LONDON WOOL SALES OPEN

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21730, 12 March 1936, Page 13

LONDON WOOL SALES OPEN

PRICES SUBSTANTfALLY HIGHER The chief item of to-day's news in our commercial pages is that the London March series of wool sales has opened, and the cabled reports indicate that the rise which has been confidently expected has materialised. There was a keen demand for crossbreds, of which the hulk of the first day's offering of 9000 bales was composed, and prices rose by up to 5 per cent. New Zealand type merinos were scarce, but there was a good demand for the Australian descriptions offered, at an advance of 5 per cent. Continental buying was somewhat restrained in face of the political situation, but Japan operated freely, and there was some buying on account of Russia. In Dunedin, the third sale of the season produced values substantially higher than those of any previous sale in New Zealand this season, the enquiry from Bradford for crossbreds being particularly good. Both halfbreds and the choicest crossbreds rose by l*d on last Dunedin sale in February, and an almost total clearance was made. An excellent indication of the increase in retail business in New Zealand is contained in the monthly Abstract of Statistics, which shows that sales tax yield for January was a record for any single month since the tax was established. The yield for that month this year was 10.4 per cent, higher than for the corresponding month last year, and 24.2 per cent, higher than for January. 1934. The Abstract also prints figures which show that the new year has opened very hopefully for trade in the Dominion. It is estimated that receipt- for wool this year will be about £11,000,000, against £7,500,000 last year. Beath and Company have announced interim dividends, the ordinary at 3 per cent, being 1 per cent lower than the March dividend last year. There was a particularly strong demand for breeding ewes of all sorts at the Addington market yesterday, and prices, particularly of older ewes, were higher than at any time this season so far. For sheep with doubtful mouths, values were in many cases higher than they have been at the ewe fairs. Values generally were inclined to weaken on the Christchurch Stock Exchange yesterday.