LONDON WOOL SALES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 194, 11 May 1908, Page 10

LONDON WOOL SALES.

COLLAPSE IN CROSSBREDS. A REMARKABLE WEEK. (FItOSI OUIt SPECIAL CORUESPONDKNT.) London, March 27. What a week this has been ? Down, down, down, has been the order of tilings ovcry day, prices for crossbrcds simply collapsing.' Those who bought last week did wrong, and nobody can say that what Bradford buyers have picked up this week is right. The past week in Coleman Street is without parallel, and everybody is nearly disgusted. Crossbred wools all along the lino have suffered heavily, and since the initial fall of Id. to,lid. per lb., another Id. decline has taken place.. Just thing of Bradford's, topmakors paying sd.£ to 6d. por lb. for good fleeco wool that sold for fully double at the corresponding sories, 1907. Nobody over dreamt of seeing anything liko what has taken place, and naturally importers and their clients are sick. What to say about things nobody seems to know, and nothing short of fear and paralysis possesses everybody. • Let us look at merinos. Here we do not see a vory great deal of difference when compared with the opening decline, and unquestionablv the best selling wool on the market is good, long combing merino. Anything showing character and quality commands good competition, and Bradford topmakcrs bid very freely for all Swan Rivers and New South Wales greasies. Plonty say these are selling at last sales closing rates, 'but that I fail to see. The decline is a good id. to Id., but then a good super GO's top is going, to cost 24d., and some say more'. Short, shabby wools, which are plentiful, 1 are Id. to lid. down, and faulty scoureds 2d. Anybody that can use these wools can now pick up some very,cheap lots. But these do not affect Bradford so much as outside districts. Brokors, or rather their principals, seem terrified at bringing out their best wools, but I say they will get no letter prices than to-day if they keep them till next September. Yesterday," for instance, 13Sd. was paid for the Goonoo Goonoo clip, and-13d. for a not-ovoi' light conditioned Queensland brand. The catalogues look worse after a sale when the numerous speculators' lots are withdrawn, and the owners must drop, a " bonny penny." Yesterday, I was shown an invoice on some cros'sbreds that , had cost in v Now Zealand lid., and the price bid was nctually 5d.! Porhaps the less said about imports the better, but to-day a big line of crossbreds are up, for which; the grower refused lOil. last November, and lie won't get bid more than sid. when they come on. So inuch for imports, and merinos show very heavy losses as well.

. THE MARKET DEMORALISED. But crossbreds "cap" everybody, and here things aro simply dempralised. Erices for decent flecce .are now only about lid. ppr lb. abovo the lowest point ever touched, and still there is no confidence. Bradford topmakors are picking up some very cheap parcels, considering what prices were like oven in January, but it all depends how long they will look cheap. All kinds of figures are named as the prico of 40's tops, and I had them offpred yesterday as low as 9d. This is awful,'but thoy can be made certainly at 9!d., and show a good profit. Whatever things are coming to, it is hard to say. There is about the saleroom no feeling of business whatever, and • last night things, were no better, exccpt in the case of a few lots of very- -fino iight-eonditioned crossbreds taken for America, fs»<rfl->nrl them also. This really aifectcd only about two clips, and when 13d. was paid for a nice lino of quarterbred, followed by 1-( ; d.' rtii'.i i... for the lmlfbred, buyers gavo the. usual " whistle." Apart from those, good halfbreds al lthrough the week have bsen selling at Su. to 9d., and some splendid lines .of 4-o's to 4-I's feel deeply for tho ; disaster which has overcrossb'reds have only made s sld. to Gid... Many taken Colonial growers by consigning their last clip to London, and, in many case's, they will lose 2(1. per lb. on tho prices -they had bid at home; poor as they wero c then considered.. There is not a sound feature in the situation, and nobody can see the least daylight. Selling brokers have received in many cases, instructions to hold over wools till- next September, but how far'this is-wisdom remains to bo seen. Brokers, met yesterday and decided to curtail the scries by knocking of four selling days, ,'and this means -that something like GOjOOO bales will bo carried forward. There is now ovbry prospect 'of being something' like 250,000 bales availablo next series, and, as the vacation will only be about five weeks, I-fail to see vrhero 'the' improvement is to come in. Bradford is the only party practically in the market, America, so far. only having -bought about"' 2000' bale's:' Germany is doing next to nothing, and this is tho flattest scries that I have ever known. BRADFORD STILL DEPRESSED. No change for the- bettor can be reported in connection with the Bradford trado, and the tone of the market continues flat. Reports from London do'j not' tend ' to stimulate 'this centre at all, and'Coleman Street prices, aro down to tho level of things here. The signs aro stronger than ever that raw textile .commodities are gradually working.to a still lower basis, and with-more persistent . plaints of business contracting, it looks as' if the bottoom has not yet, been touched. |If proof of ' this is ' 'required, practically every quality of tops can ue. bought on a cheaper basis than a week' ago, and oven the big Laisterdyko firm ha\e come down a, penny for their, super 60's within the last fortnight. Other good topinakers are not wanting more than 24d., and on all hands holders-are willing sellers. Machinery continues\to be fairly' well employed, but there, is increasing concern among spinners about the future. They' are'not only willing to take less, but "particulars" aro not coming to hand anything liko as froely, as they were doing. Thero, is no pressure now in any department, and even commission woolcombers are not finding tops go out so freely as" recently. Regarding crossbreds, reports aro frequent that there are .tonmakers willing to sell a good 40's at - 10Jd.,and there is no stability hero. Somo surprise seems to have been caused at London coming down to tho level of Bradford, but nothing different could bo oxpectcd when topinakers from this district are the only parties that are practically buying this class of wool. The Continental department does not improve at all, and on all hands new business is reported as very slow. Not until thero is somo 'improvement in export-conditions can ,wo . hope to see much betterment 'anywhere. Everybody seems to be buying as little as possible, and anything but a . feeling of - security obtains. Nobody, seems to have-pluck to. do anything, and in Huddersfield it is roported that 'many mills are going N short timo, even tho Colno Valley district being quieter to-day than for ten years past. This is the district where is produced tho cheap shoddy and if slackness obtains there, it obtains still more among makers of first-class fancy worsteds. Mohair is as slack as/ever, and Gape descriptions are practically Unsaleable. Alpaca", if anything is the turn cheaper in sympathy with mohair. ■