COMMERCIAL.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 152, 28 June 1924, Page 11

COMMERCIAL.

FEILDING STOCK SALE. (By Telegraph-—Press Association.) FEILDING, Friday. There was a fairly large yarding of sheep •t the Feilding sale to-day, but with the exception of a few pens the quality was very indifferent. This applies to both fat and store pens. Fat lambs sold well, and prices show an advance on last week, but fat ewes were hard to place, and barely maintained their values. Bidding was very slack for store sheep. Hoggets, except good ewe hoggets, were cheaper by 2/ per head, and a number of pens were passed In. Good ewes in lamb sold fairly well. Cattle of all descriptions were hard to sell. Fat lambs made from 21/ to 26/9; fat wethers, 32/ Cto 35/ : fat ewes, 19/6 to 26/11 ; fat and forward eweii, 20/3 : small two-tooth wethers, 26/11 to 27/2: low-con-ditioned four aud six-tooth wethers. 27/1: good ewe hoggets, 27/7 : small ewe hoggets were passed at from 23/ to 23/6; very fair wether lambs made 23/ : medium wethers were passed in from 18/9 to 21/ ; Bmall lambs were passed from 19/ to 21/; cull hoggets made 10/9 to 13/7; threeyears, r.w. S.D. rams. 30/0; four and fiveyear ewes. 28/4; well forward four and five-rear Romney ewes, in lam bto S.D. ram, 36/6; fair two. four, six-tooth ewes, r.w. R.R., 30/3. _ „_ ,„, Fat bullocks, £5 18/, £6 12/6, £7 10/, £8 10/; fat cows, £3 13/ to £4 19/j empty cows, 25/ to 39/; good Hereford weaner steers, 34/6; medium Hereford mixed sex wcaners, 20/. CANTERBURY MARKETS. (By Telegraph.—Presa Association.) CHRISTCHURCH. Friday. Potatoes have been the chief subject of consideration during the week. They flut•ered up on Thursday to £7 5/ per ton f.0.b.. sacks in, for July-September shipment, but wjsed back to-day. Nevertheless, sales have been made at up to £7. The yields are turning out Ught. and growers are not showing much inclination to accept offers of less than £5 5/ on trucks. The Wanaka s -onsignment on Wednesday was 1800 sacks. The next vessel to leave is the Atua on luly 2 or 3. Oats have faded in interest, the scramble wing over for the time being. Most of the forward operations have been covered, and :here has been such a burning of fingers .hat operators clear of them have shied off for the season. Quotations are 5/2 f.0.b.. lacks in. . , .. ~ Chaff is not so firm as during the midweek, although there is scarcely a change n quotable values. Ou truck values are ibout £7. . . , There has been a small but steady bnsiiess in cocksfoot on the basis of 12/2 f.0.b.. lacks in, or about 9d to farmers for unIressed. Danish seed for September and )ctober shipments is quoted at 90/ to 9</6 >er cwt., or lOd to lid per lb- White lover is firmer on account of English deoands. Sales have been made at 210/ .0.b., per cwt. Only the best stuff is ranted for this trade. Cowgrass shows no change in quotations, vhich are from 8d to 9d per lb. There is little ryegrass in Canterbury, iut 301b seed can be bought at 8/C at Dunelln. Italian ryegrass uik quoted at 8/0 at ,vttelton. The stocks in town are very ight and will probably aU be absorbed in he spring sowing. ..„.*•. The dogstail market is very dull in the iouth, and seed can be bought at 8d f.0.b., acks in. Apparently there is an ov*r-pro-liiction. as a fair quantity of last season's tocks Is on hand. There is little response o offers in England. Peas are still sick, with sellers at 6/(5 .0.b., sacks in. Not many have been shipped .o Britain. THE LONDON MARKETS. BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. LONDON, June 26. SHORT LOANS AND BILLS. Short loans, 3 per cent, compared with !| per cent last week; three months' bills, If per cent, compared with 2 15-16 per cent ast week. FOREIGN EXCHANGES. The following rates on foreign exchanges ire current to-day, as compared with the labled quotations on June 23, and par:— June 26. June 23. Par. Sew York (dol.) .. 4.33| 4.33 4.866 Montreal (dol.) ... 4.38| 4.30J 4.866 Paris (fr.) 81.80 80.62 25.225 Brussels (fr.) 931 23.2^ Rome (lire) 100 1001 20.22i> Stockholm (kr.) .. 16.28 16.30 18.159 Christiania. (kr.) .. 31.95 32.13 18.159 Copenhagen (kr.) .. 26.02 25.63 18.159 Calcutta (pence) ..17 17 24 Hongkong (pence).. 28J 281 — Sokohaina (pence). 231 221 -*i The market Is quoted at 17| to 181 billions to the sterling, compared with 17J to 18| billions on June 23. CONSOLS AND NEW ZEALAND STOCKS. The following table gives quotations for consols and New Zealand inscribed stocks, compared with those of June 19 :— VarinPrice. tion. £ £ Consols, 2J per cent 57J — British 3J p.c. war loan 97 Sann British 5 p.c. war loan 101 i J* British Conversion, 3| p.c. .. 7S J« New Zealand, 4 p.c, 1929 f»SJ St New Zealand, 31 p.c. 1940 ..84, 11 New Zealand 3 p.c, 1945 77 J i" New Zealand 6 p.c, 1936-51 ..111 11 tHlgher. 'Lower. —Not cabled last week. ' THE METAL MARKETS. (Quotations on June 23 in parentheses.) Copper.—Spot, £60 13/9 (f6l 1/3) ; tore, months, £61 11/3 (£6l 18/9). I«ad.—Spot, £31 17/6 (£32 2/6); thre« months, £29 (£29 17/6). Spelter.—Spot, £32 (£3l 17/6) ; threi months, £31 10/ (£3l 10/). Tin.—Spot, £224 6/3 (f223 5/i; threi months, £224 8/9 (£223 5/). Silver.—34 5-16 d. (34|d) per az. —(A. and N.Z. Cable.) WHEAT, FLOUR, AND PULSE. LONDON, June 20. Wheat. —Cargoes are steady, but there i little inquiry. Parcels are in fair reques at 3d to Od higher. Quotations arc :- -48/6 to 49/. Spot wheat: Australian 51/6. Flour.—Firm. Australian is quoted a 36/ to 36/6, ex store. Oats. —Good inquiry. Prices firm. Beans. —Quiet. Prices unchanged. Sugar.—Granulated, 39/1 i. —(A. and N.Z. Cable.l BRADFORD TOPS MARKET. LONDON, June 26. The Bradford tops market is dull, ni business being reported. Prices arc nomina and unchanged. — (A. and N.Z.) OCEANIC S.N. CO. The statement of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company (White Star line) foi 1923 shows that the year was one of exceptional difficulty, and accordingly workine results have been much less favourable than formerly. Gross profit has fallen from £936,200 to £548,200. and the net profit from £587,100 to £311.600. Dividend Is reduced from 12J to 5 per cent. Therii iB no addition to reserves, but the sum carried forward is increased from £62,500 to £124 100. The debenture debt has been reduced from £1,448,500 to £1.206.900, but trade bills and bank overdraft have increased from £114,500 to £623,900. The hoard states that the year has been one of exceptional difficulty, and the result ol the year's working is much less favourable than previous years. In the North Atlantic services the restrictions imposed upon Immigration into the United States continue to affect trading results very seriously, while the general economic situation is not without its unfavourable effect upon travel generally. The Australian service has proved disappointing, conditions affecting exports from Australia having been unsatisfactory, and this has been accentuated by an over supply of tonnage consequent upon a lack of co-operation on the part of steamship companies engaged in the trade. The other services in which the company is engaged have given fait results, and it Is to be noted with satisfaction that freights in several directions have improved slightly during the last few months, but there is nothing in the immediate outlook to justify any sanguine expectations. On the other hand, owing to constant and insistent demands by labour for ipcrcased wages in all directions, tincompany Is faced with the certainty o( higher opera tins costs, which give cause tor \ur fccrioua concern.

CLAUDELANDS STOCK SALE. The Farmers' Co-operative iuctioneerin* we had a good entry of cat" e j penned. U tL Um^o?e f jMj'J-** hands at prices well up • .*™X f °t stood framed store cows, 30/ to £2. |^ £1 to £1 7/6. Dairy cows and heifers at profit. £0 5/ to £8 10/; well-grown 2-year old. in calf. Shorthorn heifers « same age Holstein cross, £i> W. t J Q er ||- v . Shorthorn* cross? ila" Extnf'prime heavy fat wethers, £2 8/ : prime fat ewes, * J/ . medium fat wethers. 2 and 4-tooth. <*-/«' 33/0: prime fat hoggets, 30/G ; '"£"' woolly hocgets, 23/. rigs: Medium baconers, £3 11/. light £3 to £3.2/ : Uβ" porkers. £2 2/ to £2 10/ ; unfinished. <SU/ to 33/; slips, 20/; small weaners, 10/I>. UNITED STATES TRADE. "It la now quite clear that business in this country is slowing up. and the only question is ns to the extent and duration of the movement." Trade in the Imitejl States has not escaped depressing conditions, and the foregoing is the opening sentence of the latest Australasian letter issued by a firm of prominent exporters in New York. From all accounts it appears that the building trade is the lone exception. The textile industry seems to have been hit the hardest. There has been a big movement in the direction of securing additional tariff protection to help tide over dull times. "The question now in all minds is whether the present hesitation in business activity is temporary, or whether the time has come at last for real deflation to begin," states the report. "There can be no question but that this country has maintained its trade and industry on a. price level out of proper relation to the rest of the world. In the opinion of economists an adjustment must come sooner or later." The Tolume of imports in March was considerably below that in 1923, and th<report expresses disappointment that no definite turn had been made that would possibly lead to "a return to Europe of some of the surplus gold held by the banks here." Imports of sold, however, showed a big increase for the first eight months reached a total value of 297.000,000 dollars, compared with only 162,000,000 dollars for the same period of the previous financial jear.