COMMERCIAL.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2506, 1 April 1881, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

MELBOURNE MARKETS.

M'Gregor, Gordon and Co. report for the week ending March 16,1881 : . Breadstuff* —Prime shipping parcels are at 4s Id ex store; prime milling, 3s 11J to 4s During the week we have sold 3,000” bushels of medium to good at prices from 3s 9Jcl to 3s lid ex Spencer street. The demand for shipping parcels is brisk, and the quality up to the standard for export is difficult to obtain. Metropolitan and other warehouses are stocked with second-class wheat. Flour remains at £8 12s 6d.

Oats—We have sold medium Victorian milling at 2s 9d to 2s lOd ex station ; clean Tartarian, for seed; 2s 9d; good feed, at 2s 4d and 2s sd; medium ; at 2a 3d. The demand lor all classes is good, and prices ' are advancing. The' absence of New Zealand prime milling has caused the price to advance to 2s 5d and 2s 5Jd ex steamer in bond—the market is quite bare of them.

Barley.—Market dull. Prime English is at 3s to 3s 4d, according tqqtiality; Oregon and feed, 2s 3d to 2s 3£d. Beans.—We have sold for export at 3s 2£d. Horse beans are in much request at ,4s 6d to ss. Blue peas, 4s. Maize is at 4s,- with an upward tendency. Grass Seeds.—A good inquiry has set in for cocksfoot, rye-grass, prairie, and clover. Dairy Produce. Cheese; We have cleared all our best lines for export at 4d to 4£d, and have sold medium to good from 3d to 3Jd. Stocks are now much lighter, and the market is better. During the week we have sold 4 tons at above rates. Potted Butter. —We realised from 8d to Bfd for the best new potted butter ; good 7d. Old potted of prime quality we have sold at to 6|d, stocks in Melbourne are light and prices are rapidly advancing for the best qualities. Medium and inferior are dull of sale.

Fresh Butter.—Supplies to hand were light and we were unable to satisfy the requirements of the trade; best dairies realised Is per lb to Is 4d per lb, ordinary to good 7d to lOd per lb. Honey.—We sold out our entire stock at, 4|d for garden, and bush at 3d, one superior line garden we sold at s^d. Eggs.—Supply short; we sold at Is 2d to Is od per doz. Ham and Bacon.—We sold last week 100 sides of good bacon at 6£d. The demand is brisk.

G oldsborough’s monthly Grain report for March 15 is as follows :

Wheat.—During . the past month the exports of Breadstuffs from this colony to English and foreign markets have been unusually large, Melbourne, as reported in our last month’s circular, now commanding the attention of foreign buyers, who have operated freely during the past few months.

At our various sales held during the month we submitted large catalogues, the bulk of which was cleared at satisfactory prices. On Wednesday the 2nd inst. we obtained the top price, 4s 2d per bushel : this figure however, was not maintained owing to the unfavorable news received by cablegram from England of a decline of sixpence per quarter. The greater portion of this season’.s crop has gone through, and as the deliveries ex railway are rapidly falling off, our catalogues from this date will be considerably reduced. We quote :—Prime Seed Wheat, 4s 2d to 4s 3d ; prime shipping parcels, 4a o£d to 4s 4s; medium to good 3s 9d to 3s lid; and inferior to medium, 2s lid to 3s 8d per bushel.

Flour.—This market has been overstocked and none but well-known brands are taken up at the following prices, viz:—Good country brands,£Bl2s 6d; and town-milled, at £9 sterling per ton.

Oats.—A much better demand was evinced towards the close of the month, and last week we reported an advance of a ' IJd per bushel having been obtained through our sale of the 9th. We quote:—Prime milling, 2s lid to 3s; prime Feed, 2s 6d to 2s 7d; medium to good, 2s 3d to 2s sd; inferior to medium, is 9d to 2s 2d; and prime Calcutta, from 3s Id to 3s per bushel. Barley.—Since our last monthly report we note a much better market for this cereal, a good demand having set in by the local malsters, who will shortly resume operations. We quote :—Prime seed, 4s; prime malting, 3s 6d; medium to good, 2s--4d to 2s lOd; Cape and Oregon, from 2s Id to 2s 3Jd per bushel.. Bran.—We have sold bran during th® month at from Bfd to 9£d, and pollard, B|d to B|d per bushel.