COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5407, 26 July 1878, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Mr. George Thomas reports:—Flour, Adelaide, £l7 10s ; colonial, £l2. The market is overstocked, and there is no business doing in this line. Oats are very firm at 4s 9d; bran, la Cd, not obtainable, and will advance 2d in a few days; pollard, £7; hams, Sid; there is a ready sale for good bacon at 8d : do wheat, 4s Cd (much wanted); butter, 10d, nominal; potatoes. £4 10s, .none in tho market, two shipments to arrive have been sold at price quoted ; maize, 5s 8d to 5s 9d, market stocked; cheese, 7d to 7id, stocked.

THE LONDON WOOL MARKET. (From the European Mail,. June 7th.) 'Messrs. Helmuth, Schwartze, and Co. report:—“The sales were at the outset but moderately attended, and prices showed a more or less marked decline from the dosing rates of last series. Subsequently, however, the tone improved, and though the comparison with March still tells against present prices in the case of various descriptions, several important groups of wool have finite recovered the original decline. The following treats the principal sorts in detail: —Superfine wools (extra Port Phillip fleece and greasy and fine Mudgee fleece) »re in good demand, but do not excite the same competition as in February. Lots of very great fineness still command extra rates, but as a class these wools are decidedly cheaper than last sales. Port Phillip and Sydney grease, whether inferior, middling, or good, sell well at* prices which are on a par with March closing rates. Of fleece wools, though they are hardly fco firm, as much may be said, excepting only Sydney clothing sorts, which are rather depressed. Adelaide and New Zealand grease are £tl. per lb. cheaper than last sales. In the case of the former, this is owing to the heavy condition of this season’s clip, while with New Zealand wools the somewhat indifferent prices obtained are ascribed to an increasing deterioration of the quality,of the fibre. Not only docs the proportion of cross-bred wool produced in New Zealand increase every year, but the merino, flocks show a tendency to lose fineness, or at least evenness of quality. Scoured wools of all kinds are in brisk demand. They have materially improved since the beginning ol the sales, and sell now- fully up to March closing rates, any difference being in favor ’of the sellers. Crossbred wools declined Id to IJd'per lb at the outset, but though rather firmer of late are still 4d to Id per lb lower than last sales. Especially is this the case with the coarser kinds, Lincoln, &c., while half-breds and quarter-brecla sell comparatively better. Lambs' wool continues to command extreme rates.” Messrs. Jacomb, Son, and Co. say:—“ Half-bred ■ wools, washed or in grease, show little or no advance ; these classes are so sympathetically affected by the very low prices of English' wool that no present relief seems to be looked for. and tha market rates are met freely by importers. In all other classes of colonial wool prices are as fairly supported as could be expected in the depressed state of trade generally, but very few of the Victorian first-rate clips, washed or in grease, approximate to the extravagant rates of March-April series. Messrs. Webster, DarvaU* and Co., under date June C, say:—“The.Whitsuntide-re.-cess would seem to suggest a retrospect of the- course of prices since the present series opened, ©Oi May 14, until June 4, when they were adjourned until the 11th Inst. The tone of the marked on the opening night was somewhat hesitating, and tlio attendance scarcely as numerous as a sale of the. magnitude and importance of the<o auctions would warrant. The biddings were about Id to ijd. below the average of March rates upon washed wools, and Id upon greasy, those of a cross-bred character, both washed and unwashed, being even further depressed. For about the first fortnight very little variation in value occurred, except that a. tendency to harden was observable in those catalogues which, contained a good assortment of first-class wools,, and as the withdrawals cn aa ■average, did not reach 10 per cent, of the’ quantity : offered, mpre,confidence became diffused, until at last the political aspect improving, the fall upon the early sales was recovered, and the market to-day is on a par \vjth April, except in the lowest grades of greasy wool from all the colonies; and some descriptions of crossbred. Scoured wool, from its scarcity, is in active demand, and so are well washed fleeces, the great preponderance of greasy making washed wools generally more desirable. The prices on June 4 attained the highest point the’raarkethHsyetreachedanda 1 pect is before the trade when the auctions are resumed on the 11th. The quantity already offered to dafc’e'is 156,400 bales, of" which 18,000 have been ( v ape.° Messrs. J. T. Simcs and Co. report“ Aboi*£ 11,000 bales have been bought in and withdrawn; and, as a notable indication of the state of the market, 7000 of these were taken in during first ten days. At the opening sale a decline of 7 to 10 per cent, was quoted; cross-bred and midd ing to inferior greasy wools suf feting to the largest extent. During the last few days there has been a decided tendency towards a firmer market, and we consider.that the decline existing during earlier sales has been recovered on all de - scriptions excepting cross-breds, and this class lias also been- going - decidedly better. ’ Some greasy merino New Zealands, being in large proportion as to total quantity, have hardly reached comparative rates. Some .extremely high prices have been "obtained for ‘exceptionally* superior Victorian and Tasmanian flocks very ' encouraging to producers, who so well deserve to have, such great care and attention as must be bestowed duly appreciated and so satisfactorily rewarded; South African wools, at the low. standard of value reached in March and April, also show a move in favor of sellers, and we think that for scoured and fleece washed current prices are id to Id better than last sales* rates. Greasy Natals, t>elng in rather large proportion, remain at April value." Messrs Charles ■ Balms and Co say:—“ The decline established at-the opening has been in all except cross-bred descriptions recovered, but the depreciation quoted in the first instance was, perhaps, somewhat exaggerated, and though the tendency of s the market has no doubt latterly ruled all round in a more favorable direction, any very substantial advance has 'been confined to particular classes, and notably to Adelaide greasy flocks which, at the ou* set, showed more than the average reduction. Crr ' bred shipments (principally the finer grades) ' ruled during the past ten days slightly fifme* . K are still very materially lower than at the com n * “Jr ment of the season. The extreme prices, ab o wHnTV obtained early In the year for extra zv: been fully supported. More confidence 1* ' ag been en gendered by the recent, improvement in situation, and generally a more cheerfr.f vlaw nr ;fifi prospects of the market prevails. - ey.oi tne BY TELEGIUPP AUCKLAND SHARP i(f’*twrjMi • (from our own O'*• • % jJIRESI'OJrpENT.) Mr Alexander AUCKLAND, Thursday. • Bink '- 10 ™ Mports:—Buyers: Colonial C 8 s”Auckland !P Mortgage, 255; South British, £KU2s 0(1; Bank of Now Zealand, fin.* r'nri,v .ational Insurance, 2Gs Od : Shipping, Is «d. ; «'»Albumin, 475; Thames, 30s; Clunoa,

(FEE FKE33 AGENCY.) AUCKLAND, Thursday. Mr, Binney reports Maize, 6s 3d: oats,: 4s Dd; f; o ur, £l2 to £l2 10s; bran, none in the market; sharps, do; beans, £0 Os Sd; oatmeal, £2l: pearl barley, £22, : : -

Tho following are the duties collected at the Customs yesterday:— £ d. £ a. d. Spirits .. 67 0 5 f Ale (bulk) .. 87 10 0 Wine .. 3S 11 5 I Weight , 34 9 7 .. 24 15 0 | Ad valorem .. 65 10 4 Tea .. .. 109 13 0 I Other duties .. 0 17 4 .. 20 16 8 I Coffee .. ... 3 0 k 0 j Total .. £458 9 9