Better Tone To Wool Market At Last Sale Of Season

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30739, 1 May 1965, Page 18

Better Tone To Wool Market At Last Sale Of Season

There was a generally better tone about the wool market when the eighth and final Christchurch sale of the 1964-65 season was held at the Wool Exchange yesterday.

Strong half-bred, three-quarter-bred and cross-bred wools sold at rates estimated to be 3d to 4d per lb higher than at the last sale in this centre last month. The finer wools, however, did not show any significant appreciation on late Christchurch rates and there were some passings of the small weight of Merino wools that were on offer.

Average and shabbier halfbred style wools had a good day and also frequently showed a rise of round 3d per lb. There was also a keen inquiry for second-shear crossbred wools which were also considered to be 3d per lb in excess of last month’s rates. The market for lamb’s wool tended to be a little variable with the coarser lambs meeting possibly a relatively better sale. There were some exceptional sales of oddments at rates up to as much as lOd per lb higher than last month. Compared with this week’s Auckland sale, however, threequarterbred and crossbred fleece was described as being barely as strong. Average Price A preliminary estimate indicates that the average price for the sale may be close to 40d per lb. which is nearly lid, or slightly less than four per cent up on the average for last month's sale. Because this was an end-of-sea-son sale, with a higher proportion than normal of lower quality wools, the l|d gain would no doubt have been greater had this been an earlier sale.

At about £56 13s 4d per bale, this sale of 26,342 bales, is likely to return between £l.4m and £l.sm and bring total proceeds for the season in Christchurch to about £10.4m, which is 21 per cent, or about £2.Bm down on last season.

At 40d per lb, the average price for the sale would be about lOd per lb behind the corresponding sale last April, and over yesterday’s offering this decline would have amounted to a drop in grower’s returns of about £370,000, but by the same token the improvement on last month’s sale may be worth between £50,000 and £60,000 on yesterday’s offering.

Although there was a sprinkling of passings throughout the day, they amounted to only slightly more than 5 per cent of the offering. The Wool Commission operated on a limited scale placing its floor price

bid on 109 lots or about 3 per cent to 4 per cent of the 2645 lots offered. Its bids were on mainly fine fleece and fine oddments and it had a total of about 88 bales passed to its bid. Top Price Merino wool topped the market at 61d but only an odd lot made more than about 52d and the main weight of sales were between 46d and 51d. At these rates Merino values were similar to those ruling last month but 13d to 14d per lb below last season’s comparable sale when the market was already beginning to decline.

The bulk of the Corriedale and halfbred fleece wools brought from 45d to 50d, with the top halfbred bringing to 54d and Corriedale to 52|d. Values here were about 15d to 16d behind the April sale last year when the top fine wool was still bringing to more than 70d per lb.

Crossbred fleece wool gained some ground for average to good to good wools to sell between 43d and 48d with the top category making up to 52d. Last year in April the main weight of these wools were bringing from 55d to 59d with the top price of the day 67Jd. The coarser second shear wools were regularly selling between 40d and 48d, and finer second shears were bringing from 33d to 47d. The finer lambs’ wool was making from 27d to 44d and coarser qualities from 32d to 46d. Fine wool necks realised from 34d to 47d and threequarterbred from 36d to 45d: fine wool pieces from 34d to 42d and coarser . qualities from 33d to 40d; with fine wool bellies making from 28d to 38d and coarser bellies from 27d to 36d.

The offering was much jigger than had earlier been anticipated. The sale was originally set down for 22,000 and the ultimate offering of 26,342 bales was about 1800 bales higher than estimates given as recently as last week-end. The wool was described as a typical end-of-the season selection, but after

the difficult drought conditions of last year it was barely up to the average standard for this sale. While odd lots of better wool were carried forward from earlier sales when they were passed, the average run of fleece wool was showing light dust discolouration, some seed and were inclined to be tender. West Coast wools were showing the effect of an unduly wet season with soft cots and discolouration. A feature of the market, however, Was a number of good lines of lambs’ and second-shear wool. The clip was drawn from the plains, hills and high country of Canterbury, from Marlborough, the West Coast and the Chatham Islands. The sale was one of the longest of the season, starting at 8 a.m. and finishing at 6.40 p.m.

Leading Sales Top price of the day was Sid which was paid for a five-bale lot in the binned entry of the National Mortgage and AgencyCompany, Ltd., and the NewZealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association sold two bales of Merino warp at 60d. Pyne Gould, Guinness Ltd., realised 57Jd for binned Merino and Dalgety and New Zealand Loan. Ltd.. 57« d.

One of the best sales under a grower's brand was made by E. C. Vaughan (Christchurch), with 25 bales realising 55Jd and the same vendor had eight bales at 51d.' Richmond Brook Station (Seddon), sold five bales at 53Jd and G. C. Urquhart (Flock Hill), realised 52id for 23 bales, 51$d for six bales and Slid for six bales. I. T Van Asch (Blenheim), received 51Jd for five bales. In a private sale, made immediately after the auction, J. G. Hood (Tinwald), realised 60d for five bales.

Halfbred wool realised to 54d for four bales of binned w-00l in the catalogue of the National Mortgage and Agency Company. Ltd. Among best sales made by growers were five bales from A. T. Allan (Amberley), at 53 Id and the same vendor received 52Jd for another four bales. L. F. Walker (Rakaia Gorge), sold five bales at 52Jd, and 51d was the price received by J. E. H. McGrath (Oxford), for six bales. Sales at 501 d were made by the estate H. R. Bell (Rakaia), for nine bales, A. C. S. Cummings (Marlborough), for six bales, A. E. Herbert (Waipara), for five bales and A. A. Anderson (Ashburton), for five bales. J. F. G. Blakely (Clifton, Waikari), topped the Corriedale market with four bales at 52jd. K. V. Hood (Somerton), sold four bales at 52d and G. F. L. Dillon (Marlborough), realised Slid for eight bales, 50Jd for a similar number of bales and 50id for 10 bales. T. H. Rutherford (Waikari), had five bales at 50id and F. W. Hydes (Ashburton), sold 10 bales at 50,1 d and eight at 50d, and this latter price was also paid to J. R. and the estate H. W. Branch (Ashburton), for five bales.

The leading prices for threequarterbred all went to binned wool. Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd., received up to 491 d for a five-bale lot and Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd., received 49d for three bales.

Crossbred wool ranged up to 52d for 12 bales of binned wool in the catalogue of the National Mortgage and Agency Company, Ltd. The same firm had another 25 bales at 501 d and this price was also paid to McLaughlin (Grassmere), Ltd. (Mayfield), for to bales. J. E. H. McGrath (Oxford), with five bales, was paid 49Jd, and 49Jd was the price for nine bales entered by B. F. Morrow (Montalto). J. B. Morrow (Montalto) had nine bales at 491 d and sales at 49d were made by Riversdale Farming Company (Ashburton), for five bales and Miss S. M. Rhodes (Amberley), for four bales of Romney hogget. Second-shear crossbred wool sold to sO’,d for four bales of binned wool offered by the New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association. E. .1. Allen and Sons (Bullock Hill) sold five bales at 48Sd, and 481 d was received by J. P. Nicol) (Ashburton), for 12 bales and by A. D. H. Scott (Coalgate) with six bales. Second-shear halfbred wool brought to 47Jd for six bales offered by Pyne, Gould, Guin-

neas Ltd. One of tbe best sales made by a grower was that of P. H. and P. E. McGlotn (Rangier*), with five bales realising Mid. L. J. Williams (Fox Glacier) had four bales of crossbred lambs’ wool at Mid. Binned wool entered by Dalgety and New Zealand Loan made up to Md. Dunlop Farm, Ltd. (Tai Tapu), received Mid for four bales, and the same price was received by L, G. Sowden (Ashburton), for six bales. Fine wool lambs' wool sold to 51d for four bales of Polwarth wool from J. F. Girvan (Ashburton). T. J. Free (Leeston) had five bales of Border Leicester cross Corriedale lambs' wool at Mid and a sale at 41id was made by Mr Girvan with seven bales. A sale at Slid was also made by Philpott Brothers for seven bales. Southdown wool brought to 51d for three bales of binned wool sold by Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd. Some Down wool sold privately after the sale made to 54d. Details of catalogues inorder of sale were: Bales Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd. 6096 National Mortgage and Agency Co., Ltd. . 7268 New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Assn. . 3731 Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd. .. 9247 26,342