COMMERCIAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10066, 6 February 1909, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

HOME MARKETS. [BT EIECTBIC TeLEGBAPH. —COPYBIGHT.] (Pee Pbess Association.) Received February 6, at 12.15 a.m. London, February 5. Bank of England returns: Gold coin, £33,141,000; reserve, £24,011,000; proportion of Teserve to liabilities 47.36; in circulation, £29,134,000; public deposits, £7,399,000; other deposits, £43,278,000; Government securities, £14,801,000; other securities, ■ £29,862,000. Three months bills, 25-16 th per cent; short loans, 1% per cent.

Bank rate, 3 per cent. Consols, 93 l-12th. New South Wales fours, 109£; three and a-half, 98£; threes, 88. South Australian threes, 84£. The rest unchanged. Wheat —Markets firm with a general advance of three-pence. There is active demand for cargoes, chiefly for the Continent, which have sold up to 37s 3d. Australian spot realises 30s. Flour —Firm, with little animation. Australian in London brings 27s to 27s 6d for spot, while- 27s 6d is asked in Glasgow for March-April shipment. Butter—Steady. Danish, 117s to 119s. There is a fair demand for choice colonial, which is selling at late rates. Secondaries are low. Consignees report that many Victorian brands are below the standard quality. At the sheepskin sales 8350 bales were offered and practically all were sold. There was a large attendance of Home and Continental buyers, and bidding was animated. Best combings were unchanged. All clothings in coarse crossbred combings were from part to a farthing lower. Next sale will be held on March 18th.

At the London wool sales bidding was brisk and prices firm at recent rates. Tukorongo 10^d. Copper—Spot, £SB ss; three months, £59 ss.

Tin—Spot, £124 12s 6d ; three months, £126 10s.

Lead, £l3 3s 9d. Iron, 48s 4d. Sugar —Steady. German, 10s ; first marks, 12s. At the Bradford wool market prices are unchanged.

CIIRISTCIICRCH MARKETS. (Per Pbess Association.) Christchurch, February 5.

Several further sales of new wheat havs taken place during the week at 4s to % I'd at country stations, but it is now reported that those millers whose stocks were, low have obtained all the supplies 11 it'y require for the present, and are holding off until the new grain is more matured. Large millers are only offering 3s lid, but while other buyers were willing to pay a higher figure this price was not accepted. A quantity of wheat is still coming in from Sydney and Melbourne, the Maiuma on her last trip bringing over 3000 sacks from the latter port. There are now not quite so many oats offering, but what sales have taken place have been, on tho basis of Is 3d at country stations for good feed lines, even if slightly off color. As low as Is is said to have been paid for discolored light samp'es. There is still nothing doing in barley, buyers evidently waiting to see how the latter crops turn out. No cocksfoot is yet offering. Ryegrass is still coming forward, am! growors are now turning their attention to having it machine dressed, as there is little demand for undressed lines. DUNEDIN MARKETS. To-day's Otago Daily Times reports : In the local wheat market a condition of expectancy reigns, business at present not being possible owing to the fact that no wheat is obtainable; stocks of old grain axe completely exhausted and no new wheat is vet on the market. Local millers are known to be on their beam ends, and only the regular weekly shipments from Melbourne have enabled them to keep their mills sroing. And even for this wheat a slight advance has had to be paid on previous contracts. Probably never before in the history of the Dominion has a new season opened with sueh absolutely bare boards. There is certain, however, to be keen competition for the first lots of the new wheat placed on the market, and prices will probably be well up to the rates at present ruling tor old grain. Advices from Canterbury strife that very little new wheat is yet on offer, and millers all over the Dominion are making inquiries. The only line offered in the local market was 500 sack 6 new Tuscan, guaranteed good quality, at a shade over 4s on trucks north of Christchurch, or equivalent to about 4s 6d delivered at the mill door in Dunedin. But no business so far is reported, since local buyers are badly in need of velvet. There is no likelihood of any velvet being ready for delivery even from North Canterbury, for another week or ten days, while it will be well on to the end of the month ere anything is offering from North Otago. Thus, from every ]>oint of view the market promises to open animatedly—indeed, the coming season should be an extremely interesting one, with plenty of opportunities to make money—or lose it. In the Waimate district offers on the part of agents of 3s 6d on trucks for forward business in wheat met with absolutely no response on the part of the growers. This in itself is significant. There is no change in flour, although the fact that Australian flour is regularly avriving in the North Island at under the price of the local article would seem to portend a drop in price in the near future. Much, of course, will depend upon the price at which millers are able to secure tlie new wheat. Meanwhile the Association's tariff is as follows :—Sacks. £lO 15s: 100's. £11; 50s, £ll 10s; 25's, £ll 15s. The shipping price is £lO 10s, and tli« Tnvereargill price £ll. The chick wheat market is unchanged at 4s 6d (f.0.b.. sacks in, Timaru) for good whole fowl wheat. For local orders 4s 6d to 4s 7d (ex store) is the nominal uuotation, but little is available. There is no change in offal, and the Association's tariff stands: —Bran, £4 15s for local orders, and £4 10s (f.0.b.) for shipment; pollard, £6, both for local orders and for shipment. There is a decided dullness in the local oat market, and merchants appear to have little confidence in the present range of nrices. Canterbury merchants are offering new season's oats at from Is 6£d to Is 7d f.0.b., Lyttelton), but without leading to business, since North Island buyers are working upon the locallyL'rown article. It is rumored that some of the early lot 6 threshed from the stook after the late heavy rain are turning out badly and giving dissatisfaction to buyers. For old oats Is 3d (f.0.b., s.i.) is the nominal quotation, but for a truck of B grade Is 5d (ex truck, Dunedin) was the best prise that could be obtained to-day. The price of oatmeal remains at £lO, and pearl barley is unchanged at £l7 per ton. Potatoes.—Supplies exceed the demand, and prices have declined. The new season's crop is coming to market in generally good condition, and free from blight, but growers are not allowing many samples to come to maturity, and a number of lots in store, in consequence show effects oflieing handled before the tubers have been fully developed. Quotations : Prime, £3 to £3 2s 6d; medium, £2 10s to £2 17s 6d per ton (bags in). DUNEDIN PRODUCE MARKET. Messrs T. E. Shiel and Co. report for the week ending February 3rd: — On account of the warm weather we have been having these last few days, choice peaches and apricots have been in excellent demand ; the few lines of peaches and apricots arriving in crates have brought Tecord prices, and we advise consignments of choice dessert fruit. Choice peaches, s£d per lb ; medium quality, 4d; jam, to 3d. Apricots—Choice, 4d per lb; medium, 3d. per lb; jam, 2£d to 2£d per lb. Plums —Good dessert, 2£d per lb; jam fruit from l£d to 2d per lb. Nectarines—Large, 3d to 4d per lb; medium, 2£d per lb. Tomatoes—Christchureh. hothouse, worth 6d per lb; outside, 3d to 3id.

STUDHOLME JUNCTION SALE. The usual fortnightly sale was held at Studholme yards yesterday.' The yarding was only a moderate one, comprising 2300 sheep and lambs. Competition was not quite so brisk as that experienced at late sales, but for all that the bulk of the entry changed hands. Fats, ewes, 10s 4d, 10s sd, 10s 7d, to' lis j lambs, 110 at 14s 60 do. 14s; forward lambs, 120 at 12s 9d, 198 at 13s 4d, 60 at 13s, cull lambs 8s Sdß to 9s 6d; breeding ewes, 63 four and sixtooths 16s 3d, 87 aged ewes 8s 3d, 220 s.m. ewes 14s 9d, 149 do. 14s, 160 do. 13s 9d; ewes and lambs, 10a 3d to lis 6d. Cattle.—The entry totalled 34 head, consisting principally of store steers and heifers (various ages). Quotations: Fat steers £6 10s to £7 15s, do. heifers £5 5s to £6 17s 6d, do. cows £4 5s to £5

10s, store steers and heifers £2 10s to £4 ss, yearlings to £2 12s 6d, calves 7s 6di to 19s, dairy cows £3 5s to £5 for good guaranteed cows, £1 10s to £2 7s 6d for low-conditioned and aged cows. ■■■