COMMERCIAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 22 November 1916, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

LONDON PRODUCE MARKET. ; The Chronicle has received from the Levin, manager of the Bank of New Zealand (Mr C. H. Pyke) the following copy of the bank's latest report on the London produce market:— Wool.—The sixth serir.s ,of sales commenced here on sth in.st.. and terminated on the 22nd i'nst.. the quantities available being 103,504 bales. Of the quantity soldi 90.€00 bales wore taken for .Home consumption aj»d (5000 bales for foreign account, mostly for France and Russia. During the interval very little happened to affect the course of the market, as owing" to holidays during August, mills were closed; and con•kjnentlv business was practiicaly suspended. Om resumption. being made a very large order was placed on Russian account, causing the market for the lower counts of crossbreds to harden. 'Merino tops maintained! I a firm, position throughout, lalthough quotations were more or less nci-mal. There was the usual muster of buyers from the home trade, and, not-j, withstaiHijlng the very lnjiscelllansous selection on offer, competition on the whole was good, if, at times, rather dragg.i nig. Merinos.—At the opening values shewed practically no change on previous sales' rates, but as the auctions progressed good coenWaig wools in the grai.se appreciated 5 per cent, but shcrt and faulty sorts were about o .per c;.nt cheaper. Probably, owing t- a lrs.ene-J demand from Russia for superior sc-ouredfc these qualities were o per cent lower; ordinary descriptwmA were also somewhat cheaper, while short faulty sorts declined ~i per cent.

Orossbreds.—The demand for all good greasy wools was strong arnd insistent throughout, and even the coarse shabby sorts, although at times irregular, were in keen request. The fact thai the Government scheme for handling the English clip had assum-' ed a definite shape no doubt imbued buyers with more confidence as to the future of values, and the demand was further accentuated by the large Russian orders which had been placed piio'r to the opening of the sales. The opening 'advance of 5 per cent -was well maintained, and at the end fine sorts were quoted: per cent, and coarse and medium "5 to 7 J per cent dearer than the closing rates of last sales. Slipes. in plentiful supply, were briAkly competed for, the demand being greatly stimulated by the recent orders, and showed an all round advance of 5 per cent, but scoureds sold with 'conisWe'rable lirregul ; ,irtity at' a decline of par to o per cent. There was practically no change in greasy lambs' wool, seedy lefe being difficult of-sale. The result of the sales on the whole lias "been satisfactory, and generally exceeded the expectations, of most ,people. Merftio values .are to-day admittedly, probably owing to the temporary shortage of the raw material, but there does not appear to be any prospect of prices for good combing wools declining until larger and better weights of new clip are available. An important factor which., ma.v play no inconsiderable part in the future of values i'is the labour problem, especially in .regard to carbonizing wools". It .was very noticeable at these sales that buyers wtl'e - less keen to buy this class of wool because of the labour difficulty, which is very acute at present and may very probably become worse.

The available supplies of crcfssbreds for the remainder of the year will be very small, ami as consumption continues on a large scale, wo look for a steady maintenance of prices for some time to come. The eight series has been fixed to commence on the sth December, limit of quantity or closing date of antral list, to be decided later. Hemp.—The market shows a firmer tendency, but shippers have shown no inclination to meet the diem and, and as a consequence business is difficult to negotiate. Values areirtQinhially: Good fair £49 5s at £49 10s ; high points fair £48 at £48 ss; fair £47 at £47 os. October-December shipment. ■Sheepslciiiis.—The sixth series of sales was held on 7th inst. under fairly good competition, all good comfo'ng sheepskins showing no change on previous sales' rates, but shorter classes were occasionally in buyers' favour. Tallow.—During the past month four series of public sales were held, at which 5886 casks of Australasian were offered, and 324-3 casks sold under the hammer. The demand) lias been limited and prices have steadily declined, the total depreciation oil the month being about Gs per cwt. on average. Arrivals aire large, and the spot stock increasing rapidly, while the Home Trade requirements

are small and 'restrictions on export continue. Stock of tallow, ail 'kinds, ill warehouse London on 31st August, 13,187 packages (this is .probably nearer 20,000 byi. this time) agaiinst 29.0:8 packages ast year and 1-3,740 packages on 3'> st August, 191-1. Shipments -from Australia during Augnst were <it '*31200 tons. 3500 last veair and 1.010 in 1911. . DAIRY .PRODUCE." Butter—The nwirket dur ng the past four weeks has ruled quiet, but the 'undertone ctoiitlinue.s lirni, and the general position shows no sign of weakness. , Cheetfc hii.s continued Jinn, and values show a substantial advance on oiw last Quotations. Government orders continue to bo mainly responsible for the high prices ruling and it looks as if extreme rate* were to be forthcoming during the winter months Current prices run: Butter 180s at 190s per cwt.; cheese 101s at lOlis per cwt.