COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 95, 19 October 1910, Page 4

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

■Evening Post, Wednesday. As the banking returns for September showed money continues to be still in plentiful supply; but tho demand for industrial purposes is very slight, and mercantile requirements are not abnormally heavy. Tiio increase in the advances, it is understood, is to be attributed to genuine development work in the country. It is understood that the banks hold substantial credits on behalf of British firms whose representatives are m the country in quest of dairying and other produce. These credits will shortly be supplemented, if they have not been so already, by large sums on behalf of woolbuying' houses, the local sales opening here early next month. There is now a very good local market for first-class debentures — a form of investment that was not at one time very attractive to the colonial investor, who looked for a higher rate than is usually obtainable from municipal and similar bodies. The usual 4 per cent, and 4£ per cent, payable by Government and municipalities was considered good enough for the careful and easily satisfied English investor, but not quite good enough for his compeer in these parts. Public institutions, however, have of late found it advantageous to utilise their surplus money in the purchase of first-class debenture stock rather than let it remain idle waiting for channels to open up into which it may be diverted at higher rates of interest. The prospects of the produce season are again to be reported as exceedingly good, contingent, of course, upon the even course of British trade being maintained. Notwithstanding the slight set-back Vhich wool received in the middle of tho September sales, the price is atill good for all descriptions of wool, and the activity of the Scotch woollen mills, as recently cabled, strengthens the hope that the wool market will remain firm for the remaining portion of 1910 at any rate. Local trade is still dull in the city, but reviving. In the country, judging from returns of wholesale houses, it is very good. It cannot be said to be booming, but it is steady, sound, and is expanding. For large amounts and with the very choicest of security money is obtainable at as low as 4J per cent., but 4f per cent, to 5 per cent, is about the average rate. WOOL. — Wool is now beginning to come into the local stores for the first £>ew Zealand sale opening. It is difficult to estimate the size of the catalogue likely to be offered, but it may bo of interest to State that at tha sale here on 12th November last year 3004- bales were offered, or 1600 bales more than the previous November sale. There was then keen competition on the part of buyers for America, a keenness that may not he so conspicuous this coming sale, as Americans were not very conspicuous at either the July or September London sales. At the recent meeting of the local Woolbrokors' Association. Mr._R. W. Waterhouse, manager of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company, was elected chairman. Growers are to be notified .by their brokers of the changes to bo made in the compilation of catalogues for the local sales in tha direction of mterlotting star and similar small lots, and so shortening the time of the sales, and, as is expected, stimulating buyers' interest in them. The New Zealand Shipping and Shaw-Savill Companies' and F.H.S. rates of freight on wool for the season have been fixed afc 7-16 d per pound for greasy and 9-16 d per pound for washed wool, plus 10 per cent, primage in both cases for wools shipped to catch the January sales in London. For succeeding steamers, 3d per pound for greasy and id per pound for washed wool, also plus 10 per cent, primage in both, cases for succeeding steamers. Sheepskins go at the same rate as greasy wool. Australian rates ate as follow: — Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Tasmania, |d; Adelaide, id; Rockhampton, 11-16 d; and Townsville, gd for greasy and £d additional for washed wool, plus 5 per cent, and •*, rebate ot 7± per cent, and Is per bale. The New Zealand rates for the January sales are the same as thosfc of last" year. MEAT. — For mutton and lamb, London prices rule satisfactory, and the outlook ior new season's shipments leaving at the middle to the end of next month are good. Stocks in hand are very light, and the stores should be absolutely bar© by the time the new meat is on the water. Beef continues low in price, and stocks on hand are cabled out as heavy. Reports from the country as to the lambs are most encouraging, but prices for all storo 6heep continue very high. * The Aorangi will carry a test of the American markets on the Pacific slope of about 400 carcasea of mutton, shipped by the Wellington Meat Export Co. The shipment is more in the nature of an experiment than anything else. The Aorangi will ako take a small experimental line of hams and bacon, shipped at this port. THE BACON SHORTAGE. — The bacon shortage in the United Kingdom, of which the first signs appeared at the beginning of 1909, has now reached such a pitch that it ia feared the Home industry is doomed. The pig population of the world has suddenly decreased, begining in the United States, which has contained about half the hogs in the world. The chief cause of the British shortage is the decreased export from America, ■where the pig population has gone down by more than, one milHon; and the export ie further decreasing owing to increased home consumption. The price qf bacon, it is feared, may rise tQ 90s a cwt. A few years ago it was 60s. It roso at the end of last year to' 79s for best Danish, which fetched the highest price, higher even than Irish. Great Britain spends roughly £20,000,000 a year for pig products from abroad, and yefc tho Home pigs, decreased in 1909 by nearly 15 per cent, as compared with 1908, and reached only 2,380,000. SKINS, AND HIDES AND TALLOW. — Local brokers will hold their usual skin, hide and tallow sales this week. The skin market is buoyant, and hides are inclined to rule higher. The average quantities are expected to be olfering. There is likely to be a keen demand for the tallow and rough fats that find their way into these sales. Last sale talkw reached £29 17s 6d per ton. HEMP.— An offer for 150 tons of fair grade hemp held by an Auckland house of £18 10s failed to secure business. Millers are^ firm holders in view of the restriction of jute 'outputs and other causes.-- Business was done at the end of last week at £21 7s 6d spot for good fair grade for London. BRITISH HOP HARVEST.— Latest reports from the British hop fields indicate a serious' shortage, although the quality is said to be fair. The total crop will be under 300,000cwt. When it is considered that the annual consumption in the United Kingdom is about twice that quantity, it will be seen that the available supply will be far short of requirements. Reserves have been getting low for a long time past; the yearling hops are pretty well exhausted, and onlysmall quantities of the 1903 and 1909 crops remain in the hands of the brewers. The brewers can derive little comfort, also, from the hopes of the American and Continental crops. It is considered too early yet to forecast the course of prices, but. in view of the unusual^ shortage it would appear on the face of it that brewers may have to pay stiffly for their supplies thi3 season. DAIRY PRODUCE.— Private cable advice 9 from London report an easier tone in the butter market, but the High Commissioner cabled "steady, with very good demand for best quality." Taieri and Christchurch Central consider tenders to-day for their outputs of cheese for the season. Buyers prices rule at about s^d per pound and 5 3-16 d for consignments on n guarantee without recourse basis. Sellers arc generally firm for 5' 2 d per pound. Tt is thought, that Ihe majority of South Inland factories will consign this f.e;tson. A liftle butter is»" ft ill being *-pnt to South Africa, but notliine in comparison to tli«< trade that was formerly done in thai I quarter. A lin« of about 50 boxes of choicest butter ffrAded 92 and 82^ ia to' bo sent to Jsan Esa»ajpfipjfl i .tbe ApJAjjgi i

as a test of the market. The freight on the butter is nominally Id per lb. The London, importations of butter for the week ending 14th October were 75,000cwt as compared with 61,000cwt, an increase of 14,000cwt when compared with the corresponding period of 1909. A private communication from London received by a Wellington house on Saturday reads: "We understand that a fair quantity of stored Siberian butter is being held in reserve, which may affect sale stored butter on way from and hold in colonies." The local trade is at present in the throes of keen competition once more through "cutting" on the part of wholesalo suppliers. Retailers are buying pats at 12£ d less 2£ per cent, and 12^d less 5 per cent, to sell over the counter at Is 2d, paying for their butter on the 20th of the month following purchase. The Butter Committee which was set up to regulate prices and to prevent wholesome competition appears to be unable to do anything in the matter. Weddel's quote from the "Smor Tidende," the Danish dairy newspaper, to the effect that an increasing sale of Danish cream is taking place across the frontier into Germany for butter-making, owing to a slip in the perman tariff law, which admits cream' in free, while the duty on butter imported into Germany is 9s 4d per cwt. Sweden is also able to export cream from" Trelleborg into the German town of which are connected by a direct line of steamers. It will be recalled no doubt that the Canadians recently discovered a' flaw in the Payne tariff of the U.S.A., enabling them to '"dump" cream into the States at 5 cents (2id) per gallon, whereas the framers of the tariff intended to tax cream to the extent of 5 cents per pound, butter and cheese both paying 6 cents per pound duty< IN TOOLEY-STREET.— The produce correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, writing from London on 2nd September, states that the latest news from Tooley-street is to the effect that butter people are rather tumbled up and down in their minds about the general position, the factors in which are complex. Siberian butter is the trouble. There is an enormous quantity of butter stored at Russian centres— more than ever before— at east 100,000 boxes, probably 130,000. A large part of this will come to England. Probably the holders are waiting for a lively market, with good prices, to be established in SeptemberOctober with the Australian butter, for them to bring along this stored Siberian. If this gam© is played, down will fall Australian market rates. Buyers, feeling uncertain as to what is going to happen, are not willing to buy forward Australian butter, except month .by month. But big prices are being offered (aud refused) for New Zealand butter, October to March, Ills and 112s. In 1909 the- relative figure was 108s. PRODUCE— Victorian potatoes were sold in Wellington on Monday at £7 7s 6d per ton, f.0.b., Melbourne, and onions at £6 per ton. There has been a rise of Id to l^d per bushel on oats during the current week, A grade being worth 2s lid to 2s 2d f.o.b. South Island, and B grade Id per bushel less. Chaff has advanced 5s a ton, being quoted at £4 15s f.o.b. Blenheim, with no quotations from the Wairarapa, where there is reported to be barely sufficient for local requirements. Bran is almost impossible to obtain at £3 10s per ton, and pollard is scarce at £5 per ton (South Island ports). There is no change in the price of flour at £9 to £9 10s per ton f.o.b. South Island. GROCERIES.— The market is bare of prunes until the first shipment from California, now well ok its way, arrives. The new season's pack of salmon is to hand, but prices are ruling high, the ostensible reason being a short pack. Prices have advanced by 6d to 9d per dozen, according to brand. Good sorts of figs are becoming scarce. Seeded raisins are in short supply, and will remain so until the next shipment from San • Francisco arrives. Burmah candles were reduced last week by id to id perjlozen. Carton dates are very scarce, buf* there lias been no change in price. All Easttern produce continues high in price, but there has been no change to record for the week. Salad oils have advanced 10 per cent, on the week as the result of cabled advices to that effect. The cheaper makes of candles are expected to advance in consequence of the strong price for tallow and other fats. TEA.— Tea shipped to New Zealand from Colombo from Ist May to 20th August amounted to 1,764,1481b out of a, total of 8,400,9141b for Australasia as a, whole. The Colombo sale of 7th September is reported by_ Carton and Co. as having passed off with fair competition, but some irregularity was noticeable in the case of fine tippy broken orange pekoes, which were in rather less demand. Medium and common descriptions were about steady afc former rates, and leaf vead remained unchanged. The quality generally showed _ a falEng-off, and some very undesirable invoices «were catalogued. The entire absence of freight for Australia during the week in question was doubtless responsible to -some extent to the rather weaker tone of the market for broken orange pekoes. American buyers operated more extensively at the Calcutta Bales of 2nd September than had been the case throughout the season. Common leaf grades were then inclined to be dearer, and broken leafs were firm. Assam teas were hard to buy JUTE.— The reduction in the output of jute goods by Calcutta mills (resulting in this country in an extreme shortage of woolpacks this season) is attributed to floods combined with acute labour troubles and an abundant harvest. With cheap grain at his command the native worker is disinclined to work at the pressure he would have to work were foodstuffs dear. Arrangements were made to work short time in all mills from September to March next. Then an attempt was made by the coolie operatives to work still shorter time; this failed, and the former arrangement to work five days a week with electric light holds good. It was demanded that work should be four days a week with electric light or five days a week without it. WUNDERLICH.— At the half-yearly meeting of shareholders of Wunderlich, Ltd., which has a factory in Wellington, the directors declared an interim dividend on ordinary shares at the rate of Ssjr per cent, per annum for the half-year ended 31st August, together with the usunl dividend on preference shares at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum.