COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Southland Times, Issue 1081, 30 December 1868, Page 2

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

♦ •_■.,. ■■ - TheO Daily Times/ 24th instant, reports: — There~nas been little doing in Provincial flour or wTfeat, and the 1 market,- so far as values are concerned, is unchanged." Oats have been freely offering, but even the usual demand for the West Coaat having slackened there are no buyers; The current , values "are— : Town-madeo wn-made and American . flour, £15 v wbisata (provincial), 6s 4d to- 6s 6d j oate, 2s 'sd to 2s '6d ; barley (good samples), -4s 6d. Malt liquors have be: n dealt in to some extent for bottjed, but. at, low rites for all the second brands ; while btJk beers have hardly •eemefl.tdmove at all. Machin's and Guinness's stouts continue worth . Bs . 6d to 9s. Blood's has bgerr-placed at 9s ; and Tennent's ale com? mands "sale' at the maintained quotation of 9s, and_Bxass's_ stout 7s 9d to Bs. The values of other ' sorts, or of bulk , ales, cannot be giren with any degree > - accuracy. Provisions have beea bufc — little -wanted. Slender sales of —best l - English bacon ". and hama - hay -*j been made at 12£ d and 12d (proportions), andj fa a line of English' cheese (fine condition), at ll£drl There is just now a full supply of colonial butter, which sells moderaiely ~well at lid to Is, and of colonial cheese also moving at 7»d. Oiltnen's , stores still remain heavy in stock, and without i any, improvemt in value} one or two small .invoices recently quited have witnessed cost prices onfy. : In timber there has been the Bale (pre-' vioiisly ailujied to) of the cargo of Baltic flooring, ex Martha, from^Fredericketadt, which left the importers, hands at a high figure, but nothing else'of any moment. • Kauri and other New Zealand pine is low in stock, but the supply of . all other kinds. is.ample. Galvanised iron, of which shipments have been heavy of late, haß been quitted lit low prices, and one or more comparatively unknown English makes have been placed i as low as £26 ; there is now more disposition to ' hold. Spirits, ; notwithstanding favorable advffes from the home anarkets pointing to : the probability of better prices, have iiot been much inquired for. • 7 Xhe' Oamaru Times' of 22nd DecsayB :— . There "is- still but little "doing". ■ •'We hear of the. sale, of a parcel of flour at a. .price withheld. Transactions' itr whieat have been 'effected at 5s to 5s 3d. Really .first-clkss'-aample would;- we befieve command' 5s 6d. ; ; Oats are priced at 38 6d. Barley and maize cannot be quoted, there being none on offer.. rThe wheat, crop in the immediate neighbourhood of the town sliows well for a good harvest,, but beyond the Kakanui southward, iand ; in- the Papakaio and the northern districts, reports generally are un-favourable.-:;A large breadth of land is under oats, anffalthough this crop has. greatly benefitted by the recent showers, yet it- has by no means recovered the effect of the preceding long duration of dry weather; " : - A somewhat- deficient yieidiß therefore looked for. ■■■---■■_.- The' -' Lytteiton Hides,- of -'the 21st instant, repofts-:-^;-; -■ •-•"; ■-'^-■■■^ ■'■ -''■ v '-";-■ .}! The grain market is unaltered/ eithevin quotations or amount of business -being transacted. A l general dullness prevails, but almost any cereal : could. be % placed if brought forward. ..xlourhis j only purchased for/local consumption, and- the j stocks on hand -remain far in excess of the demand.. Bran and sharps, more especially, the former, are very- scarce, but the inquiry limited. We regret to learn that a little uneasiness begins to prevail amongst farmers respecting their crops,'; which, up to 'comparatively a few days' ago,' were looking remarkably well. ; The dry winds lately prevailing,- together with the limited fall of rain;, have had. a very injurious effect upon the plains.; The.oata are growing short, and the wheat, except on new land, ia generally very light. Barley is the only cereal which retains a favorable appearance, and rain ia very, anxiously .desired. , The- ' Weuingten Independent* of the 19th December, Bays :— ' ■■■•■•■■ Onr report of the state of tradaUby-tb^iasfc Panama mail was far from being a cheerful qne, and we are grieved to be still compelled to continue in the same tone. - There- is comparatively nothing doing, and business of every description is as stagnant as it can wel. be ; although one or two articles mar have attracted attention, the ! majority of goods have not commanded the slightest notice, and fears are expressed that the next two months, which should be and are ordinarily the bestrportions of the year- fo-* trade, will prove exceedingly unsatisfactory both to importers and dealers. With wool at its present low value, and the uncertainty incident on a state of native war we can hardly hope to see any improvement for some time to come.

<:'•:: :«v,-;'-l . . ;;: ■ Tdesdtty Evening. V The following are the Customs returns for— Saturday/Dec. 26, Sundries, .... .....£24 17 6 . v; ;;■ - Monday, Dec; 28. : "Gotd; 319bzsT16awflgiir .:. £39 19 6 Sundries • l ... '.a • 918 3 .tliVCv: :::--■■• V : -' £49 17 9"- • I :-i ■■- . c :Tti(Bsday, Dec. 29. .=Whi^ 102 gab ... ;;. £61 17 3 Brandy, 37 gals- ... : ... - 22 16 7 -C^eHOTftritStwla — rr.-— — rr.-- B-18- a '.;•: '.:::;.: ,- : - £93 12 0 '