The Third Wool Sale.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLIII, Issue 2286, 26 February 1912, Page 5

The Third Wool Sale.

A DECLINE IN PRICES. The third wool sale of the series iu Dunedin this season opened at 9 a.m, on Wednesday in the Early Settlers' Hall. Close on 12,000 bales were forward for sale. The total number of bales at the corresponding sale last year was 9,158 — an increase this year of 2,030 bales. The business done was disappointing on the whole, compared with that at the January sale. Prices showed a sharp decline all round, the decrease averaging from a half-penny for line to threefarthings for coarse wool. The top price for the best lots sold were 10;fd, Hid, and 12d respectively. At the January sale the highest price was 13£ d for nine bales of merino wether. It is near the mark to say that the prices were lower for all classes of wool, and that the tone of the sale was distinctly disappointing. It is true that the quality of the total amount of wool on oiler was .inferior on the whole to the wools which sold so well a month ago, but it is questionable whether the difference in condition was such as to warrant the difference in the ruling values. There was a fair proportion of line quality wool for which was anticipated by the growers as good a price as was obtained for the best at the preceding sale. One broker gave it as his opinion that the absence of several American representatives affected the price for lots suitable for the United States to the extent of from : }d to :|d per lb. Cross-breds were also weaker by about Id per lb. Medium lots were about the same level as reached by similar sorts at the January sale, generally speaking. Merino wools suffered to some extent owing to the fact that several of the New Zealand factories were not represented. The decrease in merinos averaged about Jd per lb. The representatives of Dominion factories present were reported as being rather cautious in their bidding. The Continental buyers were very keen at a lower level of prices than that ruling at the second sale. Several lots were passed in, the bidders values being a shade lower than the growers’. It appeared to be thought generally that the strikes and rumors of strikes all the world over were largely responsible for the decline in the prices buyers were prepared to give. It may bo mentioned that the representatives of several firms were rather reticent in the matter of going into details. Perhaps they were disappointed at things. The following prices were realised for local clips ;—K. Jackson (Kawarau) 3 bales scoured bellies and pieces l td. J. Faulks (Makarora) 3 bales halfbred ewe and wether lOd. D. S. Middleton 4, bales first and second halfbred 9;|d ; 9 bales first combing merino 9.} d. Hawkcs and Co, 15 bales second combing halfbred ewe and wether 9;' d ; 0 bales second halfbred hogget 9£d; 0 bales merino 9Jd; 10 bales first pieces 9 Ad. W. M‘Aughtrie. 13 bales A combing merino 9d ; 5 bales necks merino B,J-d. Malvern Downs station, 3 bales pieces halfbred Russell, and Ewing (Pembroke) halfbred lOd, merino B;|d, pieces 7 Id. It has been estimated that about onefourth of the wool offered was passed in owing to the reduced values placed upon it by the prospective buyers. Some of this reserved wool, however, was sold privately after the public sale was over, at a slight increase in the price firs! offered. Taking the sale as a whole, there was more disappointment experienced tlqin even pessimistic folk had anticipated. There can be no doubting the contention that the spirit of the revolt in the industrial world has laid its crippling hand on commerce. It always does, and it is a matter for surprise that all the power of advanced education has not produced a better means of adjusting industrial differences than shatering them (says the ‘Star.’) The highest price obtained (12d) was a lid lower than the top price at the January sale. There was an all-round decline, ranging from Id to J-d, according to quality. The range of prices was as follows ; —Medium to good merino. Bid to Old ; inferior merino, 7d to 7id ; super half-bred lid to 12d; medium to good Did to 10id; inferior to 8d t super crossbred, IOId to 11 jd ; medium to good, to 10.1; inferior, 6|d to 7fd.