COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 91, 19 April 1911, Page 4

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

.Evening Post Office, Wednesday. "Political uncertainty" is the reason assigned by Jones and Buzacot, brokers, ; Sydney, for investors holding their hands. ( Money seeking investment continues to ; be very plentiful in Sydney, and gilt-edged investment etocks, with one or two excep- ¦ tions, have appreciated in value to such an gxtsnt that only an extremely moderate rate of interest is secured to investors at present prices. Much money is ! going into amusementa of various kinds, and brokers are now warning their clients • that this kind of thing will shortly be overdone if a check is not made now. The Australian Federal revenue for the nine months ended 31st March amounted to £12,780,000, of which £9,856,463 came through the Customs and excise. It is expected _ that the increase from all sources will be a million and a half above the estimate by the end of the June quarter. How much the revenue has grown may be learned from the following figures lot the nine months ended 31st March: — Customs. Post Office. £ £ 1910 ... 8,738,143 2,730,702 1911 ... 9,856,463 2,923,013 Increase 1,118,320 192,311 ,- A — The Argus, in referring to the banking , returns of Australia for the March quarter, points put that "while bank balances are increasing enterprise awaite political events with uncertainty. Capital is kept in the most liquid form, ready to take flight at any further overt demonstration against it." The latest returns of Australian production show that goods to the value of £174,509,000 have been produced by the primary and secondary industries of the Commonwealth for the year ended 31st March. This by a population of 4£ millions. New South Wales is responsible for_ one-third of this created wealth, Victoria and Queensland being second and third producers respectively. * „ Wunderlich,,Ltd., whioh has a factory in. Wellington, made a net profit for the year ended 28th February of £23,916, compared with £21,961 for the previous yeai'. • The- reserve- fund has-been- brought nip* to £25,000, £1000 has been allotted for staff bonus- and pensions, and 7 -per .cenk preference and 9 per cent, ordinary dividend has been paid, with £1649 carried forward. "J " "-',„. * j\-" -The New South Wales Government Savirfgs Bank commissioners' repofS* shows excess of deposits over advances of '£1,492,032; which, together with interest, increases depositors' balances to £1,887,378. JJChe^ expense ratio, of management , was 9s sj7d-per cent., 1 as against 10s 8.9 d per .cent, for' the previous year. The profit, for the year was £27,275, as against £7790 in 1910. The bank has advanced to settlers •£933,884. MEAT. — The London frozen meat market continues dull for mutton^ although there has .been an Easter spurt -in -lamb. Prices to-day, however, show a heavy decline -with a year ago. They are (as ' orjJ3aturtiay) as follow: — '} 1910. 1911. Lamb — North Island ... 4 15-16 d 4|d Canterbury „. 5 3-16 d 5d Mutton l - - ' . North Island ... 31d 3£d Canterbury ... 4 3-16 d 3|d Quantities of mutton and lamb for the .United Kingdom, frgm and Ngw Zealand ..combined, .in stoya -and „ afloat, are exceptionally heavy. South America", too, is a heavy exporter thiß season. Lower pricfes seem -to be inevitable, notwithstanding the improved trade conditions of Britain. Beef, according to the High Commissioner's cable, is now weaker owing *to full supplies from the River Plate. Reports ,of the first consignment of mutton and lamb from the new Waipawa _Meat Works are exceedingly encouraging. _ Messrs. H. S. Fitter and Co. made" special displays of the meat, it is said, _at their stalls at Manchester and Birmingham, and the provincial centres, and the article attracted the favourable notice of buyers. WOOL.— Winchcombe, Carson, Ltd., Sydney, in • their annual report on the wool trade, complain of unattractive getup of clipa, causing a hesitancy on thft part of buyers. Burr was also responsible for low prices. The- season was remarkable for the run on fine merinos. Wools that hung fire were short faulty clips. France and Germany were -Australia's chief customers for wool. The report further states:— Our trade with the East ¦ is as yet practically confined to Japan. A few small orders have been executed for China, but that country's share in the wool clip of Australia is at present insignificant.. Meanwhile -Japan is widening the character of her trade. She paid th« season's record price for merinos at the ¦ Sydney sales. * THe *wobl purchased included merino fleece at 16^d. American jbuyers have been disaopointing. The purchase dwiridled down from 25,000 bales and 27,000 bales for the past two seaeons to 5000 bales for the season just finished. Daigety's table of wool exports for th» nine months ended 31st March are as follows:— ' 1910-11. 1909-10. Bales. Bales. i Commonwealth ... 1,782,632 1,745,640 Jstew .Zealand , 422,461 447,168 .-•..-,, ' , 2,205,093 2,192,808 .This shows an increased total export of 12,285 bales. DAIRY PRODUCE.— The local market has been disturbed by the holidays. Prices_ remain _ much as they were, but there is an easier tone, if anything, about the market. Factories will soon be considering" tha great question of output disposal- after a brief period of ' rest after the close of the season. The price of cheese keeps high, and at 63s per cwt. in London may cause dual-plant factories to i iR a y_. rather less attention to butter next season." In Australia secondary butters are hard to quit at 8d to Bgd, and ont T ofcondition butter has sold as low as 7d per pound in Melbourne. London buyers are looking out for small lines only of choicest unsalted butter. A very large quantity "of . Australian butter is finding its way into the South African markets. Shipments of butter from the Commonwealth to London from Ist July to 6th April last amounted to 39,057 tons, as compared with 27,205 tons for the corresponding period 'of 1909-10. HEMP. — The London hemp market remains steady, at unattractive prices, however. Yesterday the price to millers was for good fair grade £16 15s and for fair £15 10s to £15 15s per ton. The fair ~gr.ade market is weaker than tha good fair. Mills have been closed down for a- few days. It is understood that .the Moutoa Estate is raising royalties from 3s to 5s per ton. The reduction to 3b per ton was made in order to some extent assist millers in copingr with lower prices in London. ERUIT . EXPORTS.— Considering the •large acreage already under fruit in New -Zealand, and the additions to the orchard areas, growers in this country will no doubt be interested in Australia's rapid development of the export fruit trade. On sth March last prices realised per case of 401bs at Covent ; Garden were as follow: — Western — Jonathans, 14s 6d to 245;-- Cox's, 16s to- 24», and a few at -30g£-,p6*ri,;,88-^aa7t-o 15s. Victorian and- South -Akistrftfian — Jonathans, 12a 6d,t5 14f*; Cox's, 21s to 245; Cleopatra 12s to 16s; Wellingtons, 255; others, 9s 6d to 13s 6d; pears 8s to 10s; Tasmanian ribstones, 9s 6d to 14s 6d ; Alf riston, 8s 3d . .to 12s 6dt. Cox's, 16a.to_2Ss; scarlet Pear¦.»n»an, 10s ,to 13s 6d; -Mobbii, 9s to 12s. Many of the ribstones arrived in "spotty" and over-ripe * condition. The Victorian export for this season is .estimated to be ' 300,000 bushels, or by one steamer, the Pera, nearly. three times as large a* the I whole ( of the overseas export- from Victoria ten years ago. The .-Pera took ; 23,000 bushels. The- -total exports 'in 1900 amounted to 11,640 bußhel cases. South Australia is testing the Java market -with gra.pes. A good trade is already done by Tasmania with the East so faras apples are concerned. It is now pro- ¦ posed to enter the market with-- grapes specially packed. ior. the -trade, , Export ¦ of apples to Germany for-tbe week-ended 7cJ« April " amounted to 14,255 cases "for Hamburg from all Australian ports- and 3188 cases for Bremen, from Adelaide.

By the Tainui, from Hobart, yesterday, there arrived 12,000 bushel cases of apples for transhipment to the Arawa for Rio de Janeiro and Monte Video and Buenos Aire3. GROCERIES.— The firming tendency of all Singapore produce is maintained, and is likely to be. The Straits, like most other localities, is having its own labour troubles. A drought also accentuates the situation. Rubber plantation has not only supeiseded pineapples and other crops, but has also attracted labour by higher wages paid, and has had the effect of raising the price of coolie labour all round. First-grade Australian-grown sultanas and currants will be insufficient to meet all local requirements, and a large quantity of second-grade has had to dg taken to bring orders up to their original dimensions. Cream of tartar has receded id per lb, but the reported destruction of vines in France will probably have a firm, ing effect upon this commodity. TEA.— The Colombo auction for the week ending 11th March was considerably smaller tlian thau previous. Fine and light liquoring broken pekoes were irregular and generally easier. All common and low medium teas of both grades were in strong demand at firm to dearer rates. Dusts and farmings again met with keen competition and remained very firm. Tho quality of high grown teas generally showed a faJlmg-off. The objection was fair, PRODUCK-High prices are beingpaid m Sydney for blight-clean potatoes. In all probability there will be but few, if any, lines of Australian available for New Zealand this season. Large quantities of Tasmanian potatoes arriving at Australian ports are being condemned for Irish blight._ Most of the southern growers have disposed of their wheat, the holders being men who can well afford to wait for a better market. Southern merj chants are buying oats outside, in order to fill local requirements. The oat market continues strong. AIJ prime potatoes are in strong demand, much trouble being experienced ir> the Oamaru district with the grub. THE JUTE MARKET.— Gilland.ers, Arbuthnot and Co., Calcutta, reporting on 'sth March, state that the outstanding feature of the market has been the paucity of buyers. In spite of this mills have maintained a firm front and have shown no to force sales or to reduce their rates. The prevailing idea is that though there may be sufficient jute, there cannot be a big enough surplus to allow of any material .drop in rates before the new crop is available, and that if the gunny market does not of itself advance soas to show mills a manufacturing profit on, the price of their jute, more mills will have to olose down, and that in this eventuality there mast be a short production and a rising market. Meantime business is depressingly quiet, no buyers and sellers waiting. Even the enquiry for packs from Australia has ceased for the time being. The market may be described as closing quiet but steady. Latest cables show that shippers are unloading wool packs at Id to 3d under millers' quotations. OILS. — The cost of turpentine, according to the Vacuum Oil Company's report has reached the highest limit known for many years. Pratt's is still quoted at 5s 9d per gallon. Prices for illuminating and other oils handled by the company are unchanged. J