with farthings to fill the requirements of their principals. There was a most gratifying keenness of competition for the full range of wools. Wellington values were held in spite of the fact that Aucklands clips are in the main smaller, and partly for that reason not so well classed as those in the south The catalogue figures showed an advance over the Auckland sale in November in consonance with the general firming of the market which has since taken place, cross-breds being from Id to 2d per lb dearer aijd wools from 50’s quality upwards 3d to 4d per lb advance. The fact that lambs’ wool realised extreme values is particularly gratifying to growers, for it is at this “middle” auction of the season that the bulk of the lambs’ wool of the province is submitted. The Continental buyers “ forced the pace” all the evening, and Bradford representatives bought freely, much more so than at the opening safe, when they appeared to be restricted _ somewhat by adherence to the limits set by British manufacturing_ firms. The amount of wool passed in was negligible, amounting; to less than 1 per cent, of the evening’s offering of 12,604 bales, out of a total catalogue of 22,373 bales, the balance of which frill bo offered tliis morning.

On tlie basis that the sales last evening were over £2 a bale more than ah the November auction, when the figure was £2l 9s 9d a bale, it may be estimated that fully £300,000 was secured to the farmers of the province in three hours and a half, and the realisation of tho whole catalogue will represent a pay-out within a fortnight of, in round figures, half a million pounds._ The peak price of the evening—and there were a few which caused astonishment even to the buyers—was 25|d for live hales of lambs’ wool; but there were other lots of similar descriptions which drew down the hammer at 25d, and other figures which attested a woolhungry world. A small Southdown clip was sold at 24d, six bales of Corriedalo at 24|d, sixteen hales of fine cross-bred at 20|d, four bales of Shropshire at 21}d, a line of half-bred at 20ld, some Corriedale hogget wool at 23d, and some super hogget at 2H t d. A few other quotations which servo in some measure to indicate the breadth of the demand are: Cross-bred hoggets 19}d, crossbred ewe ].BJd, wether 18*d, coarse cross-bred 17d, necks 17Jd.