COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4380, 3 April 1875, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

The Customs duties received at this port for the week ending April 1,1875, were as under;

The Easter holidays and the fact of its being the end of the month, have contributed to render the import trade of last week duller than usual, and we have few, if any, changes in quotations to report. Some movement has been noticeable in brandies, and Ilennessy’s case has been In active demand at 315.; we also hear of a sale of Bisquit Duboucho's quarters and cases to some extent, in a line at Gs. Cd. per gallon and 20s. per case for export. In other spirits the customary amount of trade has been done at former rates. In sugars stocks are becoming more easy, but prices remain about the same. We quote I.C. at £43 to £43 10s.; C., £4O to £4l ; and Y., £3O to £37 per ton as current rates, d.p. Teas are In fair inquiry for new season teas at fair rates. Candles dull and overstocked ; sales at 20|d. Kerosene, little business doing, quoted at 2s. to 2s. lid, per gallon. Bottled ale and porter no inquiry ; Tcnncnt’s quoted at Us. per dozen. Other brands nominal. In the produce market there is no alteration. Butter meets with little inquiry at Is, 2d. per lb.; cheese, scarce at fl-Jd. Oats overstocked, sales difficult at nominal prices. Flour, Canterbury, a line of Kuddcnklau’s brand, which is considered one of the best in this market, was sold at £ll per ton for sacks. Other brands nominal. LONDON MARKETS. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company report under date the 9th of February: — Money Market.— The ease in the money market which wo recorded in our circular of the 12th January, continued for some three weeks thereafter, and accessions of bullion by returns from the provinces increased the stock In the vaults of the Bank of England, during the period named, by £070,813, the proportion of reserves to liabilities having risen successively to 45J, 47g, and 50 per cent, on the 18th, 20th, and 27th ultimo respectively. On the 14th the Court of Directors announced a reduction in the minimum rate to 4 per cent., but the open market quotation continued to fall, and, a fortnight later, a farther reduction to 3 per cent, was made in the olllclal quotations. Shortly after this a demand arose for bullion for shipment to Franco, chiefly, if not exclusively, to provide for deposits on account of the Baris Municipal Loan for £8,000,000,

which was in such favor that it is estimated to have been applied for to twenty times the amount, -the effect of the movement was a decrease in the stock of bullion and notes in the Hank to the extent of £1,630,099 as shown by the returns issued last week, and a decline to 43 per cent. In the proportion ol tne reserve to liabilities, the respective sums being £9.849.520 and £22,838,325. In addition to the withdrawals from the Bank a considerable portion of the recent arrivals of gold has been taken at once lor shipment to the Continent, the total exports foril ae four weeks having reached the unusually large amount of £3,453,050, against imports, pnncipally Australia and America, of Surprise is expressed in some quarters that in the face facts no upward movement in the Bank of England rate has been made ; on the other hand it is contended that with the probability of a speedy return of » Urge proportion of the recent withdrawals the directors were justified in adhering to a rate which allowed of the Bank participating in the current discount business, at the cost of only a temporary decrease in the reserve bearing in mind also that an advance in the rate would not have stopped the outflow of gold which was withdrawn for a special purpose extending over only a tew days. The large amount of comamlbidlion now held by the Bank of France (£65,600.000) is attracting attention, but no indications areguen as yet of a resumption of specie payments. , Stock Markets. —Save for a temporary check owing to the prospects of dearer money, the general condition of the stock markets has been one of firmness. Consols show only the slight advance of i, but in other descriptions of securities the improvement is more marked. Foreign stocks of various descriptions have participated in the Improvement, and a Brazilian Five per Cent. Loan recently issued in this market at 90L was applied for several times oyer. In Colonial Government securities the principal movements have been a rise of 1 in New South Wales 1572-IS9S, New Zealand 1891, South Australia 18811900 : and of 2in South Australia 1901-1918. Queensland and Victoria have risen J to 1. Colonial Banks show also enhanced quotations. Chartered of India, Australia and China have advanced 2, Bank of New Zealand i. National Bank of New Zealand f, Union of Australia and Bank of New South Wales each 1. Wool.— The prospects for the next series of wool sales have undergone no improvement since our last circular. There lias been a small amount of private inquiry, but the business resulting has been confined within very narrow limits, and with few exceptions the accounts received from all the manufacturing districts are uniformly unsatisfactory as regards the state of trade. The decline in wages among the laboring classes has probably tended to depress the home consumption, and although taken in conjunction with cheaper coal and a more moderate cost of the raw material, it has placed manufacturers in a better position to compete for export orders, the condition of most of the foreign markets is such as to offer very little room for expansion in that direction. The delay in the commencement of the February sales will give consumers a better opportunity of working np their stocks of raw material, but on the other hand will admit of larger arrivals than usual, probably amounting in all to upwards of 220,000 bales. The diversion to the American market of Australian and New Zealand greasy wool will by so much diminish the supply to our market, but we understand that this decrease will be counterbalanced by an increase in the proportion of the clip which will be shipped tor sale in the Home market unwashed. From Bradford, the seat of the longwool trade, the reports are of a very unsatisfactory character, and but for the fact that of late the French trade has begun to make small purchases of such growths, the prospects for its realisation are not encouraging. We hear that purchases have been made for export to France of two South Australian flocks of the new clip, at a price showing somewhat over the average realised for the same brands last season, but as this wool has been taken merely to supply immediate requirements consequent on a longer interval than had been anticipated between the December and February series, the transactions cannot be regarded as any index to the probable course of at the ensuing auctions ; on the contrary, present indications point to lower prices. The quotations for English wools, since Ist January, have receded about l£d. per lb., a decline which, of course, unfavorably affects the prospects for cross-bred wools. Note of arrivals to this date for the next series is

Tallow. —At the four weekly auctions held since our last circular, 4077 casks of Australasian tallow have been offered, of which only 1258 casks were disposed of under the hammer, the range of prices obtained having been 375. to 445. Gd. for mutton, and 535. to 425. Gd. for beef. The market has been much depressed, and the article difficult to realise on account of the plentiful supply of Home melted tallow. Fine beef, which has been selling for edible purposes combined with fine town tallow, does not now pass into that channel, and some forty tons per week of the latter are thus being thrown on the market. During the past week a good proportion has been cleared off, without, however, as yet, affecting prices, which since our last circular have given way 2s. to 2s. Gd. per cwt., as will be seen by ths following current

Arrivals for the four weeks ended 6th February, 3207 casks. Shipments advised by the mails via Suez and Brindisi, received on 16th ultimo, 442 G casks. Stock of all sorts on Bth inst. was 21,461 casks. Leather, —Thoro lias been only one public sale of Australian leather since our last, when 4781 sides were brought forward and the whole found a ready sale at full prices, the following being the quotations realised:—

Ulitsa .. •• •« •• KV X-.J ~ The demand for sole leather continues active, and there is every prospect of the value of Australian being well maintained.

Preserved Meats.— The demand for preserved meats continues fair. Boiled beef is firm, owing to pending large contracts with France. Mutton is not in very good request at the moment, and prices of 21b-tins are about £d. per lb. lower; other sorts and soups are very difficult of sale. In view of the continuance of a demand for France, it is worth the attention of shippers to bear in mind that the tins of boiled beef exported thither require to contain 1,2, and 3 kilogrammes (say equal to 2ib. 30z., 41b. 60z., and 01b. 9oz. net respectively). In any case the adoption of this course would not prejudicially affect the sale of these meats in this market, as these are made on actual weights. Subjoined are present market prices Boiled mutton, (Jib. and 41b. tins, 4jd. to sd. per lb.; 21b. tins, 5,?d. Boiled beef, do., do., CJd. to Oid. and 7d. to 7id. per lb. Arrivals for the four w”eeks ending 4th February, 14,435 cases. The mails delivered on 10th ultimo brought advices of the shipment of 18,009 cases. LONDON. HEMP MARKET. Cr. and J. A. Noble’s New Zealand Hemp Report, dated London, Bth February, is ns followsA fair amount of this hemp has changed hands since our last, but at prices some 40s. to 50s. below last month’s quotations. This was caused by a similar fall in Manilla hemp, holders of which were ready sellers on the 3rd inst., when most of the sales in New Zealand hemp publicly took place. Quotations will be as follows: —Common, £l4 per ton ; fair, £lB 10s.; good, £2O 10s. ; fine, £24 ; tow, £9 to £l4.

11Y TKIiECIIiAPH. AUCKLAND, Friday. Mr. Alexander Saunders reports Buyers ; City of London, 435. Cd.; National Bank, 715.; Beach, 10s. fid,; Tokatca, Os. Cd. Sellers; South British, 305.; Bank of New Zealand, 3055,; Cure, Cs, Cd.; Eoyal Oak, 15s. Mr. Buckland reports Fat sheep, lid. Cattle, active, demand 30s. per lOOlbs. Lambs, Bs. to 17s. Cd. WANGANUI, Friday. Freeman R. Jackson reports;—Fat beef, 26a. per lOOlbs.; cows, £5 10s. to £7 135.: steers, £0 55.; fat cows, £0 10s.; heifers, £3 10s. to £5 ; fat sheep, halfbreds, 10s. 3d.; ewes, Is to ss. Horses sell very dull. Exports for fortnight: 72 head of cattle, and 402 sheep. DUNEDIN, Friday. The grain market remains quiet. No transaction of any note has transpired, and fat sheep are in excessive supply. Tlio demand for young merinoes, continues unabated. Quotations: —Cross breds, 4 tooth and upwards, lls. to 12s. Cd,; 2 tooth, fls, Cd, to 10s.; do, lambs. Bs.; merino ewes, 2,4, and 0 tooth, Bs. to Os.; do, full mouthed, 4s. to 55.; merino wethers, 2,4, and C tooth, 75.; full mouthed, 4s. Od. to ss. Od, Insurance on buildings destroyed this morning—£loo Now Zealand Company. CHRISTCHURCH, Friday. The following arc the quotations, free on board at Lyttelton ;—Wheat, tinner, 3s. Sd. to 3s. 9d.; oats, 2s, lOd. to 3s ; barley, ss. 3d. to ss. Cd.; flour, £9 ss. to £10; bran, £4 ss. to £4 10s.; sharps, £4 10s. to £4 155.; cheese, scarce, od,; butter. Is. Od.; hams and bacon, none in the market—now euro ready in a month.

£ S. d. Spirits .. •108 1 3 Cigars .. If) 3 2 Tobacco.. . £f> 13 9 Wine .. 18 13 1 Beer .. .. 2-1 0 0 Tea 40 7 3 Coffee and chicory .. . 4 0 9

£ 8. cl. Sugar .. .. 02 13 5 Goods by weight 73 7 1 Do. ad valorem 20C 17 2 Other duties.. 12 10 O' Light dues. C5 12 shipping &c. 7 £1084 12 0

subjoined : — New .South Wales and Queensland 17,305 bales. Victoria 100,553 „ South Australia 86,307 „ Western Australia .. 317 „ Tasmania 410 ,, New Zealand.. 4.439 „ Cape of Good Hope 41,401 „ Total 200,792 bales.

quotations:— a. d. P. Y. C. New .. 43 6 per cwt. Australian Hutton, fine .. 42 6 „ Do., medium .. .. 42 0 „ Australian Beef, fine .. .. 42 0 „ Do., medium .. 41 6 „

lh. lb. d. d. Best sides averaging 12f to 103 .. 12} to 14 per lb. Extra heavy „ 19g to 22 .. 12} to Light ,, .. m 12} ;; Second class to

1873. 1874. 1875, Tons. Tons. Tons. Landings for January .. 278 . . 483 . . 83 Deliveries do. .. ... 07 . . 103 . . 40 Stock, 1st February.. .. 547 . . 2247 . . 2038