WOOL MARKET

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 59, 4 December 1923, Page 8

WOOL MARKET

4 HIGH PRICES AT NAPIER CONTINENTAL ACTIVITY By Telegraph—Press Association. Napier, December 3. The first wool sale of the season in Napier was held to-day, when a catalogue of 25,684 bales was submitted to a bench of nearly sixty buyers, representing all buying countries and local mills. The size of the offering was responsible for the sale extending from 9 o’clock this morning till a very late hour to-night. The offering comprised a particularly good selection of all qualities and grades of Hawke a Bay wool. , ■V feature of the sale was the Continental activity. The Italian buyers paid extreme prices for best pieces and were closely followed by France. Germany operated strongly for lower quality wools and of these lifted a fair weight, for which very good prices were paid. From the manner in which the Continental buyers operated, it appeared that they did not have any limits. America,' though well in the market, was not so keen after super wools as usual. Bradford was generally to the fore for all classes of wool, and was a great factor in mantaming the high tone of the sale. Japan was not very active, though a certain quantity of cruchtings was secured by its buyers. Local scourers and mills were handicapped by the prices being paid and only occasionally secured a lot. ~ Prices showed a considerable improvement all round on the recent Wellington, Auckland and Wanganui sales. Owing to the late hour at which the sale concluded, the range of prices will not be available till to-morrow.