THE WOOL MARKET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 257, 23 July 1908, Page 7

THE WOOL MARKET.

AN EMPHATIC OPINION.

RECENT PRICES* FINANCIAL PINCH YET TO COME. "There is no doubt in anybody's mini" ill tho trade," said a leading wool merchant to ,a Dominion representative yesterday "that the English consumors are pursuing a very cautious policy in regard to merino and crossbred wools,'and so long as they only buy from hand to mouth, as they are doing, we cannot look for any substantial improvement in prices; lam very much afraid that the improvement in the price of wool has been unduly magnified, as a 5 per cent, rise on sisponny wool is a very inappreciable increase. Certainly it was not sufficient to justify a Prime Minister in exaggerating such a trifling fluctuation. It would ho much better if Ministers, instead of ' blowing ' about every littlo thing that favours the colony would put the other side fairly, before the public. " Until this big block of wool is got ont of tho way wo cannot look for an improvement, and in view of the fact that the early Australian clip will shortly reach the market, wo cannot look for anything more than a slow and steady improvement, and we should be satisfied if wo got it. .; '•'•The -debits that aro arriving by efrory English mail have made every merchant, -and others interested in wool, realise what a really serious drop has occurred, and what a pinch it means to a great many—and, hear in mind, we haven't yet seen the worst of tho financial strain." At this point tho merchant rang for his clerk to bring to his room some account sales that had just arrived from Home. He quoted that 7jd. had been realised for a lino of coarse crossbred wool, for which 9d. had been offered six months boforo in Wellington, and s}d- had been obtained iu London for a lot for which B}d. was hid iu Wellington;

"It is impossible to prevent that sort of tiling," continued the merchant, "if producers will expect to got more than market value. It is an insult to the intelligence of the buyers,, who are sent out from England to expect them to give moro than market price. The growers do not know tho state of the market as' do tho merchants. They think they do, but they don't, and they placo ridiculous reserves on their wool, with the above result. That was the position growers have to face, and the sooner they realise it the better. In,the meantime, they have the satisfaction that they will have another clip to dispose of in two .or three months' time."