OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2447, 28 April 1915, Page 10

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

MERINOS AS DEAR AS BEFORE, THE WAR (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, March 12. ■ This ha 6 been a busy week with most wool firms straightening up matters appertaining to tho recent sales. , An interval of about 10 days is sadly too little to get things put right, and yet ovcrybody is struggling hard to get things in order in anticipation of the approaching auctions which begin nest week. Wool buyers are beginning to say that they had better live in London, but, of course, that remark is simply made for the sake of saying something. However, the situation- is as interesting as ever, all because of the cessation as it wero of "hostilities," all buyers being off home in order to feel the pulse of .Bradford, and take a little rest in anticipation of' the approaching sales. Wool dominates the situation entirely, and the transformation compared with two months ago is almost beyond human, comprehension. Manufacturers are asking, When are merinos coming down? Of course, that cry is one, which need not be taken oven at its face value. Many topmakcrs who sold forward at 23d. for good' 64's last December now see they are in tho cart, and naturally they arc not relishing tho experience. Their regret is that they did not buy a big weight of wool when it was cheap, and it is a fact that in one or Two c;i6es fairly big weights of tops were bought at 23d. to 24d., which have not yet been sold. These lucky firms will make a pot of money, but they are the exception and not the.rule. However, merino wool is to-day back at last June prices, and that'being so. it'cannot but give satisfaction to growers, and particularly those who are watching their interests, in London, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, as well as in New Zealand and South Africa. Adelaide's Sale.

The cablegram published by Messrs. Elder, Smith, and Co., Ltd., in London last Monday, received from their Adelaide house respecting the wools they sold, camo as a thunderclap to Bradford; to be advised of good merinos advancing 25' to 30 per cent, surprised /everyone. But tlien tlie average price named for well-known clips proved the correctness of their statement. Think of Corryton Park averaging ,lo|d.! Surely there must have been some American buying for such a figure to be realised. The other values look more in harmony with current pricos for tops. Allan M'Farlane is ■ a well-kiiown clip, although it now seldom appears m Coleman Street catalogues, and Boolcooraatta at 9£d. looks all right from the topmaker's standpoint. Of .course, some of the clips are at least. 5 per cent, worse in condition and clean yield than they were last year, and the wools have'probably felt the,effects of the recent drought. Prices must be regarded as all being _ well ■ up to Coleman Street level, and it is certainly remarkable that values are moving where they are. A well-known topmalier was lecturing last Monday before the Bradford Textile Society, and he said that no man could buy wool at the last series of London sales to bring in a good 64's top under 2s. ?d. to 2s. 9d., but that seems to the writer a little too high. We should say that 2s. 7d. to 2s. Bd. would be nearer the mark, that is, for wool bought essentially for Bradford. Of course, if the topmaker was estimating the cost out of wool bought for America then 'he was right, but when Bradford finished bidding American buyers began, and between: them prices often appreciated Id. to lid. AVe said throughout the. last London : sales that if the home trade had had the sole dictation of wool values there would have been no appreciation above 5 per ccnt., but as a matter of fact,' America came in in such a way, that they made a very great difference. We sfee all the selling brokers put down an appreciation of practically ljd. per lb. for decent greasy combing merinos.

The Standing of Wool. Nothing has caused so much surprise 36 the 1 recent course •' of values for merinos, and the more one looks at what has been accomplished. the more astounding do things become. Some very interesting points arise, when one considers the evolution of the present situation. It is now history what was accomplished last December in. London, Australia, and South Africa. It is common gossip on Bradford' rxchange that wool was bought in Australia to bring in tops as low as 22d., and the same must be said both for South Africa and Coleman Street. It is no good upbraiding any centre, for the entire world was' alike, with the exception of Germany and America, iiowever, the slump did not last long, and no doubt the raising of the embargo in favour of shipping merinos to Coatinoiiwl neutral countries as well as AiD6?ica, soon turned the tide. . '

Outlook for Merinos. The writer has said more tban tnce recently that the days of prophesyijig have to a large extent iiassad with regard to the future of merinos. It seems useless endeavouring to forecast what is likely to happen, for al' prognostications since last December nave teen useless. It is the. un9ipoowd which nearly always happens in the wcol trade, and what has taken place duving the past two mont-bB has been,in entire opposition to what looked lkely at the beginning of the year. Undoubtedly it is the broadened basis sf competition in the wool markets of ;he world which has led to the present sensible uso in values, and so long as consuming markets can get at merino wool, we think to-day's prices bid fair to lisv . It. s possible that America has bought helterskelter this last month, fearing the. replacement of an embargo l>y Warminster, but aD the same there are hii*g-y machines particularly in neutral Continental countries, and America, too, appears to be better aEIe io buy. than , at one time seemed like'y. Those who are working on behalf of the respective allied Governments want an. adequate supply of raw material, and !herefore we are faced with an abnormal consumption, notwithstanding that the mill' of 'Germany, France, and Bo'guim are to a large extent But there has'been a great fillip given to the consumption of merinos, particu'arly throughout Great Britain, for war purposes, and the unexplainable fact confronts the trade to-day that notwithstanding 75 per cent, of the machinery of the mills of theso Islands being engaged on crossbreds, (morinos are being called for in, a way that astounds overyone. -Of course, things are abnormal in the consumption of merinos, due to big spinning plants on the Continent being put out of operation. We have already intimated that no normal trade conditions obtain, the regular merino home industry being largely in abeyanco, ali the mills that can possibly use merinos being busy executing contracts, tho bulk of which are destined for army puiDoscs. No soldier on the battlefield to-cfay wants thin fabrics either for under or outer wear, consequently file consumption of, merinos is doubled in practically all mills. There is proceeding an extraordinary consumption of line wool apart from crossbreds, and";nothing appears likely to check it. I'ho reason why such big weights of merinos are being called for is that thick counts are being spun. There used to be a very big trade done in counts ranging from two. fold 48's to twofold 60's and even 70's, but no spinner to-day will consider such fine counts, because there is an abundance Jii .K:

the spinner can turn out, say, twofold 20's to 40's, his output will be almost dmible what it would be if he was spinning 2-48's to 2s. 60's. A spinner always keeps an opon eye upon tho weight of yarn spun, and if a man can obtain a big output, and get, say, Id. per lb. profit on spinnings; ho knows tliat lie will soon bo on velvbt. Margins to-day are exceedingly good, and therefore spinners will not have fine counts, and hero is tho explanation why big weights of merino wool and tops are wanted. There now confronts the trado something like 141,000 bales, which are available for the forthcoming series, only 88,000 bales being New Zealand, tho bulk of which will be crossbreds. It simply means that there is practically 100,000 bales of merinos awaiting absorption during the next fortnight", and the trade will have plenty to do to lift the wools. Whether the wools can be got from the ships and staged remains to be seen, for things got very bad at the close of last series, there being some days when 2000 and 3000 bales oould not be obtained. However, with trade booming, the outlook for tho auctions remains good, and everytSins points to a maintenance of last sales' values, that is, if America keeps buying.