Commercial.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 8 December 1915, Page 2

Commercial.

JUANIi OF NJiiW ZEALAND ■ItEPOItT. London, October li. The sixth series of woof sales tor the year whica commenced on the 7th ult. terminated on the Ist inst., having occupied twenty-two sittings at a daily average of 70G5 bales against Bt>7!J bales at the October saies Jast yeir. The quantities catalogued weie 173,100 bales. Of this number -17,501) vvme 'bought ill. Of the quantity sold, about 22,000 bales have been tak hi for export, including 1.3,000 bales purchased, for shipment to America. .During the sales there has been an active demand for the better descriptions o! mcrinus and crossbrcds; lrom first to last these wools have been in prime favour and they have been bought in a real encouraging nay. On the other hand, inferior sorts, and nil 1 >rtunately this class of staple has formed the bulk of the ollerings, have hung lire and sold most irregularly. The most disappointing feature ol the sales however li 1 *- ieen the very poor demand f<>; slipes, and,, in a soincwlrit lesser 'degree, for scoured crossbrcds. This is the direct result of there being no new khaki orders m prospect and line slipes have depreciated 2d all round, while seconds and thirds have lost anywhere up to 3d per lb. Oj

course these wools have neon fetching abnormal prices, realising sensibly above their intrinsic value, hut nevertheless the diecline, although not altogether unexpected, was i a tlier mo.e than importers were inclined to accept, and as a consequence considerable quantities of tin's class of wool are being held for next series. It anything the general tone during the last week showed signs of improvement lor most descriptions, and at liio close the market was iiriu ai the decline. All the better classes u! In>f\: greasy and scoured met with excellent competition the latter descriptions being readily taken on Russian account, and at the close were par to 5 per cent dearer, but inferior and faulty qualities pratieularly carbonising sorts, were neglected, figuring largely in the withdrawals each day. and tic decline is quoted 10 per cent., compared to the previous sales closing quotations. Crossbrcds in the grease have been a firm market lor all good qualities, and. benefited to some extent -by American competition, show a rse of 5 per cent on July rates, but, medium and inferior sorts are generally o per cent lower. Slipes and !courod crossbrcds. owing to the cessation of Government orders for khaki were neglected during the early part of the sales, but were in better demand towards the close, fine descriptions finishing 71 to 10 per cent, and others 10 to 15 per cent cheaper than July. Greasy crossbred lambs were in moderate request, being 10 per cent cheaper ,the decline on seedy, mlerior qualities being often more and these were frequently- unsaleable.' \Ve regret lo f-tate that the serious congest ion at th-j port still continues, and if anything become more accentuated so tar as the actual showing for sale was concerned. The carrying on of these sales was a matter of utmost difficulty to the warehousekeepers, who have uec-n g eatly handicapped by the scarce ,-s

well -'is tho inefficient labour throughout the season. We believe no effort Jims been <sp:irocl tn deal with the extraordinary situation, but the tact -0nin ins tliat things have not improved, and so fai' wo aro able to judge, look like being ■worse before bolter.