WOOL EASIER at To-day's Sale

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 34, 24 February 1937, Page 5

WOOL EASIER at To-day's Sale

BUYERS ON LIMITS Coarse Fleeces Id to l£d Down on January Rates FINE S0RTS 3d TO 4d To-day's wool offering at Napier met with an easier market. Cpmpared with prices at the January sale, fine wools were 3d to 4d easier, lambs to 4d down, and coarse fleece wools fully ld to l|d lower. The offering ifc general, compared with the Wellington sale on Friday, was on a par to id better. The market for the opening catalogue, however, was erratic, and whether the market would hold firm was questionable. An approximate offering of 30,500 bales was made to a bench fully representative of all consuming cona. tries. Competition was well spread, Bradford and the Continent taking a prominent part-. From the outset it was evident that the same elasticity as at the January sale, when Beveral of the buyers, appeared to operate without deflned limits, would not be shown. To-day many of them appeared to be on the s&me mark, With the result that the bidding was the most animated seen this season. For most of the lots the bidding was very spirited, with a tendency at tim.es to become erratic. The top priee for the two opening eatalogues was 18id, received for lines of ialfbred and lambs. The best fleece wools reached to 18d. • Fine wools met with a restricted inquiry, and for these the buyers did not display a readinsss to enter the market. In many cases the values realised for these wools did not exceed those ruling for the medium or coarse-quality lines. As in the Jannaiy sale, the coarse qualities attracted the attention of buyers, with the result that in the fleece wools the B and C lines sold better than A lots by a« niueh as ld and even more. The top lines of hoggets made to 17fd, the competition for these being limited. Good necks from the clips made to 151d,. with interlotted lines vwnVing ^d better. The best pieces were making 14|d, and bellies, which generally were showing heavy condition, made 13d. Locks made 6d to 9Jd, and crutchings, which were fully 3d down, made to 12Jd. Lines of Lincoln and Lincoln-cross were eagerly Sought after, making to 16£d. Frequently when a I6t made a prlce that was evidently above the valuation set by the buyers it was met with a ehoras of whistles. No little affiusernent was caused by oue of the FrencH buyers, wHo, when outbid by ono of His confreres, expressed himself in ready liowing French,. which met with an appeal, by those who understood it, to aoeept the position philosophically This operator's bidding gavo much coiour to the selling. Despite the lower values, the prices realised made it a good sale for the vendors, who showed p. readiness to meet the market. A few isolated lots were passed, and most of these were in the second catalogue, a flne-wool clip for which the grower entertained a Higher idea of values than was held by the buyers. A much greater clearanee was effected than that at Wellington* J In the first catalogue of 4769 bales only 33 were patosed. The strong competition for the binned and interlotted lines was a feature of the selling. These lines, owing to their uniform quality, were more readily sought after than many of the station-classed lines. At the 'luncheon adjournment ,when the first fonr catalogues had been disposed of, the market was eontinuing to hold firm. Coarse wools were from par to id better than the last Wellington prices. Lambs were slightly easier, with fine wools showing little change. Bellies, necks and - piecea continued to make dear buying. The top price tomained at 18Jd, as recorded in the earlier eatalogue. Bradford, which was out of the market at Wellington, was operating very keenly to-day. Both Japan and Canada were fully in the market, while New Zealand mills outstayed opposition to lift several of the Higher-priced lines. The sale to-day was the keenest that Has taken place in New Zealand this season, and Mr J. Duke, wHo handled the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.'s catalogue and who had asplendid command of the selling, disposed of 419 lots in 35 minutes. For the first four catalogues only 63 bales remained unsold. Dalgety and Co., Ltd., who passed 33, and the Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., who passed six, sold these at the close of their catalogues to make total clearances.