PRICES STEADY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1002, 19 June 1930, Page 13

PRICES STEADY

N.Z. STOCK MARKETS WESTFIELD REVIEWED By R.W.C. Although the market for stores, particularly sheep, is comparatively j sick at the moment, fat stock j continues to meet with a steady | demand in all the principal selling centres of the Dominion at the ; moment. Prices showed little change yesterday. At Westfield there were good yardings in all sections, but prices mostly held at late rates. An offering of about GSO head oE fat cattle was drawn from most, parts of the province. Some particularly well-finished handy-weight steers came from Te KLuiti. The North's contribution to the entry was confined largely to a line of light-weight steers from above Dargaville, which showed signs of travel, with, hollow bellies and a generally rough appearance. The Northern grazier is still at a disadvantage as compared with handier graziers when selling at Westfield. It is only occasionally that Northern cattle show the finish of Waikato lines. Yesterday’s cow and heifer offering at Westfield was very mixed, and, al- P though there was a fair percentage of 9 well-finished station cattle, there was 1 nothing quite as heavy as the tops of L > recent weeks. The demand was fairly consistent li throughout, particularly on lines of 8 weAl-finished young cattle, and prices lj showed little change on late rates. Best young ox made up to 3Ss a hun- 5 fired; best young cow and heifer made 4 to 34s a hundred. Extra heavy prime s steers made to £l6; heavy prime, £l3 h 10s £l3 15s; light and small, from £B. t Heavy prime young cows and heifers made from £ 9 to £ll 12s 6d; medium, £7 to £S 10s; light and small, £5 10s to £6 15s; unfinished, from £3 10s. Heavy Entry of Calves There was a heavy entry of calves, particularly of big-framed sorts, and the market had a slightly easier tendency, which increased toward the close. The calf entry took till after three o’clock to clear. Big calves are not popular with the majority of the j buyers, who prefer well-nourished ( handy-weiglit vealers, and are prepared to pay more on a per pound c basis for these sorts. Yesterday there ( was also a noticeable increase in the * number of small and fresh-dropped calves, a sign that the start of the * new dairying season is not far off. 1 Top price in the section was received < for an extra heavy prime runner, i which made £8 12s 6fi; good average < runners made from £3 15s to £5 ss; j extra choice young vealers made to i £4 2s; medium £2 2s to £3 ss; small, < 14s to 325; fresli-dropped. from ss. A heavy entry of fat sheep sold readily at from par to slightly below 1 kite rates, the market easing slightly as the sale progressed. The offering included several pens of particularly ! choice prime sheep from the Opotiki district. Extra heavy prime wethers ' made up to 31s 6d for a small pen of particularly big-framed local sheep; ordinary heavy prime wethers made from 26s 9d to 295; medium, 23s 3d to 25s 6d; extra heavy prime maiden ewes made to 25s 9d; ordinary heavy prime ewes made to 21s 6d; medium. 14s to 17s. Choice prime hoggets made to 24s 6fi. Pigs met with a steady demand at late rates, porkers making from 65d to 7cl a lb, bacouers around s£d a lb. Stores made up to 365; good weaners made 10s to 16s. Stortford Lodge Market At tho Stortford Lodge (Hastings) sale yesterday, a medium market of cattle and sheep came forward. Fat bullocks made £l2 10s to £ls 2s Cd; fat cows and heifers, £6 10s to £9 16s; P.A. weaner steers, £3 10s; P.A. heifers, £3; fat ewes, heavy, 20s 6d; others, 13s to 15s; wethers, 23s to 25s 2d; lambs, 14s to 18s Gd; two-tootli ewes in lamb to Romney ranis, good, 21s to 23s 2d; two and four-tooth wethers, 14s lOd to 17s Gd; ewe hoggets. 16s sd; wetliers hoggets, 13s. Large Yardings at Johnsonville At Johnsonville (Wellington) sale yesterday, there was a large yarding of all classes of stock. The cattle offered were mostly prime quality bullocks, with a few pens of lighter sorts. A few pens of cows and heifers were also submitted. A good sale resulted, prices showing no alteration on last week’s rates. Wethers met with a ready sale at late rates, while the advance in ewe prices reported last week was barely maintained. A small penning of lambs met with good demand. Prices were.—Extra heavy bullocks, £ls 10s to £l6; heavy bullocks, £l4 5s to £ls; bullocks, £ll 15s to £l3 15s; heifers, heavy, £lO 10s to £ll 10s; cows, heavy, £ 9 to £11; vealers, 20s; wethers, heavy, 26s 9d to 28s 7d; wethers. 23s 6d to 25s 6d: ewes, heavy, ISs to 21s; ewes, 15s 3d to 17s Gd; lambs, 21s to 245. Heavy Entries at Addington There were heavy entries in all the major sections at the weekly market at Addington today. Features of the market were the firming in values for fat lambs and a decline in fat sheep prices and the presence in the fat cattle entry of the first draft of North Island steers for this season. The entry of fat cattle was the heaviest for some weeks and was swelled by 49 head of steers from Gisborne. They averaged £ls 7s a head, and about 40s per 1001 b. The remainder of this line of 105 probably will be entered next week. Values in this section were a shade easier, consequent upon the big entry, but to no quotable extent. The fat lambs sale was a very good one and values advanced Is and up to Is 6d a head. There was a very small entry of store sheep and the bigger proportion was made up of aged sorts. . The basis of values was unaltered. A large yarding of fat sheep sold firmly at late rates, and a few pens of light wethers showed a slight advance in values. Pork also firmed in price.