OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2523, 31 July 1915, Page 15

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

THE OUTLOOK FOR PRICES fFrom Our SDeoin4 OoiTenoßSenU Bradford, June 11, 1915. One hardly knows what to write at a time like tho present. Tho uppermost question in the inind of everyone is the war, its continuance, and what effect it is going to have upon wool values. A huge volume of business continues to bo done, and war .requirements are the lever that is moving everything. It is really remarkable what this European, struggle lias done for the wool trade. The magnitude of tho strugglo can bo left for the reader to imagine, but no one ever anticipated the war having such an influence upon demand and wool l values, as is witnessed to-day. At" tho time of tha Franco-Prussian war in 1870 wool markets practically slumped, trade was demoralised, and those living to-day, that is, the old men.'of tho wool trade, who well remember that. inoinorablo time, impressed upon the minds of . the younger generation tnat the present war would put values to a low level,; at least till the strugglo was nearly oyer. 1 But'times have greatly changed-since then. Since the middle of September we liavo been faced week after week with steadily rising values, with only one short period when prices were arrestedi and , when it looked as if values were going to'•"fall. Months ago the trade saw it distinctly that the present war was going, to mnko a huge' market for yrool and its products, overyoijfl recognising that soldiers cannot fight except in a good, suit of clothes. What the War Office of Great Britain and her Allies has realised is that their soldiers must bo dressed in something substantial, and therefore wool has been called upon to supply a .want that seemed impossible for greatness at the outbreak of the war. Howover, we are : to-day in the midst of a conflict which is demanding huge supplies of fully manufactured articles, and manufacturers everywhere hiy.e risen to the occasion,: ' The Outlook. .

In the absence of a more practical subject, we might to-day devote a few remarks to the outlook i'or the,raw material. The happenings of the wool trado this •last six months have been such that it lias almost inado on say that he will not jfrophesy again, ,'for all indications have been, falsified, tho totally unexpected having takon place. Still in tho wool business men have to . shape a policy. To woolgrowers as well .as users the future always appeals, and must ever do so. Those responsible for producing the raw material do so, hoping to make a goo<l p™®-. , As the-, writer looks back upon the history oi. the past nine months, it'is the experience of December which is to b« regretted' most, and although eomo cheap wool was then bought, we doubt seriously if it has done any good to the P'W. e - The low level of values in Australia, South Africa, and London really proved to be a trap which engulfed many .users, and led to some' forward sales at low. prices, and with the sudden turn in the market many have had to cover those, top sales at a serious loss. Jlence it is our firm conviction, that lio real/ good, in the aggregate has resulted trom that low period. There are many spiimers to-day, who bought' £i's tops at £3. to -s. 3d. per lb., who cannot get delivery because topmakers are able to sell elsewhere at 3s, 3d., there being no reliable standard price to-day for that commodity.. . Hence it 'is the writer's firm conviction that if there had been no slump would have been best for the whole trade, and certainly very much better for -growers tlu-oughout. the world. However, that period came, and it is like an ink 6tain in a child's copybook,

A Big Consumption Assured. As one looks forward, one must recoj--6 Ji? fundamental principle dictating -a healthy wool market, namely, 'a prospective demand. The writer for the moment is not taking into consideration tho present standard of wool values, being satisfied with where things stand from a consumptive standpoint. We have emphasised ,for some, weeks tho inability qf machinery t'hroiipout Great' Britain to ' cope with the orders which are available to-day.. Every timo one comes into contact with a spinner or manufacturer he fiddles upon the one string at hia command, namely, too busy and too little machinery to cope with/present orders. Of course, no one likes to turn away good business, especially when abnormal profits are obtainable.' All combers, 6pinners, and manufacturers alike are full to ; the brim, and are trying to oblige .ill their customer's by turning out a certain proportion for each. one. For instance, combers will only put iu 50 sheets at a time for a customer.- '-.One'of the largest firms of •topmakers said to the writer only a few days ago that they were not getting above two-thirds of their normal output, and had given their wool-sorters a full week's holiday because every comber that they engaged would take no more sorted matchings, and their own place was packed to the door with raw material. At one station last week in Bradford there were ho fewer than 400' trucks of wool, all waiting to be delivered, and every party alike hardly knew which way to tarn to store the raw material. That is the situation to-day, and yet there seems behind the trade a big pile of raw, material which will liave to be tackled in' the course of a few weeks. Still- above everything else, We have the satisfaction of knowing that there is a huge consumtion, and it would be still larger if more machinery were available. ■ As one looks forward to the coming months, the prospect is a pleasant one when viewed from this standpoint. '

Merino Prices. Many mil bo milting to know what are'tho prospects for lino wool values, and taking an impartial view we certainly think they are by no means bad. We should say that they are excellent if we saw how machinery could deal with prospective supplies, but that is the difficulty. Wool is having to be handled by the War Office in a very careful manner, for if Continental neutral countries had full access to raw materials, we are confident that Gtermany would satiafy her requirements very quickly. Fortunately,'or unfortunately, many of the spinners and manufacturers in neutral countries cannot deal with wool until- it is combed, and they have in consequence had to come -to Bradford for supplies. To-day export licenses have-ceased, so whether they will instal as quickly as possible ,nbw machinery for dealing with wool in its first stages of manufacture, time alone will decide. No doubt Italy lias supplied Germany with some fairly big weiglits_ of wool during the past six months.i this' having gone via Switzerl -'"til Italy joining the Allies, it will Lave brought all such shipments to an end.- Prospects to-day point to a continuance ' of very satisfactory prices for combing merino wool. The whblo trade seems" to have settled down to - awell-defined policy, showing preference to the best descriptions of combing .wool, particularly parcels fairly free nf burr and of decent length. :Burry wools take more dealing with than those which are free, and commission ' wool combers in Bradford are to-day fnr frftm being willing to accept burry parcels, there being an abundance of wool offering free of sliiv and burr. We therefore think that for average to good wools the outlook is very favourable, and we do not think that even burry parcels aro going to sag and fall to tins level which 601110 to-day are talking about.

Excellent Outlook for Crossbreds, The future of crossbreds seems assured, due entirely to the improved outlook from a military standpoint. It is to-day practically .certain that -Italy is going to place, orders in this country for fabrics, whieh 'will mean a consumption of coanso to medium crossbred wool! Bradford will benefit, because worsted yarns will have to be used. Italian war fabrics hitherto have been like . those of other Continental countries made -from woollen yarns, but mills hero in England are -altogether incoi»cetent to deal with the' production of this article, and therefore the next best will have to bo taken. This means tliafc solid worsted fabrics which are sound and well made will be, bought, and this means a lengthened life for crossbreds at to-day's values. During tho fortnight prices havo fened all touihl for every class of crossbreds from 40's unwards. and there ia every indication of another winter camnaisn, which means that crossbred wool in the future will be wanted in big quantities. Wo are therefore of the opinion that to-dav:'a standard of Talues it jtfinc tq bo .mil maintained for fath jEOci

ami its allied products, for it is certain that war., is very destructive, and men on tho battlefield liavoto bo replenished very often with a new lot of garments. I hero is to-day a big consumption of crossbreds proceeding for hosiery purposes, and the outsido world is exceedingly hungry for supplies of anything of a crossbred nature, but tho present embargo is likely to be continued until the war terminates. It is worth putting, oil record .that the bulk of crossbred wools liavo risen over SO. per cent. since tho war be§fau; 'this alone means that prices aro exceedingly good from a grower's standpoint, and we see no prospect whatever of values declining. The whole market is certainly in a very healthy state,, and wool is being ground up at express speed. Present requirements are largo, and tho outlook from that standpoint could not bo better.