New Zealand Flax

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 105, 12 March 1889, Page 2

New Zealand Flax

Tie New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Go's London circular dated January 26, contains the following : — The business passing in this article in 1 888 was much more important than in recent years. Values declined during the first seven months of the year, but recovered the fall during the next four months, whilst in December they exhibited a further upward movement. The fluctuations in prices were due entirely to the movements in manila and sisal descriptions, and these in turn were chiefly controlled by speculative operations in New York. The course of values in the future, as in the past, must very largely depend upon the current prices for the descriptions just named, but the extended use of New Zealand fibre as a substitute owing to the existing clearness of these sortp, cannot be other than beneficial in establishing it in this market as a more generally recognised article of trade consumption. Owing to a falling off in the speculative demand for manila the market early in the year showed some signs of weakness, but during the past week prices have gradually hardened, and close fully on a par with the rates current a month ago. About 300 bales of New Zealand hemp have been sold at and bx public auction at from £.36 to £37 per ton for good clean Wellington, and £37 per ton for fair Auckland, while 500 bales tow have changed bands at from £10 10s to £12 5s according to quality.