COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16274, 26 July 1918, Page 8

COMMERCIAL.

AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. (By Cable.—Press Association. -Copyright.; (Received July 25th, a pjn.) « , . SYDNEY, July 25. Oats—Algerian feeding 4s 6d miking ss, Taemaman 5s fid. Maize—sa «jcf. Potatoes— laamaman £6 to £3. Onions— £18. » Oate-a, Hd. ADELAIDE July £55. AUSTRALIAN WHEAT. "A MYTHICAL SALE." ih?F?&. uJ* Bta *?. Mont havin s been made soli iJ^yST IO (Mr Hughes) had sold to tto Imperial Government the 1917-18 ?nfM fu° P t 8 ?? 8 Australasian" of July 2Qth) the Acting-Prime Minister (Mr Watt) on Monday despatched a cable message to Mr Hughes, asking lum whether any eale had been effected* • No official advice of an im* portant wheat Bale has been received. At tho conference of tho Farmers and Settlers' As6°clati°? ? f , N<W South - WaJ< * last week it was stated that the sal® of the 1917-18 crop to Great Britain at 4s Od a bushel f.o.b. had been. reported, and that Mr Hughes should nav« obtained 6a 9d. Senator Russell, chairman of the Australian Wheat Board, stated on July 15th that, although Mr Gorman had informed the Fanners and Settlers' Association in Sydney that he had learned on good authority that 15,000,000 bushels of wTieat had been cold recently to Peru on a 5s ,9d f.o.b. basis, tho report waa unfortunately incorrect. No sales whatever had been made lately to Peru, and, further, there had been no recent sale of 15,000,000 bushels anywhere. He trusted that the expectations of wheat-growers had not been raised unduly by tho announcement of a mythical sale.

IMPORTS FROM U.S.A AND JAi'AN, A BIG INCREASE. (SPECIAL TO "THE PBESI.") ' WBLLIN li'lAJiN, July 25. Figures published by the Minister of Customs (the lion. A. M. Myers) show that tne valuo-vof imports into iN'ow Zealand from Japan have increased during the war period from £382,861 in 1914 to £&J3,806 in 1917; in other words, the import trade has trebled. The items in the list of principal articles imported'are as follows:— 1914. 1317. £ £ Apparel N.O.E. ... 13,502 54,738 Hate and caps .. .. 3,489 .36,412 -Cotton piece goods N.O.E. .. 18,002 68,071 Silk piece goods .. .. 54,490 174,104 Ghinaware and earthenware 2,988 ' 14,555 Fancy goods and toys .. 12,203 42,334 i In tha same period exports to Japan have | dropped from £59,508 in 1914 to £4368 last year. The importation of goods of United Statos origin increased in value from £2,537,545 in 1911 to £4,294,279 in 1917, or. from 11.6 per cent, of the total imports to 20.6 per cent. Included in tha numerous items of merchandise of which an increase has been recorded the following articles aro worthy of notioo: — 1914. 1917. £ £ Fruits and dried raisins .. 25,348 95,757 Boots and shoes N.O.E, .. 9,055 33,591 Hosiery N.O.E 8,138 40,372 Cotton piece goods N.O.E. .. 85,637 94,368 Hardware N.O.E. .. .. 66,339 85,478 Leather sole .. ... 961 38,906 Glass plate windows, «to. .. 1 22,903 Fancy goods and toys .. 8,826 26,663 Cinematograph films .. 12,155 90,079 Motor vehicles .. .. 275,1-16 535,329 Rubber tyrea for motor vehicles, etc. •• •• 27,466 239,130 Exports to the -United States of America, valued -at £1,028,054 in 1914, increased to £1,894,317 in 1917, the principal increases being phormium fibhe £63,175 to £ 81,41), sausage casingß £699 to £193,595* pelts £168,448 to £889,360, tallow £617 to £20,726. Exports of wool during 1917 nil: 1914 they were valued at £223,477. Kauri gum dropped from £316,200 in 1914 to £183,508 in 1917. CHRISTCFURCH STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY'S TRANSACTIONS. Sales reported:—N.Z. Refrigerating, £-2 Is; Christchurch Gas, £5 17a 6d; \Vaihi Gold Mining, £1 18s 6d.

LATEST QUOTATIONS. Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. f i.d. BANKS— Australasia .. .. 117 0 0 . — Union .. .. 66 10 0 — INSURANCE— National .. 217 9 218 0 Standard • • ... 2 1 6 — SHIPPING— Huddard-Parker ... — 7 19 0 FROZEN MEAT— N.Z. .Refrigerating . 2 10 — COAL— West port .. iu 110 0 — ■WOOLLENS— Brnoo .. ■.. 111 0 — Kaiapoi .. .. 7 4 0 — MISCELLANEOUS— Henry. Jones .. 1 10. 6 — N.Z. Farmers' Co-op. 2 3 6 — Paper Milk .. 1 2 6 — Whit combe and" Tombs 517 6 — MINING— ' Waihi .. .. 118 0 — Junction .. 0 12 6 — YESTERDAY'S BUSINESS ON OTHER EXCHANGES. (PBES3 ASSOCIATION TELEGBAMB.) ' AUCKLAND. Sales:—Bask of .New Zealand, £12 10s and £12 12s; Auckland Gae (con.), 19s 6d": Wilson's Cement, 2£s 9d; Talisman Consolidated, 9b 6d; Waihi, 38s 6d; Waiotahi, ed. MINING. WAIHI GRAND JUNCTION MINE. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TEtKBRAW.I AUCKLAND, Jnly 23. The .Waihi Grand Junction Miite, for the oeriod ended July 13th, treated E650 tons of ore. for a return of £10,460, compared with 9560 tons for £17,003 for the corresponding period of last year.