LONDON WOOL SALES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1286, 15 November 1911, Page 5

LONDON WOOL SALES.

OPENING OF THE FIFTH SERIES. BOTH MERINOS AND CROSSBRKDS DECLINE. (From Our Special CorrcsDondent.l London, September 28, 1911. Once more the eyes of the wool trade are centred upon Coleman Street, where the September series bjgan last Tuesday. AAo havo known the trade come together with a keener appetite, and at. present it can hardly be said that Ihe situation is so inspiring as many would like to have seen. SHU, we must never forget the fact that prices cannot always lie expected to advance, and wool is ce'rtain to share in the vicissitudes of general trade and commerce. The wonder to many people is that a setback has not come earlier, but it all serves to show that the world's needs are >.till very pronounced, and of late years consumers havo almost l)een on the sheep's back for supplies. Howover, the recent boom in textiles has to a large extent been mitigated, and instead of a keen demand for tops, yarns, and pieces, a feeling of soberness is everywhere in evidence. This was plainly seen at the initial sitting last Tuesday, although the sale passed off better than expected. AVo have oftentimes seen thit no matter how slack and unresponsive may be consuming centres, when the trade comes together as a whole thero is frequently more life and spirit manifest and things have to bo very bad in Yorkshire, France, and Germany, if wool does not sell fairly vigorously. As a rule, the raw material does not spoil with keeping, and it is purely and simply a question of price which determines tho attitude of the trade. It is quito true that manufacturing conditions aro not so satisfactory as have obtained for some corsiderable time back, but for all that, if feelings of confidence prevail, it would soon alter the whole aspect of the situation. Although a somewhat reserved feeling was in evidence in several quarters, still on the whole tho initial sitting passed off bettcT than the majority expected.

A POOE INTERVAL. Regular readers of this issue have been kept apprised of what was going on in ci usuming centre?, and although the longest interval of the year has heen experienced, it has also been the worst. The fact is there has not been a singlo bright week through the whota period, business being difficult to do with values gradually sagging. This has been a distinct drawback, so much so that instead of values appreciating, the opposite has taken phce. There is nothing liko a brisk interval to call forth a satisfactory opening, hut the trade last Tuesday came together with some misgiving, this being clearly seen in the undecided attitude of many buyers. The whole industry seems at present to be somewhat unnerved, and with the outlook being nothing near so bright as wo have been accustomed to see, there was bound to be a little readjustment in price. Declines have taken place both in tops and yarns, and with the reported sensible weakness at colonial selling centres during the past throe weeks, the majority came to Coleman Street expecting to 'see prices lower than last series. Below wo show where prices stood for the combed article at the close of the July series, and what wcro quotations last Tuesday for good average tops on tho Bradford market:— July 27. Sept. 25. d. d. 70s colonial tops 28 27 64's colonial tops 27J- 26J GO's colonial tops, supor ... 2B| 2't'f, 50's colonial tops, average 21} 203 CO's colonial tops, ordny. 25.V 21; TiO's colonial tops, average 18} 17J •Mi's colonial tops, nrcprd. I.V.' is ■tO's colonial tops, preprd. HJ IS| SB's colonial tops, preprd. 13+ l.'f QUANTITIES AVAILABLE. Tho question of arrivals is one of great interest, for by tho wool coming to hand wo can always see, whether or no The trade is well supplied with the tiiw material. As a rule the September series sees the end of the last Australian clip, but this year there will be a fair supply I of Queensland new clip, which will help

to "sail'' the somewhat heavy riuanii-lic-i :if i:ii.»h:ini.-iuf wools lint, aro certain In Ije catalogued. The quantity to hand tliis series is larger than usual, although in inns, owing In largo fjiuiiifHies being carried forward at l.ie p.Uisr of well scrips, the supply exrcoile.d thnt of to-dlv. Still, wilh mnmifaeluring conditions being fairly healthy, there should ho no dilliculty in moving the 127,001) hales available. The following; shows the quantity on offer compared with the corresponding series a year ago:— Scpt.-Oct., 1010. Scpt.-Oct,. 1911. Avail- AvailNow able New ahlo ~ , bales, bales, bales, bales. A.S. Wales <fc Queensland 50.G00 33,100 GI,OOO 41.200 victoria 7,500 5,800 7,150 0 250 S. Australia 300 700 HSO 2,250 W. Australia 1,300 1,100 2,300 2,900 liismania 200 300 150 150 -N'ew Zealand 15,700 05.200 38,450 G1,050 S. African ... 17,100 5,700 17,5110 Ii.OOO Totals .... 132,000 115,500 130,100 127,400 A DECENT START. The initial sale passed off fairlv well when all things are considered, although it might have been better. Still, thero was no very pronounced weakness in evidence although n few "soft spots" were revealed. Three selling brokers put before tho room colonial catalogues, (ho selection being somewhat scrappy and poor, although tho offerings contained a cJu d( i cent lots °f Queensland new clip. Still the bulk of tho wools were shabbv and faulty, crossbred slipes predominating. For these the homo trade did most of the buying, while tho Continent supported well tho merinos. Thero was just a little reserve, but not what might have been expected. All things considered, the initial sale revealed a few encouraging features, but thero was not that great eagerness to operato which wo have frequently seen. However, things mav improve as sales succeed each other. When compared with the close of the July series good combing merinos, which were sparsely represented, showed little change, short, faulty clothings being the most neglected and slow of sale at Id. to Id. decline. Crossbreds sold rather irregularly. Fine qualities wero down par to Id., medium Id. to Id., and coarse U. Slipes were in plentiful supply, and hero medium carding descriptions showed the greatest fall, being down frequently id. to Id. per lb., other sorts selling well "at id. less, with lambs practically unchanged/Greasy combing Capes sold in buyers' favour, and were mostly withdrawn. Punta Arenas wools fared very similarly to New Zealand greasy crossbreds, and were mostly par to 5 per cent, below July rates.

THE OUTLOOK. Messrs. H. Dawson and Co., in speaking about the outlook, say: "The fifth series opens under somewhat unfavourable) auspices. Tho long interval, despite its very substantial clearance of raw material, has not brought back confidence to the wool market. It has rather provided a crop of troubles, political and social, which havo disturbed all markets, and have adversely affected tho position of our raw material. Values hive shown shrinkage in most classes of wool during the interval, apparently for no other reason than sheer nervousness and lack of conscience. So far as the merino sorts are concerned, tho past season's supplies are practically all gone into consumption, and there can be no weakness from the supply standpoint. Consequently, tho fate of values is dependent on demand, the future course of which it is difficult to predict; while manufacturers in some districts givo a cheerful renort, there is a good deal of pessimism in other parts. The real fact is, that in order to assure enough business in worsteds, and to keep spinners and manufacturers well employed, and also to obtain mole adequate margins for morchand arid topmakers, thero is a. general call for lower prices, so that some oaso in values certainly seems probable, and, in fact, is already in evidence. The question arises as to how much further it may go. There are some exaggerated notions in the air which have littlo chance of realisation. Tho position is too healthy; too much machinery is still employed, too much wool will soon be called for, and, above all, worsted cloths (thanks to the hot summer) are still too much in favour for any apprehension of an extreme fall in fine wools.

In crossbreds the market has Lccn less stable, but current prices aro now relatively low, and are moderate, enough to encourage a strong demand. Bradford has lieen somewhat heavily locked, and Continental ciiquiiy tin- top;, has been slack, but. during the., past davs a fair business line been done at the lo'wer rate" Thero is also the probability (hat at niiv further decline the Tniled Slates n't' America would be able to import freely in competition with their own wools. The situation in the States is still far from satisfactory, but in tho woollen industry it would appear to (ho outsider that the worst i» over, and Hint a healthier position obtains. Stocks of cloths are so low that the normal demand must now iind its way to tho manufacturer promptly, and there can be. no blork in the channels of ilislrjbntinn. A period of low prices .and small margins is unavoidable until there is a sottl'imont of the tarill' question, and Ibis naturally gives preference to cheap and lower :, r raile wools. Domestic wools in.crossbred grades are finding a ready consumption, aim with lower values for New Zealand sorts in this market it is probable (hat the L'nilcd States of America's demand may develop; but, with the exception of a few specialities, low valuos would seem to be thu only way out of the slough. In gauging tho prospects for tho coming season, there aro two main factors existent. On tho one hand, there provails a universal desire for easier values, and on the other, wc aro faced with the fact that at the end of the year there, will again lie no serious carry-over of old wools that can hamper the trade. The reports of tho new season's clip in South America and Australasia arc generally good, excepting from some Sow Zealand districts, where wools are reported to bo of indifferent growth.