COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL Evening Post, Wednesday.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 60, 8 September 1909, Page 4

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL Evening Post, Wednesday.

Trade in both town and country has been sluggish during the week, and orders received by wholesale houses have generally been few, and of a hand-to-mouth description. It is reported frosti all- par te of the country, and not only the Wellington province, that the wool clip and dairying output will be extremely large, if not phenomenal. Mr. J. G. Harkness, secretary of tho" National Dairy Association, estimates the increase of the dairy output (butter and cheese) to be from 10 per cent, to 15 per cent, for the season. The meat market has taken a turn for the better, and the urospects of wool prices for the iapproachlng London sales are. extremely good for crossbred wools. , It is reported that largo English credits are already established with the banks for the purchase of bulter, cheese, wool, rab-' bits, and other produce. This indicates that there is going to be competition for the New Zealand produce trade during the ensuing season. Substantial surpluses continue to be received by the banks in respect to wool 6old at the July (London) offering. Although the financial situation .is undoubtedly easier, matters have not quite settled down. An old-established investment ' company is gradually _ transferring, its interests to the Argentine, but the change of venue is being made' somewhat leisurely. A few small mortgages have been effected at 5& per cent, to 6 per cent., according .to the locality of the security, and such securities- are of the highest class. There is still a great deal of j/roperty offering, which is not sufficiently attractire to command attention except at much higher rates. The Australasian Banking Record, in ibs recently prepared summary of the average assets and. liabilities of the banks (exclusive oi balances to and from other banks) in Australia and New Zealand for the quarter anded 30th June is as follows: — > Australia. N.Z. Total. t - • & . ■ £ ' £ A«setß „. 130,614,530 26,889,941 157,534,480 Liabilities ... 121,989,739 23,762,532 148,772,271 «x. Of assets 8,654,800 3,107,409 11,762,200 The excess of assets compared with those of one year end two years ago -as . follows : — June, June, June, 1007. 1908. 1909. % £ £ £ Australia ... 7,507,431 X 4,454,051 8,654,800 New Zealand ... *• • 4,878,113 3,107,409 ..•Ex.- of liabilities 08,110 _. "WOOI/. — The September wool -Bales opening in London on 21st September are awaited with considerable interest by growers and others concerned in the Dominion. From the tenor of advices by mail and cable, it would seem that the sales should open with a strong demand ior croßsbi-eds. Merinoes, according to the Sydney sales, have eased in price, but only about 10 per cant, of tho wool clip oiNew Zealand is merino. A letter from a, London broking house contained the ' foHowing information, which is interesting in that it cqnfirms local woolmen's opinions of the . September xnarkctT — "So little merino wool will he available until arrival of the new clip, and so much consumption is going on, that crosshreds will be ap-_parfently--_the' of supply of the tmcW ATsthe July London 152jQ00 IMlles^w^e^aiearlable;- and of these New Z-e^land contributes, roughly, 87,000 bales, N£w South Wales ',coming second with, 24-.000 bales.- The catalogue .contained 147.366 bales, in which were 85,732 bales, an 4 -of the 16,000 'held over 10,000 were from New Zealand. At the corresponding series of last year, 201,609 bales were ■ available, .. ..and , 88,000 were held over. Atnerica purchased > 960 D bales pi • the last; Jujy offering. "Carried forward to September ware 16,000 , bales. , Reference has bafen made from* time to time to, local , Bales, aad vis-a-yis, consigning to London. Jtfjthis connection the following Temarkß, ' taken from the "wool' article" of the Sydney Morning Herald, may be read with interest-: — "There is no necessity to attenipfc to foroe sales, simply because wool values are at a highly remunerative level to i growers, and the demand is strong .enough to snap up all tbe wool that is coming to hand at firm rates. It would bo- 1 a pity at the present time for any - bstle of wool to be shipped to London for realisation 'The market here (Sydney) • is,, the equivalent of London at all. times, *nd instead of shipping strengthening v^ues,"^t' tends 1b weikeri them.' Fore tunntely the,, ten.dgncy. is for growers to -still further support the primary markets. More growers this season will sell in Sydney than formerly, and the more universally this principle is. practised the better it will be for the producers and all concerned in the trade .... The concentration of the sales strengthens the wool position, and that .should be the aim of the large and small grower all the time." . MEAT.— /The - corner ' appears to have been turned -in the meat market. The 'advanoe is not much, but the moral effect is ljeneficial. > The falling-off in reoeipts, combined with increased deliveries from the already over-congested stores, has imparted a better tone all round. There also a good enquiry for beef, bufc only' a little is going forward, and enquiries from Australia for hams and bacon are difficult to satisfy, although there is plenty bacon and pork not killed under Government supervision, and therefore ineligible. HEMP.— There does not appear to be much to report about the hemp market. Cheaper means of ' production 2r& still 1 urged, for although the price is satisfactory, at the moment, Australian demands being most difficult to fulfil, it is feared • r that the present prices cannot be long sustained in view of the continued heavy receipts of Manila.' The Warrimoo, leaving for Melbourne last week, had to shut out other cargo in favour of hemp. "BUTTER.— Factories have not to any extent declared their ideas of prices for the season's output, although lid has been mentioned in certain quaiters.'- The Kakaramea factory, whioh is presently going in for cheese, has sold September output at Hid and October at lid. Ballance factory, sold September make at ll£d. The export season will open with the Paparoa, to sail about 23rd September with from 3000 to 4000 boxes, in which will be included some last season's make. Private *dvices have been received to the effect 4 that September make is expected to realise 114s to 116 aby the time it reaches London. Buyers already in the country »nd local buyers are hanging off, and their ideas appear to be lOd to lO^d, whioh is, of course, a long distance behind the makers' terms. The season, according to the present prospects, appears likely to be phenomenal, and should the average prices of last season bo mairttained, the dairying indußtry alone should add materially to the > wealth of the country. A meeting was ' held at Cambridge (Waikato) on Saturday, but no business was done, the price mentioned being lid as the minimum, and this offer is open to buyers until 10th . September. It is 'understood that factories in the majority of cases, if not in all, -will give no guarantee as to moisture, end buyere are particularly requesting some eeourity os to this for the ensuing season. An illuminating side-light on last season's prices in the Dominion was thrown by Mr. C. 0. Lovell at the Lovoll and Christmas annual meeting- in London, speaking relative to his statement about the prices that wtere paid for goods in-]N T e\v Zealand and the prices in London, Mr,, Lovell explained that when th.c contracts W'ene being made in New Zealand in August and September 1 of last year speculators stepped in, «nd to a great extent spoiled those who were fa the regular business ; their competitors paid as much as llid and ll^d for the ©ntter in the factories, and when that butter arrived in London in the full swing of ■Che business in the fiist three months of fhe year it was being sold at Home at less than the actual cost before it left-ithe factories in New Zealand. Very much tho •nne'thing occurred' with regard to cheese. The London trade, and the Irish members, end other parties, are making the most they can "of tho official analysis of New I Zealand butfcer at New Plymouth, in which 115 samples out of 177 contained over' l6 per cent, of water. A question wae asked in the House. The High Commissioner in Ixjndon pointed out that no butter with over 16 per oent. of moisture may be exported uad«r the New Zealand, Act of Ist January, 1908. , ' i

CHEESE. —The uncertainty as to terms for the coming season experienced in. the buttor trade is felt alsp in regard to cheese. Buyers have whispered £>id, but makers have not shown their hands, and no contracts are as yet reported. The cheese season has continued practically throughout the year, and the make for the season about to open promises to bo heavy, as a number of factories have giveu up butter-making for cheese. Since the beginning of June to 12th August, 16,0QQ cases have been shipped to London. WHEAT AND FLOUR.—Although the wheat market _at Home has somewhat eased, wheat is still quoted at 4s 5d to 4s 6J>d at country stations, with growers indisposed to sell lower. The harvest is a good aix months off, and there seems to be nothing at present to warrant tho belief that prices, here, at any rate, are likely to fall. Flour remains unchanged at £10 10s. Fowl wheat, whole, 18 offered at 4s to 4s 2d, f.o.bf, S.I. "Beerbohm," writing on 16th July, predicts firm prices for wheat. "All the wheat for the coming season," it is stated, "wilr bo wanted, and perhaps badly wanted, if the weather does not soon change for the better. The possibility naturally remains that the harvest in England, France, and Germany may be very late; in such a case the immediate demand for foreign wheat" would be simply enormous, and the whole sentiment of the trade would undergo a complete change. That sentiment at pre6ent is that, under ordinary harvest conditions,- there must come a period before Christmas -when the desire to sell at such attractive prices as now obtain, will overcome the necessity to buy, and a more moderate level of prices ensue. The general exhaustion of stocks should lead to a continuous and active demand for new wheat as soon as it becomes avail able. On the broader question of the level of prices in the coming Season, as a whole, it is, of course, obvious that this iwill depend upon the out-turn of the year's orops. For two years in succession the world has produced far less wheat than has been required to feed the world's bread-eaters; and the reserves left over from previous more, favoured years have been drawn upon to meet the deficiency, to such an extent has this process of draining upon reserve stocks been carried on that it is a common and well-founded belief we think, that no further drain upon them is possible. This is, of course, speaking in a general way. The result is that the world's wheat-eateta will, in the coming season, have to exist upon the coming crop. What that crop must amount to fin order to meet the ordinary demands upon it is shown, to some oxtent, by the following record of tho world's wheat production in the past seven years: — THE WORLD'S WHEAT PRODUCTION. I

The average, it will be seen, is 404,000,OOOqrs., but the amount actually consumed is far greater than this, because it is quite obvious that practically all the reserve 6tocks have been swallowed up dur- x ing the past two years; we estimate, therefore, that the actual average 'consumption during these seven years was not .far below 410,000,000qr5. and that the world's needs for the forthcoming season will not be less than 425,000,000 qrs. The world's wheat production in 1909 has therefore, to exceed 425,000,000 qrs.. if the present high level of prices is to be seriously lowered in 1&09-10. It is not easy to form a reliable opinion just yet, but .at must be confessed that the signs do not point to the total production much exceeding the" average of the past 'seven years, as ehown above." . The effect of New Zealand's surplus of two million bushels will have had practically no effect upon the English prices; but the shortage, as pointed out, will influence our own prices. The surplus nexfc harvest will pc much bigger, and although, here, again, it may make but little, if any, difference to the general situation; bufc besides providing sufficient, for local needo. the Dominion will have, if "Beerbohm'*" calculations are correct, a high-priced as well as a heavy surplus of -wheat. PRODUCE.—There is hut little change to report in the produce market. Oals aro weaker, and the surplus has been pretty well all exported. According to latest reports, Australia's demand has practically ceased, and England's demands aro small, although Eome lines are still going forward, but not sufficient to affect the market to any great extent. Prices for B grade remain at Is 8d to Is 9£d, f.0.b., according to sample. Oe*t- ' meal is quoted at £10 to £10 10s, f.o.b. There is no change in chaff, which, stands at from £3 5s to £3 15s in Wellington. Bran and pollard remain unchanged. Barley is dull of shipment, one being made from Picton to Australia and England. Potatoes have advanced from £4- to £4 2s 6d, f.0.b., South Island. Values are likely to be in growers' favour. 'Californian onions are quoted at 12s to l^s. a case^; Japanese, about 2s per case less. SEEDS.—Clovers of all descriptions jire likely to rule high, -and are firming every day. This is attributed to the poor harvest and generally bad summer at Home and on jthe Continent. Rye grass, cocksfoot, and cowgrass have gone Home in small quantities, while elpver, alsike, and trefoil have an upward tendency.

1908 ' 1907 19Q6 1905 1904 190S 1902 Quarters. . 396,400,000 ... 395,175,000 ... 432,000,000 .. 414,735,000 ... 392,660,000 ... 404,585,000 ... 395,000,000 Average . 404,360,000