COMMERCIAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10064, 4 February 1909, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

HOME MARKETS. [Br Electkic Telegraph.—Copybight.] (Peb Piless Association.) Received February 4, at 8.50 a.m. London, February 3.

Wool—More animated and brisk American biddings. Crossbreds and best merinos show an advance. Best croesbreds are now 5 to 7£ per cent, above the opening prices. R.S. over T. realised 9£d, Matawa 9|d, Alrito IOJd. Wheat—Australian March-April shipment sold at 375, Adelaide January at 3/s l^d.

At the tallow auctions 882 casks were offered and 163 sold, prices being unchanged. Copper—Spot. £SB ss; three months, £59 2s 6d. Electrolytic. £62 15s. Tin—Spot, £125 ss: three months, £127 2s 6d. Lead, £l3.

DUNEDIN -MARKETS. (Per Press Association.)

Dunedin, February 3. Cattle.—2os were yarded, a large yarding of good lieef. Prices were slightly easier than last week's, and sales were most difficult to effect. Best bullocks £8 10s to £9 ss, extra up to £lO 15s, medium from £7 10s to £7, light uj> to £6 10s; best heifers £6 to £6 15s, medium £5 10s to £5 15s.

Sheep.—l77B were yarded. Prices at the beginning were good, for wethers especially, but towards the end of tlio sale they went back considerably. Best wethers 15s to 19s, extra to 20s, light 14s to 16s: best ewes 10s to 12s 6d, extra to 17s 6d, iight- 7s to 9s. La m I i 5.—1426 were yarded, a big yarding. Freezing buyers operated: freely, and the sale was pretty lively throughout. Best lamks 13s 6d to 14s 6d, extra to 15s 3d, medium 12s to 13s. unfinished sorts up to lis 6d. Pigs.—9o were yarded. All sorts were in supply. Small pigs sold at last week's rates, and prices for porkers and baconers were film. Suckers 13s to 16s, slips 17s to 19s, stores 23s to 28s, porkers 35s to 38s, light baconers 40s to 455, heavy 53s to 60s. Oats.— Tile local stocks are in very small compass, and business is very limited. Merchants report that they are procuring supplies from other parts at cheaper rates. Prime milling Is 7jd, good to best feed Is 6d to Is 7d, inferior to medium Is 4<7 to Is 5d (sacks extra). There is a scarcity of offerings in the wheat market, especially in velvet suitable for milling, v.-hich is in request. Fowl wheat has a fail' enquiry in small lots. Prime milling 4s 7d to 4s 9d, best whole fowl wheat 4s 5d to 4s 6d, medium 4s to 4s 5Jd, broken and damaged 3s to 3s 9d isacks extra).

ADDINGTON MARKETS. (Per Press Association.) Christchurch, February 3.

At Addington yards to-day there was a fairly large entry of all classes of stock and a large attendance. Fat cattle were easier, store sheep were again in strong demand, good fat lamljs sold well, and the fat sheep market remained at last week's Tates. Fat pigs were in fair demand and stores sold readily. Store cattle were not ill such keen demand, and prices were unaltered. Dairy cows met with a good enquiry at firmer rates. The yarding of store sheep was a very large one, about 2000 more than last week, and a considerable proportion were of a good class. Wet-heTS formed a good portion of the entry, and there were moro ewes offered than at recent sales. There was active competition for all classes, and last week's high rates were fully maintained. Lambs, of which there was a large nuinl>er offered, were keenly competed for, forward sorts making 13s to 13s lid and small to medium lis to 12s 6d. and culls from 5s 6d, forward wethers sold at 13s 9d to 14s 6d, a line of 2 and 4-tooib lialfbred ewes changed hands at 20s 3d, crossbred ewes of the same age 18s 6d, and 6 and 8-tooth ewes 15s 6d to les 7d.

There was an entry of 5170 fat lambs, a fair proportion being prime quality, and these sold well under competition from the ex|K>rt buyers and butchers. Lighter iambs wore rather easier, and two large lines were bought by graziers. There were 1489 taken for export at 13s 6d to 16s 7d, 575 bought by butchers at 12s 6d to 15s 9d. and an extra good j*en at 17s, 821. went to .graziers at 15s lid to .14s, and 497 were passed in. Fat Sheep.—The supply of fat sheep was only sufficient for butchers' requirements. the yarding taing a moderate one, and was ino6tlv made up of wethers, of which 'there were some nice quality offered. The sale was somewhat irregular, but cm tho whole prices were equal to those of last week. The range of prices was: Prime wethers 16s 6d to 18s, extra to 20s. withers 15s 5d to 14s 6d. prime merino wethers 15s 3d to 14s 6d : prime t-wos Ms 6d to 17s, others lis 5d to 14s, merino <*wcs 8s 2<l.

The entry of fat cattle totalled 289' head. i>f good average quality. The demand showed a falling off. probably on account of tli« i hot weather, and prices declined fully Is per 1001b. Steers made £6 17s 6d to 12s 6d. heifers £5 2s 6d to JC3 10s. and cows £4 17s "6d to £1 10s (equal to 20s 6d to 22s for prime,. 17s 6d to 20s for medium, and 16s to 17s for cow and inferior pur 1001b). There was a fairly large yaixling of veal calves, including a line of well-grown suckers, and they made 4s 6d to 60s, according to size and quality. Store Cattle.—There was again a large yarding of store cattle, including a large :ine Mom Southland of mixed breeding. Th** demand was not so keen as of late, and prices wore easier. Fifteen to eighteen months 455. dry cows £2 2s. heifers £2 18s. o-year .steers £5, 2-year heifers £5 15s. 5 and 4-year steers £6 Bs, drv cows 22s 6d to £5 6s. The Southland cattle sold as follows: 18months to 2-years £2 5s to £2 10s, 18months to 2 J-years £2 15s, steers £3 Is. heifers £5 18s. There was a good entry of dairy cows and a better demand, prices ranging from £5 to £9 ss.

There was an average entry of fat pigs, and they met with a fair "demand, and stores sold well. Large baconers brought 55s to 60s and smaller 48s to sfe (equal to IJ<l per Hi), heavy porkers made 38s to 44s 6d. and lighter 30s to 57s (equal to s id to 6d per lb), large stores 34s to 375, medium 28s to 335, small 2Qs to 365, and wcaners 14s to 255.