THE WOOL MARKETS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 19, 28 October 1879, Page 2

THE WOOL MARKETS.

Under date of Sept. 11, the N.Z Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.'s Circular reports :— Since the commencement of the series of sales now current, the following , -wools have been brought forward, vis? ; — Bales. New South Wales and Queensland 57,282 Victoria ... .; 54,318 South Australia 14,443 Western Australia 1,573 Tasmania 11,189 New Zealand 56,093 Cape of Good Hope ... 27,619 * Total 223,117 Of this quantity, about 200,000 bales hare been sold, and the remainder bought in. Shortly after the opening night it was found that buyers, having satisfied their more pressing requirements, were unwilling to continue operations, except on a basis of reduced values; the result being a falling off from the prices current in the first two or three auctions. The principal decline was noticeable in cross bred wools, the finer qualities Buffering the least, but the coarser and inferior sorts receding from id to Id per lb all round. Low and faulty scoured and generally inferior prdJiice (of which there is a large mass in h-inds of v importers) shared in the fall, *he otly description which can be said to have escaped being good greasy merinos, which sell on h par with June rates, and light orossbreda in the grease of grades suitable for American wants, for which market afew hundred bales of both classes have been purchased although at a season of the year when there usually exists no demand from that, centre. Should] these purchases be tentative, and prove , the precursors of more extended operations in the Winter and Spring of IHBO, an important outlet for good greasy wools, which for some time has remained doimant, will then bo secured. Up to the present tangible symptoms of recovery have been observable, the daily auntions being characterised by much irrogularity, both in . the attendance and competition. A a some 220,000 bales have now been catalogued out of the available supply of 340,00(1 bales, and as it seems probable that a considerable quantity will be hold over for the November series, it is possible that the quantity remaining to be offered will not prove in excess of snoh purchase* as consumers may yet be desirous of making. In this eventuality, current rates may ha maintained until the close. There is no doubt but that the prowess of the sales has been prejudicially affected by the continued uncertainty of the wenther and the very unfavorable harvest prospects both here and in France. The existing untoward state of the British agricultural interests must certainly diminish the spending power of the working classes. "While these drawbacks should be regnried as only temporary, they in the meanwhile retard the long wished for recovery in our domestic trade. Tn view of the large aggregate of wool already offered, ftud the quantity which it is anticipated will be held for fu ture disposal, it has been decided to close the present series on the 27th instead of the 29th instant, as originally arranged. Tallow. — For the four publio sales held since departure of last mail via San Fran-

Cisco, 5,32") casks of Australi in 'IMIow were catalogued, of which quantity 4,780 cas';s wore soil under the hatiun-r. I hrftc his ; beori^an imoroveil 'dennn.l lhrou;h >ut the j ' month, a-.d o jnsidorablo bii-iiie*s has been transacted, tho greater port-io i of the tnllow b night in being sold piivately b:twcon , the several sales. Valum now ruling show a decided advance on tho*e current toutweeks ago, fine spits being quite Is Oil pjr cwt. doaVer, and eoiiun n to mvdiirn dscriplions Is to Is 6.1. Tho m.irket closes firm at tho following quotations: — \ustmlian m niton, fine. 33« to 3">s 6 I per cwt ; medinin 33.4 6d to 3A< Cd. Beef, ii io, 32s to 32a (nl ; medium, 31s to 3ls GI. Eitimatad stock in .warehouse, 11.000 cisks, of which 2,300 are*hissian. C iiin Market. — An iiniwrovement in the weather during the past few days has enabled farmers to m-ika good progress with their harvest work," and wheat cutting is now general in the Midi md and Southern ■ counties. A few samples of tho new crop were on sale yestord ly at 'Market, bub the quality was very variable, nud the pi-ices realised (froia 35s to 48*) so irregular as to afford no trustworthy indication of the course quotations itay now take. From estimates recently prepared it appears that the total production of wheat in this country will be fully threa millions of quarters below that of 1878. Prices, however, are decidedly lower than at dale of our last report, the enormous supplies from America serving completely to neutralise the effect which our own bad harvest might have been expected to prod'ice The quantity actually on passage to U. K. from all sources, 1,753,821 qrs., is greatly in p xc Jss of tint afbat at sumo perioT of 1878 ; while American stocks are large aud offers plentiful. New Zealand wheat is in large supply here, and iv vi«w of the presently expected influx of home grown produce, it U probable that the existing level of prices will not be m-tin taincil. A cargo on the way is offjrei at 4'!s per 480 lbs. c. i. f. ; but not more than 4% would now be paid.