Signs Of Recovery At Auckland Wool Sale

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30737, 29 April 1965, Page 23

Signs Of Recovery At Auckland Wool Sale

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, April 28. The Auckland wool market showed distinct signs today that the tide may at last have turned in growers’ favour. Almost for the first time since the beginning of the season, a definite buoyancy existed.

The downward trend was halted and prices rose generally by about 3d a pound on those ruling in Auckland last month.

Compared with the level at the last sale at Napier before Easter, good style fleece wools were up to l|d a pound dearer, second-shear wools up Id and lambs’ wool and oddments in sellers’ favour. There are now grounds for optimism that the 1964-65 selling season will end in June with renewed confidence in all sections of the wool trade. The signs are that the wool promotion campaign being

carried out by the International Wool Secretariat is just beginning to make an impact in the fight to get a share of the market back from synthetics. The average price today was estimated at about 40d a pound or £56 10s for a 3401 b bale. This compares with an average of 36.89 d at Auckland in March, but Auckland wool is still about Is 3d a pound cheaper than it was at this time a year ago. Bradford appeared to be fairly quiet in spite of reports of increased confidence in that corner of the wool trade. But the Continent bid with as great a show of enthusiasm as has been seen in Auckland this season and the market was strongly supported by the United States.

A notable aspect of the sale was that passings were the lowest this season, only about 4 per cent of the 26,832 bales offered remaining unsold. Because of heavy passings

earlier in the season a good proportion of the offering consisted of wools which were offered but not sold in January, February and March. Some of the wool was being offered for the third time. Today proved lucky for some who had taken a gamble, but even so there were no fortunes to be made. One grower who in February passed full-length fleece wool in at 41Jd sold it yesterday for 44d. Another man who was re-offering secondshear wool sold it for a farthing a pound more than he turned down at the February sale.

About 40 per cent of the offering consisted of secondshear wools with fleece wool and hogget making up 15 per cent, lambs wool 20 per cent and oddments accounting for the balance.

Generally the wool was of better quality than the very poor March offering, but it still could not be described as bright. Second-shear wool showed a wide range of style and yield, by far the most attractive being "the autumnshorn wool.