COMING WOOL SALES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9138, 10 July 1908, Page 5

COMING WOOL SALES.

THE PROSPECTS,

Sir Joseph Ward, when delivering his Budget speech on Tuesday, touched upon the wool market, and •whilst disclaiming any desire to prophesy as to the future trend 'of prices, expressed his belief that the present low values must before long advance. Towards the middle of the London May sales a distinct turn for the better manifested itself, and the market kept on improving right up to the conclusion of the sales on 29th May. The fourth series of sales opens in London next Wednesday, 12th July and naturally interest in them is unusually, keen and widespread, for if the upward movement of May is sustained it will react beneficially on all se"tions of business throughout the Dominion. Information received from a very good source, says the "Post," indicates that prices for New Zealand crossbreds at the opening are expected to average 5 per cent, above those paid at the conclusion of the May salep. The offerings are certainly very large—some 220,000 bales—tut if America buys at all ireely, this quantity should not prove too much for the trade to absorb. A prcpertion of the buying at the last series W£S said to be on speculative account, and no doubt this element will again he in evidence and so intensify competition. That a fairly large quantity of New Zealand wool was being kept back in the hope of prices rallying at the autumn sales was all along suspected, and is now confirmed by the magnitude of the June shipments, totalling 27,000 bales, an increase of 9,000 bales on the shipments for the corresponding period last year, the figures for Wellington alone being 5,007 and 979 bales respectively. From this it may be inferred that the producers in the Dominion are now better able to hold their wool until prices revive than was the case some years ago, when financial exigencies often compelled its sacrifice.