THE WOOL MARKET.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13791, 21 July 1910, Page 8

THE WOOL MARKET.

SOMi; OPTIMISTIC VIEWS

The ratlier pessimistic forecast re - garbling the prosiH-et.s of the won! market voiod in the "Southland Tunis" by a. prominent Southern .sheep tanner j* not subscribed to by the merchants and fanner.- of North Canterbury.* On the contrary, they m"C nothing in the present condition of affairs to can*' ;iiiv anxiety whatever. The wool market, they s;iy, is notoriously subject to fluctuation, and even expert-, who have the world's statistics to work on, are not infrequently out in their reckonings. Several gentlemen interested in th' word tnide wore seen by a '•Press' , representative yesterday, and they were unanimous in expressing the opinion that there is nothing to justify the M>nnding of nu jilarmiM, n<>tc at pre-

feont. Our merchant said that while ho agreed with the Southland slice planners that the transhipment of colonial wool horn America had had a depressing effect on the market, li.j could not >ny that the effect would Ik- anything but' purely temporary. His own idea was that wool prices would 'voine again" at the September and November hales. The Americans had boon standing out of the market ior th.' past three or lour months, but they -wore bound to come into it again, and ii'oM probably in time for the sales menti< ned. It had to lie renieniU'ied thnt there was no market which was subject to .such rapid fluctuation as the wool market, but he was sanguine that there would he a recovery before the. end of the year. Trade had been bad in America'for some time, but there was hound to bo a recovery, which would remove the depressing iii6uerico caused by tin , withdrawal of thnt country Jrom tuo market. Another merchant expressed an fsfietlv similar opinion. It was, he admitted, .-in unusual thing tor America to tranship colonial wool to Kngland, and this cause had had a steadying, rather than a. depressing, effect on the market. He saw nothing, however, to justify a pessimistic outlook as to the future of the wool market. In all probability, America would he t'ullv represented at, the- next sales. Ho considered it impossible, for anyone, without having th<; fullest statistics and most reliable" information, to give an accurate forecast of the future state, of tho market. Ho could not attempt to do so, but he thought that tho outlook was far from being an unsatisfactory

ont. , . A well-known North Canterbury farmer was also scon. "Ho said thao ■ the views of the Southland farmer wcro ( the first of a pessimistic nature that had como under his notice. Ho "was inclinod to think Unit America's possession of a surplus of wool -was a purely temporary affair, «nd that there would ho a recovery before long in that country. In forecasting the wool market, the whole -world's supply and demand had to. be taken into consideration, not merely that of America. Two years ngo it was stated that fanners would have to put up with considerably reduced prices, and very plausible reasons in support of Uiat prophecy -were given. One was that there was a depression in America, caused through industrial inactivity among the working classes, which reduced their purchasing power. Instead of making a retrograde movement, prices bounded up, and tho prophets were confounded. Personally, he saw no threatening cloud on the wool growers' sky, and he declined to accept as authoritative any prediction of a slump, based on information which must he both partial and haphazard. ■■ Another gentleman largely interested in the. wool trade, and particularly in the purchasing and export of wool, received advices from America by tho mail yesterday which shows that the wool trade in America is in an unsatisfactory position at present, and that several large b.uyers do not intend to be' present at the colonial wool sales during tho corning season. Our informant says it must bo remembered that in addition to the wool being transhipped from America to England, a large quantity that was bought in the colonies for America has not gone further than London, where it has been sold at a loss. One large American operator in wool makes a point in his letter tliat is of interest to those woolgrowers who forced tho class of wool that specially suits the American market. Speaking from a considerable exporienco of New Zealand wools, as shown for sale and otherwise, ho writes:

—"We arc not favourably impressed with the manner in which wools in New Zealand are shown for sale, nor in the manner in which growers as « rule get up their clips for sale. Thereis generally too little skirting, and not sufficient attention paid to the classing to admit of wools being purchased and shipped direct to this country when they have to submit to a duty of 11 cents (51<1) per \b." The writer goes on to say that this can he got over in a measure- by re-classing the wools, as this is sometimes done, but there is tho trouble, and it leaves on hand a large proportion of unsuitable wools.