London Markets.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 5896, 23 February 1903, Page 2

London Markets.

Messrs Dalgety and Co., Christchurch, have received the following cable under date London, Feb. 19th: —"Frozen meat prices nro slightly m favor of buyers, but there is more business doing ut the decline." The agent of the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association m London reports as follows under date January 17th, 1903: — Wool. —The list of arrivals for the first series of Colonial wool sales, to open on the 20th January, was closed on the 12th inst., and comprised a total of 214,!!08 bales. Deducting 82,000 bales of these, which were forwarded direct to the manufacturing centres, and adding 5,000 bales old stock, the net available total for the sales amounts to 138,000 bales, as compared with 193,000 bales available for the corresponding series of last year. As will be seen by the above, the arrivals for these sales are very small, and there is a likelihood of a marked: c ircity of merinos, clue to the strike among shearers m Australia as well as the drought, and very keen competition is considered probable. At Home and abroad the trade is m a healthy condition, but users of merino continue to operate with caution, and stocks m dealers hands, especially m Belgium, are very light, and a very firm market for this description may confidently be anticipated at the coming auctions. Crossbrods fully inaintaiu their position, the lower qualities, stimulated by the recent sales of South American wool at Liverpool, show an upward tendency. Coarse'grades »re expected to show a still further substantial advance. Wheat.—At the turn ot the now year the weather was extremely mild, but it has-now changed and we are experiencing hard frosts, with heavy falls of snow over the country, which will be bsneiicial to the crops. There has been little buii-' ncsa doing m Mark Lane during the past three weeks, as buyers have shown no great dssire to operate, but valuo have been maintained firmly here, and m America they have a slightly improving tendency. Jn £he Argentine, the harvest just finishing is said to be srery satisfactory, and there will be available for export some 10,000,000 qrs. out of a total yield of 14,000,000 The farmers' deliveries of English wheat at the county markets have been smaller owing to the recont rains, and the present average price ia 24s lid as compared with 27s 8d m the corresponding' lypek of last year. Stocks of wheat and flour at jbhe chfef oat ports of the United Kingdom, show a considerable decline, being 835,-357 qn., against 1,267,760 qrs, m January, 1902. Looking ba<;k £he past year the range m the weekly average price of wheat, 1903 ranks fifth m the decade of which it formed the closing year, the superior years m this respect having been 1898, 1896, 1894, and 1897. Compared witli. 1901, a year m which the fluctuations were confinM srifchin the narrow limits of 2s per quarter, 1905 was amirch more active year The average of jthe highest weekly avewos of the ten years 1893-JL9O2 is Bls 4d, as shown m the subjoined table, from " The Times," where ijfc is geen thgji the average of the lowest weekly averages is $3g Bd, both values being slightly below the cor- j responding ones for 1902 alone. The anomalous year m the table is 1898. In the Spring of that year the Letter speculation m the '(Jiiifcpd States, occuiTi"* at about the aametimo as fee .outbreak of hostilities between that country ajid Spain, forced the weekly average price of wheat up to 48s :d, orfcho highest since 1882. In 1902, wheat touched the highest figure, 31s 8d per qr., m the week ended August 2nii, and the | lowest, 2*3 lOd, at December 20th and again j at Decenber 27fch. Of Australian wheat the I small quantity on spoc is still heJd for 35s j to 35s <>d per 49"3 lbs. ex store, but; the demand is extremely limited at these prices. fyi Hew Zealand wheat the market is bare of stock. Qxi's —Are s&sady and without quotable alteration. Lighter ports are a jiirifie deayer, and heavy ones firm, but buyers hold off at the momerifc. Ns\y Zealan4s nominal, ordinary Bluff and Sp&rrowbills g6s to 28s, Canadians 80s to 325, per <ii4> lbs ex store. Barley.—-There is some enquiry for best malting qualities at recent rates, but grinding sorts are somewhat neglected, and a trifle easier m price. j Frozen Meat. —Trado at Smithfield as regards anything frozen, has practically at a standstill, for at the present season only the best home-killed beef and mutton are m request, consequently English and Scotch mutton has advanced 6d to i 8d per stone, while Colonial hag remained j stationary, and 4d per stone Je&s money has been taken to clear PJate parcels <Csanterbfi(.'y carcases are still m short supply, and as Christinas time is about over and thG weather much colder, this demand 4UPing the last two days has improved considerably, and values are firm. Prime Canterbury sheep 3s 6d to 3s Yd per stone at Smithfield; but second quality mutton < has not been going quite so well, and has j giv,sn way 2d to 3d per stone, the present j yal'ue *<>eiE£ 3s 2d to 3s 4d per stone ex i market. The market is bare of Australian j mutton', but considerable numbers of River j Plate sheep are going into cohsumgtioii f p \ 2s 104 per stone, the reduced prices helping j the sale materially, For lambs there is # i limited enquiry, and best O&nj-erburys have : improved Id per stone, the present price e£ market being 3s lid to 4s per stone, while second quality carcases are worth 3s lOd to j 3s lid. The "Karamea" brings about i!00i&. The Australian lambs now being placed o&'feeisarkat are m better condition than was expected"," although many arc indifferent, There is a very fair #etosjj4 £#r

these at 3a 4d to 3s 8d ex market, which is a low price compared with Canterbury mutton. Frozen beet is scarcely asked for, and New Zealand may be quoted at 2s 5d for fores and 2s lid to 3s for hinds at Smithfield. The Argentine - Government has at last taken the step by wh;ohit will be possible to export live cattle from that country to Great Britain, and thus resume the trade which has been stopped since 1900, the year when the Government closed its ports on account of the virulent foot and mouth disease m Argentine, and it iB expected that the British ports-will be opened forthwith.