COMMERCIAL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 74, 28 March 1895, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

BvKNiNe Star Office, Auckland, Thursday. uautl towards the end of the month, Sjrdeta have been coming in more freely, lurt trade generally is without much material change1 jn any direction. Dealer 8 continue to work upon moderate stockßAotea is now due from London with large supplies of general merchandise forthis porb. American goodß arrive by the incoming 'Frisco mail." Amongst the Bhipment is Cutting Packing Company's ißalmon, of which the market is at the moment acme what bare. The H. ; G. flohnaon arrived to-day with a large feargo of kerosene for this port. A Return cargo of gum. and flax will ba taken'to Now York. There are complaints Jibout the dulneßS of trade generally. This $nay to some extent be due to the fact thab fclarch 31st is balancing, day for several large financial institutions.' This generally lends to check speculative business. The timber industry is, however, very briak Just at present, and nome of the mills are working day and night in order^bp keep pace with the demand. Export trade is fairly, brisk, and several ; mills jsre sending" large consignments for the Xondon market by the Ophelia. Export feo Melbourne is likely to bo hampered by She advance of Is per 100 feet iri steamer freight, which commences on the firßb of next month. A considerable ainounb of building is going on'Jin the city and Suburbs, which is-alwaya a good, sign. A fair demand tor timber is reported from the country districts, owing,' no doubb, to the Vigorous policy pursued by the present Government in sebtlitig the people on, the waste lands of the cblony. The price of produce is at present very low, and Bhould 6t advance, which is by by no means I in- -, probable, New Zealand will be in a position to greatly increase- its export. Just ab present, however, the markets of the world ore so low thab ib is almost impossible to Ship to profit. The advance in the price of wool noted last week, has been maintained, - bo thab the prospects for sheep farmers are at) presenb certainly better than they were a month ago, • Cbnsiderabie activity characterises the Scauri gum market as far as good grades are V; concerned. ,In facb, the supply is scarcely, - x»qual to the demand. At bho moment nhere ia hardly any good ordinary to be I gob, while East Coasb still fetches 70s, and tfcia stated that even higher figures have 3been paid. Poor gum is, on the other fcand, not wanted, and is, in consequence, ■: aomewhab difficulb to quit in large lines. Supplies of gum thiß month have so far ieen heavy. / Business has not been so brisk on the Stock Exchange during the paßt week. «This ib attributable to more than one cause. i The 31st of March is a significant date in financial circles, and it is nob improbable thab investors who can sell to a profit are loot unwilling to realise before the end of the month. As regards mining stock, there is no hiding the fact that a large somber of companies have been -floated 'during the first quarter of this year, and although the prospects for the future may toe excellent, it is of course requisite that money must first be expended to open up the new mines and get crushing machinery in position, while in many instances somo months must elapse before much output of (gold can be looked for. This means present outlay for future possibilities, and necessitates a fair crop of calls. Meanwhile, it is ■ gratifying to nobe that the standard mines ore still turning' out satisfactory yields. As the crushing of the Monowai ' ore proceeds more transactions, are re- -■ "sorted in shares Yin thab^fj Company, '^ laut with little alteration' in values eb far. Talisman shares are weaker than they were ab Idsb report, afld Upper Thames •tock generally is a little-easier in price this week. Golden Crossx sellers remain = iirm in their demand for 325, and Woodstocks are not offered below 16s, parcels .changing hands yesterday ab 16s 6d. Grace Darlings appear to be in more favour, shares changing hands yesterday ab 6d. Should the roof when cut at the low ' level prospecb well.-tbere is no doubt that these shares would advance rapidly. KapaiVermont shares, after declining steadily for the last fortnight, had a good rise yesterday, , when sellers advanced from la 9dto 2% 3d, and Bales were reported abthe latter figure. Good accounts are received from the Waihi mine. The Silverton Company went into liquidation this week to re-appear under the title of the Waihi-Silverton Extended. Holders of shares in the original company will shortly have the pleasure of dividing £4,500 amongst) them forwarded from the' English purchasers. Picked stone was obtained from several parts -of the May Queen mine this week with the result that there were more transactions reported ab from 4s 6d to 4s 9d. There haß also been inquiries during the last few days for Norfolk shares. Sales of. Alburnia3 have also been more frequent latterly, business being reported ab 3s and 3s 3d yesterday. Investing" stocks have not met with much demand ' during the past week. Buyers of Auckland City Debentures now offer,£lo6, an V advance of one pound. South British : Insurance shares have had a further advance, buyers now offering 50s, with no sellers' ab that figure. New Zealand Insurance have remained .firm at from 70s to 71s, i but few transactions were reported. Union Oil shares have been in demand ab 13s 6d, > but sellers want- another shilling. ■ Taupiri -Coal sold" as ■■ high as 20a, with jßteady buyers ab 19s, and no further sellers .tinder :21b.> Accident Insurance have be'en in steady requesb at 13a, but sellers hold off. .'- ; .; ' BA;N^RATE§. .'■ \, , Buying—Discpunt. Selling—Premium ,;On demand: "£U .■',"/. -'. ': I|% 30 days 4% - „ ■' 1R ■■■■■, '* 6Ddays |% • ' .., ' ;i°l, '■■ . SOdays WJ. ». ". . 17. '..Inteeest Allowed, bit Deposits.; '■.'.*" •BY NATIONAL AND COLONIAL BANKS, Fixed for 3 months, 2°/. per annum . %■' V,, &V,, 37, .::•:■„ * "£i V. ..-_■,: ~; '12 ':„ 47. : ,„■_■ •/„ - / BY BANK OF NEW ZEALAND. Fixed for 3 months, a O/, per annum „ 6 „ 3% „. ;,» 12 „ .47. ■si£& „ 24 „ 44%..' „ : j Interest payable half-yearly. X • .BY • AUSTBALIAN BANKS. Fjxed for 6 months, 27 0 per annum j „ 12 „ 3J7. "Teas of mosb kinds are now somewhat Markets- in China, Ceylon and -India continue fco advance steadily. Cocoa.—Blookar's is now coming into favour. This brand is being pushed by agenba in the country districts, with the ' result bhab free sales are being made. Jute goods are firmer,/due no_ doubt to the repeated reports that the price in Calcutta is advancing. ' Hors.—Nelson eld crop is quoted at Is. The new will shortly be on the market. ... • - Cokbants;—Good samples meeb with ready sale ab slightly better rates. Rice.—The markeb for Japan rice shows a firmer tendency. Ib is quoted at £19 ; * duty paid,at present. >■■ _■■•. ■■,•■■: Kerosene.—Heavy shipments of kerosene arrived by the H. G. Johnson to-day, nearly 14,000 cases being for this port.. ; Wheat. — Considerable quantities of wheat have been sent in by local farmers during the past week, and several big lines . have arrived from the South by the Tarawera' and- Taviuni. . Wheab showed slight • ; Bigas of inoprovemenb in price a few daysago, eorno growerß in: the. South bate' held theifc. grain in hopes of a rise, but" ;. recent cablegrama from Europe: jindicft|ing i falling markets' and great depresßion in the

London market,, checked the movement) towards higher prices. The general feeling amongst speculators* in the South is thao prices will ease still further, but if millers offer no objection bo paying present prices, and the majority of farmers remain firm, the downward tendency may be stayed. At the same thno it mnst.be borne in mind that a,o present rates we cannot export. The quality of the crop in the South makes up for the deficiency in the area put down in wheat this season, in fact, the yield is the best for ten years past. It is certain, therefore, that there will be ample wheat this year for the colony's requirement. ; Fowl WtoEAT is selling freely ab an advance of one penny per bushel. Bran is dull of sale. , . Sharps are very scarce, although an advance of 5e per ton hastaken place. Flock.—A fair demand is reported. The movement amongst millers in the South to raise the price of flour did not succeed. Maize.—During the week 519 sacks arrived, and lines on the wharf realised 2s. Owing to : the want of a fresh the Opotiki bar is now so bad that vessels are prevented from bring up the maize. At present the Fingal is waiting till there is enough water to enable her-to geb out. Maize growers aro now busy gebting the cobs into cribs, and ib should be ready for the market in about six weeks'time. Oats.—The inarkeb is simply glutted, and orders for forward delivery are accepted at very low rates. Prices are now so low that they cannot possibly pay or compensate the producer for his labour. New grain has been arriving pretby freely to Southern ports, and as some farmers are anxious to clear, and the domand is so limited, available supplies have exceeded the latter, consequently the market) has collapsed. Several shipments have been made to London from Dunedin and the Bluff, bub as matters are just now in the metropolis it remains to be seen whether or not the speculation will prove profitable. Sekd.—Business has been very brisk during the week. ( There is no material qhange in prices. Cocksfoob shows an easier tendency. Potatoes. — Supplies are heavy, but really good samples are hard to obtain. Prime are quoted £2 10a to £2 15s ex store, inferior samples sell as low as 30s per ton. Butter and Eggs are unchanged in price. Supplies of the former are heavy. Eggs are in good demand, owing to the Lenten fast. Cheesb.—The markeb is well supplied. Prices remain as last quoted. Bacon and Hams are in fair supply with steady demand. Moropork brand is to be made slightly saltor to suit the Auckland market. •