COMMERCIAL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20119, 13 December 1939, Page 8

COMMERCIAL

HEAVY TRADING SYDNEY EXCHANGE (Klee. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) SYDNEY, Dec. 11. Trading on the Sock Exchange today was the heaviest for some months, with an all-round hardening trend. A record net profit of £214,197, equal to 14.97 per cent on the capital, was earned by Henry Jones Co-operative Limited during the year. The dividend rate has been raised from 19 to 11.1 per cent. Sales included: —Bank of New South Wales, £26 15s; Colonial Sugar, £49 7s 6d; Tooths, 535; Australian Consolidated Industries, 39s lid; Aus‘ralian Consolidated Industries, contributing, 17s; Atkins, 235; Dalgetys, £5 15s; Morris Hedstrom, 26s 3d; Henry Jones, 55s 3d: Mount Morgan, 8s lid; Broken Hill, 795. Morning sales included: Bank . of New South Wales, £26 16s: Australian Consolidated Industries, 38s 10,Li: Australian Copsolida'ed Industries, contributing. 16s lOJd; British Tobacco, oref.. 275: Broken Hill Proprietary, 795: Cssh Orders, 15s 6d; Electrolytic Zinc, 57s lOJd; Fairymead Sugar, 38s. Sales on the Melbourne Stock Exchange included: Consolidated Indus-

tries, 395; Commercial Bank of Australia, 15s; Woolworths, 225; Felt and Textiles, 36s Mount Lyell, 295; Emperor. J2s; Loloma, 24s 6d.

SOUTH AFRICAN WOOL AN OPEN MARKET An open market prevails for wool in South Africa. The British Government has agreed to purchase at the African sales an appreciable proportion of the clip at maximum prices equivalent to those being paid for Australian and New Zealand supplies. That arrangement covers only (he current season, and it- does not guarantee that the year’s whole supplies will be sold at the Australian level. Recently some African wools have j sold at figures above the basis in Australia, but shipping may prove a difficulty which will retard marketing. In| Australia, sheepowners are certain of realisations whether (he wool is shipped or stored, but in Africa lack of transport mav depress values and possiblv stop sales. Neutral shipping is suffering destruction and delay in this war. The British Government has its ’•ands full in providing freight for its own and Allied needs. Germany was the largest buyer of African wool, taking 35 per con’ of | (■he exports last season. Africa has i lost that demand, but will probably j experience an increased inquiry from

Japan, America, Italy and smaller neutral consuming countries. The allocation of Australian wool in those quarters, however, is likely to prevent any rush of buyers to _ South Africa to secure raw materials at extreme prices. In October, South Africa's exports of >vool were the approximate equivalent of only 20,990 bales, of w-hich shipments to the United States were 13.650 bales. Japan 2586 bales, United Kingdom 1226 bales, and Italy 846 bales.

L > RECORD PRICE TABLE ONIONS ' A record price for table onions was obtained when ,a .small consignment of brown Spanish, grown at Brighton, f reached the Dunedin market, which | was 'barren cf supplies, and were sold at 11 \d a lb., or at the rate of £lO5 a ton. So far as is known onions, even in previous .periods of the most acute shortage, have never risen above 6d a lb. in the wholesale side of the trade* but there has never before been such a shortage as has been experienced this year.