COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 67, 20 March 1907, Page 3

COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL.

Evening Post Office, Wednesday. THE WOOL MARKET. The London sales, which opened on Tuesday last, display an exeellont tone, which is a great deal betttr than was expected. SThe amount available for tho current series is jylaced at 167,500 bales, «nd this compares with the offerings at the March •cries of previous years as under: —

■Although the quantity available is some 26,000 bale* larger than was available for the corresponding sales of last year, it is only equal to the normal. Of course, eup•lies are sensibly larger, but the heavy •aireet forwarding is tho cause of the limited offering at the London sales. The sales opened with brisk competition, and, contrary to expectation, coarse and medium erosebreds advanced 5 per cent. Ihese classes have recovered from the t«tfceck at the January sales. American buying is once again, tho stimulating force ; and the latest cablegrams indicate that tho financial panic has had no effect on tho wool market. Manufacturers are no doubt committed for some months ahead, and xaonotary stringency can scarcely have any feffect just now., We have had a long spell of dear money — quite six months — and in January the Bank rate was at 6 per cent., „ yot tffe January sales were very satisfactory. The consumptive demand is fully equal to the supplies, and the output of the* staple has been expanding. Tho figures dealins~witk-the Australasian wool exports, and covering the period from Ist July, 1906, to 28th February, disclose an . increase of. 138,087 bales. The exports of «aefa colony are as under : —

Of the net increase of 138,087 bales Australia, accounts for 104,000 bales and New Zealand for 34,087 bales. Up to the close ' of last year the increase was 10,000 bales, by the end of January it was brought up to 80,224 bales, and now it is 138,087 bales. » The increase of the 19C6-7 clip is estimated »t 150,000 bales, and if this be correct another 12,000 bales have to be added to the exports of the next four months. That this quantity will be exceeded seems likely, but in. any ca6e the clip of the current season will be a record for Australasia. THE MONEY MARKET. The p*nie in New York, from the later messages received, appears to have been due to a trial of strength between E. B. Harrimin on the one side and J. Fierpont Morgan on the other. Mr. Harriman managed the other day to make a very largo nun by rigging the market, and a counter Steve w»s apparently engineered by Mr. Morgan, who was thus able to secure control of the Union Pacific Railway, hitherto in tke esmtrol of Mr. Harriumn, who appeal* ts have been driven to the- verge of bankruptcy. It bow seems that the Wall«tre#t panic -was due to the rivalry of £xameial giantf, and that it threatened, to assume & very serious aspect is to be seen by the aid rendered imperativs by the United States Treasury. The Treasurer has •laced practically eeventy-one million dollars at the disposal of the millionaire--controlled national banks, and with 'this large sum available we may soon expect to see the Stock Exchange booming. There is admittedly considerable inflation, and it is just possible that we shall hear of some heavy failures in the meanwhile. .The New York trouble was reflected in London to some extent. Most Government securities declined, but there has been a recovery since, and as the Bank statement is satisfactory t&er.e should be"* speedy return to the normal. It is, however, difficult at this distance to rightly judge the situation. There has Deen s prolonged spell of dear me&ey, with no immediate prospect of a return to ea«y conditions. Trade is buoyaat everywhere-, and the very high prices of commodities are calculated to keep up ther-'demaad far credit. The tension on, •the money market-is very severe, .and somethimg must map presently. Wo may expect to- see a recurrence of the Wall-street panic, vi on the next occasion it will be more severe, just as the one of last week was store serious than the panic of September last. TKOZES MEAT IN GERMANY. If the- agitation for the admission of dead- meat into Germany is carried on persistently and intelligently, Bare » every hope of satisfactory results. Meat ia becoming dearer and dearer m the German Empire. The British Consul m his' report upon the trade and agriculture of Bavaria gives some interesting information regarding the price of tood m faermamy. .The report says there is good ' authority for stating that the keep of a. German workman has increased in cost hy 25 -per cent, since 1904, meat alone having risen 35 per cent., whilst wages rose 10 per cent. only. That the general cost of living is increasing is proved by the fact that the military administration requires now £4 per annum more than formerly for the maintenance of a soldier. The consumption of horseflesh conbmiet to inerewe. At Bayreuth, for amP^t with a population of over 30,000, 239 hcrees were slaughtered in 1985 against 57 bones ia 1902, and in Munich 2506 against 2592 In 1904, 81,312 horses and 1177 dogs wen slaughtered for food in the German Empire, and in 1905, 96,534 hori et and 1584 dogs were slaughtered. It is catenated, too, that in spite of a, rapidly growing population, cattle are growing fewer, the decrease in Bavaria amounting to 8.5 per cent for thi period 1900 to 1904. In Germany there was for every 100 inhabitants 35.4 head of cattle in 1897, 33.7 head in 1900, and 32.2 head in 1904. The 20 8 sheep for 100 inhabitants in 1873 has now fallen to 13.1. THE METAL MARKETS. Pig iron continues to decline, the latest , quotation being 53s 6d, as compared with 60t 7d at the beginning of the year. The - higher price was due largely to speculation coming on top of an American de1 xnand. This speculation 1 collapsed, and the outside demand appears to have .eased '- off. It is probable that the price will go lower. All the other metals appear to have dropped in values. Copper at - £I*7 is 40s lower than the quotation published on Saturday, and this metal wa« up to £110, the record in recent years. Th« extresa* yriee of £120 was touched for a brief period in 1869. Eight years age copper sold at £35 per ton, which is th« lowest on record, and represented a fafll of £70 per ten in eight months. Dear money will cause a cheek to be placed ob new enterprise*, and presently the values of the commercial metals must decline. Lead touched £20, but is now 5a lower ; this" metal has not ruled so high since 1877. In April, 1904, lead sold at £9 per ton, the lowest price on record. In his review of the lead market Mr. Juliui Matton points out the importance of the electrical industry as an outlet for lead, one United States works alone using 25,000 tons for cable covering purposes. NOTES." The Metropolitan Board of Works, Melbourne, last week floated a loan of £160,000 at 4 per cent, at a minimum price of 102 and underwriters' 'assistance was not sought. The issue was an unqualified success, 185 applications being made for the aggregate sum of £438,800. The average price realised wm £102 10a, 10.78, making the pen proceeds of the loan £164,071 17> The production of both sultanas and lexias at Mitdura this season is "said to be substantially in excess of Australian and New Zealand consumption, though there can be no certainty on' the point for a week or two. The climatic conditions have beeß excellent, and the quality of the fruit is first-class. Cotton supplies promise to, be equal _t« the record crop, and trade opinion now inclines to a crop of 13,000,000 balei. The Oenand for spinable cotton, however, con- . tinues good despite tho heavy prospective supplies. The record crop in 1904-5 was viewed with considerable alarm at the time, and there were wild rumours that in order to keep up pricci a portion was to be burnt. Tho large demand, however, foon wed up stocks, prices suffering to a very tmall extent. So much cotton is • now vied to mix with wool that the largo stocks disappear like magic.

Abraham and Williams report: — At our Johnsonville sale yesterday a small entry of prime bullocks came forward. Tho market was very dull, and tho supply above .requirements. Beef made 21» per 1001b, bost bullocks £8 7s 6d to. £8 15s, others £8. A good supply of primo owes and wethers was very slow of Kile. Best ewes mado 16s 6d, wethers 17s 6d.

J3UO-7. isua-o. Bales. Victoria ... 458,485 tf.S. Wales ... 662,470 Queensland ... 97,264 S. Australia* 1 - ... 141,064 "W. Australia ... 37,649 Tasmania ... 13,615 New Zealand ... 323,225 Bales. 386.94T 670,693 77,368 115,994 39,405 13,248 289,143 1,733,790 1,595,703

L 902 ... 163,000 1903 ... 167,000 \9M ... 170,000 1905 ... 1906 . . 1907 . . Bulm. 180,000 131,000 167.50 C