WOOL SALES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXI, Issue 8244, 17 December 1910, Page 1

WOOL SALES.

_ ♦ INVEROARGILL. Dec. 16. The first wool sale of the local season was held" here to-day, when a small cataogue of 3465 bales was offered, about 500 of which was passed. The top price was 112 d for crossbred hogget. A feature of, the Southland sale is the ladgo quantity of hogget wool offered, and because of the limited quantity of this wool offered elsewhere, it always commands good prices. Mr Hill, secretary of the Wool Buyers' Association, states that to-day's sale was one of the most spirited m the dominion. The competition was quite as keen as at other centres, and prices were- as high and even higher m some instances. A drop of from ld to lid per lb was not m any way the result of a declinein the market (m the ordinary use of the term), but was principally due to the poorer condition of the wool. There was a lack of brightness and lustre about tho lots offered, owing mainly to a dry and dusty spring and summer, following a particularly mild winter. A feature of the sale was the unusually high prices of pieces, as much as Bid being paid for pieces from fleeces which fetched B|d. This is accounted for by the fact that Continental buyers are inducing special competition for that class of wool. The majority of the wool offered to-day was good to medium strong crossbred, and the average price was from 9d to Bel as against 93d to 9d last year. These prices are,- however, about ld m advance of the? average rates of recent years Other classes of wool also showed about, Id -per lb reduction, but as has been said already, this is not taken to moan a weakening of the market.