AMERICAN TRADE THE WOOL MARKET

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 75, 21 December 1928, Page 10

AMERICAN TRADE

THE WOOL MARKET

NOVEMBER CONDITIONS The following cable message dealing with trade conditions in the United States last month has been received from the United States Department of Commerce by Mr. Julian B. Foster. American Trade Commissioner for New Zealand :— 'lndustry shows slight seasonal decline during November. Wholesale and retail trade expanding. Steel industry operating 83 per eent. capacity, Automobile output unusually good for late fall. Construction contracts declining. Textile industry continues recovery. Car loadings well above last year's levels. Railroads’ earnings show large gains. “November, stock market breaks all records. Brokers’ loans at unprecedented levels. Money rates continue high.” . .

In the opinion of Winchcombe. Carson, Ltd., experiences of the wool-selling season to date should inspire confidence among consumers of wool. It is stated that at one time pessimism was rife among manufacturers aboard, but, even allowing for dull trade conditions, prices had displayed stability ever since the initial auctions in mid-August had conveyed an idea of the values at which wool could be handled by mill-owners. Considerable variations, it is said, have been seen in prices for speciality wools, but actually during the last three months rates for good fleece wools on a clean scoured basis had not shown a greater fluctuation than 2d. a lb., which was equal to about Id. a lb. in the grease. Average woo! at one period had a variation of 4d. a lb. for clean, or about 2d. a lb. in grease, but bad since recovered from the lowest point. Fluctuations in prices for skirtings, if anything, had been less than those in fleece wools, and of late the prices for them had shown buoyancy. The opinion of the firm is that London and Australian sales proceeding simultaneously recently the market had done well to retain Its activity, more especially as In London, where there was no Japanese demand, business bad failed to open on the same level of prices as were rulnig in the Commonwealth. The general position leads the firm to say that, while it does not hold that wool prices will advance substantially, it is equally convinced that no marked relapse is likely to bo seen.