COMMERCIAL.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1286, 3 May 1878, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

The Customs duties collected here on Wednesday, May Ist, amounted to £1582 3s 9d. The items were as follows:—Wines, £llß 9s 6d; spirits, £224 16s 2d; ale, in bottle, £2l 3s 9d; tobacco, £133 10s; tea, £26 12s; sugar, £157 10s 6d; goods by weight, £9O 4s 4s; ad valorem, £791 15s; other duties, £l9 2s 6d. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. Melbourne—The "Argus" of April 24th reports:— In the import market business has had no activity. Breadstuff si have had only a very moderate inquiry. Flour has been sold privately in parcels at £ll 15s for picked brands, while at auction £ll 7s 6d to £lllos was the utmost which could be got. Under the hammer about 281 bags inferior to medium wheat were sold at 4s 6jd to ss, but for a superior sample of dry wheat 5s 5d was refused. Some holders refuse to quote under 5s 6d, and for really good parcels of dry qualities the market is 5s 4d to 5s 6d. We have advices from Adelaide, and from Messrs Morgan and Co.'s circular of April 18th we extract the following :—" Our statistics have just been published, and show a gross yield of 9,034,692 bushels as the produce of 1,163,646 acres ; deducting 2,750.000 bushels for seed and home consumption, will leave 168,340 tons of 371 bushels to the ton available for export, of which 71,419 tons have already been shipped, leaving 96,921 tons on hand, the greater part of which is held by the farmers for higher prices." Oats are moving off slowly. Fine Tartarian were quitted at 4s Bd. Publicly, some 400 bags were disposed of at 4s 4d to 4s 5d for ordinary feeding. For milling we still quote 4s lOd to ss. Maize is going much more freely into consumption at the lower rates now quoted. Sales have been made at 4s 3d to Is 6d, according to quality. By recent arrivals we have dates from Mauritius by letter to 9th March. The supply of yellow crystals in first hands had become exhausted, and yellow groceries of all sorts were very scarce, but there was a moderate supply of good to finest white crystals. OwiDg to the small stock of grocery sugars, shipments to Australia will be very limited until the new crop reaches town in August next. White crystals and counters continued to be purchased for Bombay. Should the hurricane season pass without a storm, the next crop, it is anticipated, will be an abundant one. White crystals were quoted at 14.50 r. to 16r.; white counters at 13.50 r. to 15.30 r.; brewing crystals, at 13.30 r. to 14.50 r. There were no yellow crystals offering. Good to fine yellow counters ruled at 13r. to 13.50 r. Rations to low middliug ranged from 9.50 r, to 12.90 r. Of the departures reported for Melbourne during the month, the Fort George, 1000 tons; the Lottery, 200 tons, and the William Wilson, 525 tons, ■till remain out. The Pollux was loading for Dunedin. Freights were dull.;Australian ports, 15s to 20s. A good demand for teas is experienced for qualities rising Is. Sales of low medium congous are also reported at Is 3d. Currants are inquired for, and business is likely to result. Eleme raisins are also in request, and wo hear of a shipment of .350 boxes having been taken up at equal to 4d per lb. in bond. Brandies are not much run after. Martell's case has been in trade request, and sales have been made at 29s 6d per case. Under date Bordeaux, 26th February, via California, a private correspondent writes of this spirit:—" The greatest firmness still continues, and any spring frost would send prices fearfully up. If we escape that danger there remains the phylloxera, and unless any very unexpected cause puts a stop to it spreading, we must look forward to very high rates. Adelaide.—The "South Australian Mail" reports on the grain market for the week ending 20th April, as follows:—The trade of the week has been almost entirely confined to small transactions, with one exception—we refer to the sale of a cargo of 60,000 bushels at Port Pirie anchorage at 5s 7<l. At Fort Adelaide we hear of no sales of shipping parcels. For farmers' lots 5s 6d to 5s 7d is the highest figure obtainable, and bnyers don't appear anxious to operate at these prices. At length our agricultural statistics have been published, and the resnlt is not so disappointing as was expected. The yield is 9,034,692 bushels, as against 5,857,569 bushels last year, representing a gain to the colony of fully three-quarters of a million sterling, the average per acre being 7J bnshels. This gives us some 165,000 tons to export, of which about 72,000 tons have been shipped already, and leaves 93,000 tons yet to go, a quantity fully equal to our total export last year. Town brands of flour are to be got at £l3 5s to £l3 10s ; country sorts at £l2 5s to £l2 10s, with but a poor enquiry. We hear of the sale of 200 tons of a favorite country brand at £l2 7s 6d. Bran is worth Is 6d a bushel, on account of tho smalless of the supply and the absence of New Zealand oats, which are almost unprocurable at prices ranging from 5s to 5s 6d. Wo hear of no new charters during the week, but the Downiemount, chartered some time ago, has arrived to fulfil her charter. ENGLISH MARKETS. Messrs Miles Bros, and Co., report under date London, March 15th : WOOL. The briskness which has characterised the anctions since the commencement of the series fully shows that stocks of raw material in the hands of the trade had been allowed to rnu very low, and buyers still appear to be purchasing for immediate requirements. Much spirit continues to be exercised on the part of the French trade, and combing wools are bringing very firm prices. Scoured parcels of good quality also maintain their value, but inferior to medium greasy meriuoes are not in such good demand; crossbreds rulo firm, and lauibswool being scarce briug exceptionally good prices, fciuper, Port Phillips have comwaniied high

rates, viz., fleece, washed, from 2s 9d to 4s 5d per lb ; and grease from Is 5d to Is lid per lb. Some little improvement has lately taken place in oiir manufacturing districts, but business is slack and open to much improvement. Wo hear that things are bad in America, and consequently somo of the recent purchases in the colony may be reshipped to this country. Nearly all the New Zealand wool offered has been sold. The fresh arrivals for the May sales are as follows: _, , Bales. New South Wales and Queensland... 17,890 Victoria 5? 371 South Australia W. 795 Western Australia ' 2390 Tasmania ' New Zealand 17,872 Cape of Good Hopo l\,-i6i Total 117,472 WHEAT AND FLOUR. Business in our wheat market during the past fortnight has been very depressed, and news of the peaco having been concluded between Russia and Turkey, with heavy shipments from Eussian ports, caused a general fall in prices; indeed cargoes arrived from California, where the prospects are much brighter owing to an abundance of rain, declined as much as 3s 6d in one week, and American red parcels hr.vo receded to a similar extent. American exports have continued very large, the quantity of wheat shipped from the United States from Ist September to 9th March having been 5,167,500 qrs., against 1,781,000 qrs. in the corresponding period in 1876-77. Shipments recently arrived from Adelaide have realised from 59s to 63s per 4961b5, but the decrease is now inactive, and forward shipments would not bring over 52s c.f. A i. The quantity of wheat now on passage to the United Kingdom from all sources is estimated at 1,101,927 qrs. We quote for parcels here to-day—Australian, 59s to 61s; New Zealand, 45s to 535, and inferior 36s to 43s per 4961b5; Australian flour, 36s to 425, and New Zealand 80s to 34s per 2801bs. TALLOW AND HIDES. Owing to the pacific news from the East, our tallow market has been very fiat, and the advance we last quoted has been quite lost, the value to-day for good to fine New Zealand mutton being 39s 6d to 40s 9d, and beef tallow 38s 6d to 39s per cwt. Middling and inferior sorts are also lower, but not to the same extent as gooi to fine descriptions. The stock of Australian 1 allow in first hands is now about 3400 casks. Hides are also dull of sale, but prices are unaltered. PRESERVED MEAT. The firmness which we reported in the tinned meat traie has not been maintained, for business is again very dull, and prices nominal. The importation of fresh meat from America has been very large, and sold readily at fnll prices. For the week ending 4th instant 275 tons of fresh meat were landed at Liverpool from New York, 1242 qrs. Philadelphia, and 439 qrs. Portland, and the following week 980 qrs. were received here from New York, while in Liverpool 330 tons and 1002 qrs. of beef, and 15 tons and 240 carcases of sheep were landed from New York, 1244 qrs. Philadelphia, and 474 qrs. Halifax. Bank rate, 2 per cent.