Wool in London

Horowhenua Chronicle, 8 March 1916, Page 2

Wool in London

y JJANK Of-' IS'JiW ZEAL AM)'ft REPORT. Under dale ol London, 7 Lli January, IUKi, tlie Bank oi .New Ze.illaiid's produce circular states: —J lie past season must Imve proved to be one of more llkiii ordinary interest to woolgrowers. in tile dominion, and there is little doubt but that the results ol the year's liu.?ine.-s have veil the utmost satisfaction botji to producers and consumer*. Looking buck, it reveals a- -teady and al.nost continuous hardening ot prices for practically ;iil| f;\uds of wool. It hardly need be pointed out that the conditions attaching to the past di 11cred so materially from those existing iluiing tlu previous twelve 111011tlis that in our review we prefer to merely -relate tile teats us they trans- ! (urcd, rtaher tliau make any attempt at comparison. While the anticipation.. formed a year ago 111 regard to cio-sbieds have been realised to the very utmost, the maimer in which 'iiierm-s asserted themselves fro.lll the very beginning of the year -was quite unlocked for, and contrary to tlje general opinion held concerning prespects for tlii.s ekv-s ol wool at the close or last season. It lias been « 'singularly eventful year here, brimful ol difficulties and •troubles of every description, the great redeeming feature being the highly sat is 1 aetory level of values obtainedi for practically every class of "\\ool. When we recollect the circumNtimees that prevailed throughout, we ■wonder what the position might, have been if the market had been against u.s instead of altogether in our favour The conditions governing the year's trade are probably by now so well known that they scarcely required recounting here, suffice it to observe that they were of a most extraordinary nature, often wholly ivithout precedent. many of the incidents bef'ng unique in the history of the trade. Vfost of the minor troubles may be attributed to the congestion at the port, as a direct consequence of the Wa?, and which automatically extended to the nianufeeturing centres, eventually accounting for a purely temporary stringency in the trade, which greatly handicapped business, ;ind at one time threatened serious consequencesThere Imve been, however, other circumstances resulting in . considerable benefit to the trade as a whole, ixinspicuous among which has been the huge consumption of the raw material It is remarkable, thmt though such large quantities have been imported into this country, and'though our export trade fell short of the previous year, yet the requirements of manufacturers have been on a scale sufficient to enable them to absorb the grrnter portion of the quantities availale. This is all the more noticeable when it is recollected that the trade hat! considerable misgivings about its ability to lift .-.ucli large weights ol the raw material into consumption. 'I be Home trade, indeed, has actually 'taken 72 per cent of the whole supplies, as compared with its ordinary normal share of about 35 per cent., and when the greatly enhanced prices paid ior its purchases are token into ■account, tlii? textille industry to-day .should be proud of its achievement lu irs efforts it lias been a-bly backed ,;> y valuable support from America as 'well as our - Allies, the former's purchases having more than trebled those ..it tile previous year,- and are far ill excess ol anything ever known before. I he congestion already referred to was very gradually smoothed away, until in the close- ol the year conditions were about as normal as even the most crit:;ra! could expect m these exceptional tunes, and, high as prices are at the moment, merinos heing fuill 50 per cent and ciossbreds about .10 per cent dearer t>hcin in December last, there irs no im'aiediate prospect ol any declension. Hie strongest argument in favour ot •maintained wool prices is the optimism s.'iown at the top-making end of the trade, and the closing markets of the [ year show that top-makers themselves ure as eagerly looking forward to higher pi ices for their commodity as any . one. Lambs'.wool in good condition met a steady demand a 111 through the season, but Seedy shabby descriptions were at times almost unsaleable. Slipcd wools have acliievcd results hitherto unknown in the history of the'trade | *or this class of raw material. '.Prices I t>howed a eoutiuuall hardening right up to July, when they readied their high- -J- ' est point. A reaction then set m, I which was intcnsilied at the September .sales, but a complete recovery in values bus since Oeen made, and the year closed "with prices at a very nigh level. Ihe slipes we examined during the season revealed, a very high 1 : i oih as regards quallity and I condition-, and reflect- vory great credit on flip.works producing them. The ycor closed with trade in a sound healthy condition, a most encouraging fact being that consumption is distinctly good among all sections of the trade. I*rices are at a very dangerous altitude, but some people go so far as to say that we have not seen the top yet. Krom all accounts suppjlies to the i/ondon market ©an only be 7 on a moderate scale, and with a continuance of the present vast consumption we' are sufficiently sanguine to look for a high level of values again this season.