WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 July 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

THE WOOL MARKET

(Special to “ Guardian.”) »

WELLINGTON, July 18,

At the London sales now current prices seem to have stabilised for while there is no upward movement there is certainly no indication of a recession in values. The tone of the market is satisfactory and competition continues keen. There appears to be some difference of opinion as to whether the consumptive demand for wool is decreasing or otherwise, and while a British authority maintains that it is contracting, tlio President of the Graziers’ Association of New South Wales, contends that it is increasing. The Balfour Committee of Industry and Trade in a survey of British textilo industries shows that wool retained in the United Kingdom in the period 1909-13 was, 845.9 million lbs, and in the period 1924-27 only 608.9 million lb. Imports of woollen and worsted goods in 1927 were 36,435,937 square yards and in 1926 39,442,701 yards. Dealing with the .decline in consumption of British produced woollen and worsted tissues, the Committee says that the main causes appear to be changes of fashion, particularly as regards women’s dress, these changes including preferences for cotton, silk and artificial silk wear, wearing of knitted rather than woven garments, diminished amount of material per dress, and less demand for linings. Referring to changing fashions in tin) Far East the report says that the wearing of European dress is said to ho expanding in Japan and China, and that the Japanese industry aims largely at meeting this demand. Up to the present' the demand has been greatly in excess of output of the Japanese mills. On the question of artificial silk the Committee shows that the world output of this material, which had increased from 11,000 to 30,000 metric tons between 1913 and 1922, grew to 100,000 metric tons in 1926. In connection with artificial silk fabrics, English trade papers draw attention to the efforts of Mr E. K. Scott to put on the market an invention for the production of filaments of thread made from cellulose and other materials, which will act in a similar way to fibres of thread of natural animal wool. Artificial silk fabrics are at present often hard to, handle, and easily crease by reason of their straightness, hut the new invention aims to produce durls, spirals and crimps nlong the length of the threads which give the same appearance and feel to the woven stuff that natural wool lias. If this materialises and becomes a commercial proposition, there will be yet another rival to wool and artificial silk. In the meanwhile manufacturers are crying out for finer wool to blend with artificial silk. The value of wool lies in the fact that it is a basic raw material. It has always to be relied upon to cover the defects of other and whether mufigo, shoddy, cotton, artificial silk or anything else is used for cheapening purposes, they always work up better along with wool. The vitality of wool fibres render it indispensable. SENSITIVE MARKETS.

The sensitiveness of the money and stock and share markets in widely different localities is remarkable. A disturbance in one market is promptly reflected in others. The London Stock Exchange has' suffered partly because of liquidation of stocks and shares hold by the late Captain Locwcnstein, the Belgian financier, who was reported to have accidentally dropped out of an aeroplane, but mainly because of the effects of the long-sustained gamble in stocks and shares on the New York Stock Exchange, a gamble that we out here can scarcely visualise. For weeks Wall Street has revelled in a “bull” market with only occasional breaks, and the great outside public has been drawn into it. It is reported that deposits in savings banks, deposits that have taken years of saving to build up, are beiiig withdrawn to gamble on the Stock Exchange. Loans on policies are being raised for similar purposes, and the central banks in the United States are unable to check the gamble. Since April there have been three advances in the re-discount into from 3) percent to 5 per cent, and yet credit is bfiing found to maintain the gamble. Early last month all money in New York was as high as 7 per cent. Money is very dear in America and the export of "old continues. The Rank of England discount rate has maintained stendy at per cent since April of last year, but th£J monetary situation of U.S.A. may disturb violently all money markets.