COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 74, 27 March 1912, Page 4

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

Eveuiug Post, Wednesday. During the paEt month there has been a recovery in tho local price of shipping companies' sharaa. New Zealand Shipping Company's shares sold last week at ±/13 Kh to i/13 13b, and thors is now an enquiry for thorn at £T4, with .sellers asking £15. The Union Steamship Company's shares are -also again coming ill for attention. Four weeks ago these shares were changing hands at £1 19s 6d. Sale* havo taken plrice this week at.£§ 2a 9d, and yesterday at £2 3s, with the 'demand unsatisfied. The Huddarfc Parker Proprietary, which was recently formed .rfijtov a limited liability company. ha« also ' received attention, 10s paid shares haj-ing been dealt in at' 15b l£d. Banking shares are also in good demand. For New Zealands there are enquiries at £11 2s 6d, but none are offering. The Bank's yekr ends this month, j and it in understood that tho institution < t has had another highly successful year. j This may account for the strong enquiry '■ for the shares, ponderable business has j been done in National Banks, which are on a risiug market. Sales have been effected lat £5 17s to £5 18s. Insurance stocks i remain firm, but there is little business to < report. In the miscellaneous section, Taringamutu Sawmills have a firmer teni dency, with buyers £2 8s and sellers asking 1b more. There has been a gradual rise of Golden Bay Cements up to 255, but the shared have steadied at about that figure. A lot of business has been doing in these (shares. ■ WOOL. — On the whole excellent prices were obtained for all lines of wool offered at the ordinary fortnightly local sale on Friday, indicating strong in the future of the market", notwithstanding the labour troubles at Home." In London the wool market is in a condition of suspended unirmition. until the postponed eales open o"n 11th April next. It would not be surprising if they, too, were still further postponed, for a fairly large margin was allowed for the settlement of tlie coal strike when the date was fixed, and the settleineni; is .not -yet in sight. Repdrting on things as they were at the close of the'lafit Loud6h saldsy'Dalgety's Btate that "as regards the outlook, provided matters in the coal trade Can bo successfully arranged, aud'. the longthreatened striko averted, while no fresh labour troubles intervene, prospects seem to favour a maintenance of preseut valuo. In merinos, the bulk of the clip has now been sold either here or in Australasia, 'and though business i 6 not a» good as it has been for the last two yoars, and arrivals for tha- next few -'months .will bo heavy, requirements should be sufiicie.it to account for tho balance available for public 6ale here without .material change in values. The demand for crossbredjs from the United States seems likely to be maintained, at any rate for the next few months, which should help- to maintain present values, as fiUpplieVaf' this class of wool will be heavy for the next two series. We have come to a time of yoar which iss frequently a difficult one for this market, as although the colonial sales are over to a large extent, yet heavy drafts against, purchases, in Australasia always have to bo, met in the early months of the year, and if manufacturers find difficulty in making sales, there is apt to be & temporary lock-uji of capital and a coirasponding diminution of purchasing power Until some clearances have been effected. So far, however, as can be 6een at present, the likelihood of trouble- from this cause fleems less than' usual:' 1 ■"It has boen calculated that tho loss sustained, by tho Dominion on its wool this season, as compared with last will amount to, roughly, £1,000,000. _ The weight of^the bales this Boaeon has' been appreciably lighter, and an average for four divisions' of the soa.Bon has been made, showing the following results:—-1910-11. • • ' 1911-12. 4011bs • 3821bs 4261bs 3971bs 4171bs 4021ba * 4061bs , - 4061bs Further, it has been estimated thai there will be a reduction in value by reason of the reduction of )>eight pf to 15s per .bale, >yhich', «n \4OOJOOO 4 , bales of v wool, would amount to a 'loss of £250,000. There is, too, a shortage of some 50,000 bales production, estittiajdcl to,' be jwofth fully. £700,000. This",, together with tfto loss in weight per bale, aud tho lower values of this season, <compn rod with last, will; it is believed, make a totxil deficit of" a million sterling or thereabouts on wool production for the whole of tho Dominion. _ Tho 'figures were brought' under the notice of several experts in the trade, who did not question their accuracy. In the Wellington district, they said, the wool had been Tighter in weight owing to the lateness of the yolk . rising, due to unfavourable weather at the beginning. Wellington's wool production, it is understood, will bo fully £250,000 less this season than last. At tho sale to bo held in London* on 11th April, the offering has been limited to 250,000 bales— the March 4 sales were to have had a total • catalogue of 191,500 bales, which was about 42,000 less than was offered at the corresponding sales in March last. In "ordinary circumstances ;the quantity now available would have' been taken up readily by the trade. There were 13,000 bales carried forward from the January to the # postponed March sales. Dalgety's statistics of wool exports in bales from Australasia from Ist July to 29th February is as follows:'—' • • • • 1911-12. 1810-11. 1908-10. Commonwealth 1,750,212 1,058,447 1,615,(508 New Zealand ... 330,456 367,608 390,854 8,089,008 2,020,005 2,000,402 N.Z. decrease ... 28,152 23,240 — HEMP. — The low rates ruling for hemp are attributed to the labour crisis in the United Kingdom. The market is particularly quiet at the time of writing. Business is very hard to do; £18 10s per ton (to millers) is reported as the highest price that can be obtained for good-fair grade, with £17 for fair.- There is still a keen demand for tow' at last week's prices. DAIRY PRODUCE.— The butter market is still very unsettled so far as local requirements are concerned. Factories are holding out for 12|d to 13d per lb, and in some quarters it .-is feared that if the London market continues to hold up producers may prefer to extend the exporting^ season. Buyers are holding off m anticipation of prices going- lowur. Business with South 1 Africa has beon extremely difficult to do, at the present values, and a very large proportion of tho ti'ade has gone to Victoria, which hat., moreover, tho. advantage of direct shipment to Durban' and Capetown. Factory owners, nowUhat miUteru political appear to.be a Htfcle'.more settled, are expcotinpr.tlw .Waste Etflduits Bill to be given oifecfc to, -in order- that the fullest advantage .may „'his. gamed 1 from milk byproduote. f Exports, of from the Commonwealth for the* •"'lliendd ( from let July, 1911/ to • 23r4~March" Approximately were as' follow:—' " - 1911-12' ... o, 27,109 '1910-11 <r. './. , "35,8,61 • 1909-10 24,89b 1908*9 ... . r 13,637 The market for! chtieso" remains vecy firm, and 61d pur lb f.o.b. has been paid for prompt shipment. Premiums for mediums for domestio. consumption range from 6ijd 'to 6j)il. Experiments mado on the London market with buttor in which boric acid was used. as. a preservative were recently conducted by the Victorian Government, pitrt of the 'buttor frpm many factories being sent to London and part retained for comparison in Melbourne A cablegram was'< r'e'ebive'd' by ' the Victorian Export Produce Department stating that the poihtfs -mado, out of a possible 50 points, \vore , as , follow : — With preservative, maximum 49 and minimum 40; average 44.44. Without, maximum 46 and minimum 40); average 42.32. At tho then market value tho butter with preservative realised 8s per owt moro than that without. MEAT. — There id reported to be an an active c.i.f. demand for lamb, sid being paid for Canterbury, March-April shipment. For North Island lamb the demand in not so keep,, 'owing to heavy supplies already in London and afloat. For North Inland mutton, 3£d c.i.f., has been paid. Kuporting on the 15th Dalgety tLondon) stated that the demand for both New Zealand mutton and lamb has been ■ very disappointing during the past week, and, contrary to. expectations, prices had i fallen id to id pef-lb. This wa« partly.

dna to tho advent of close, "muggy" weather .and , to ijie retail butchers [having laid iv cunoideiable stocks during a. cold snap. Tho high, p'rieos adced lor Kew Zealand albo _a^euteti tho oaia. Australian carcases being '(ftis&er than Now Zealand, and also iiv 'ISBHed supply, werp firm. Stocks ol Kew ' 2<£?island mutton and lamb were then still -aJiAoSt entirely,. composed of North Island "dsltsfses, Canterbury being too ecarco to be quoted. GROCERIES— CabIed reports received by local housi* go 'to show that prices ior pepper ure ; very firm, -and that the tonddency is to .advance. Tapiooa and sago remain unchanged. No alteration is reported'in prices- ruling last ' week* for dedicated coooanui. All quotations for new season's Singapore canned pineapple-s ha\e been withdrawn. Quotations for nutmegs havo also beon withdrawn. Indian coife© has advanced by £2 10e per ton during the week. How the great colliers' strike is affecting prices of foodstuff at Home may be gauged by a cable received thxß week by a local house stating that split peas had advanced 25s per ton in consequence of the heavy demands made upon all similar foodstuffs. A rise of 5s per ton is reported on all salts for manufacturing and table purposes. Nixey's blacklead house has faken over Hargraves' "Ocean" washing blue (Hull). Mr. Dickson, representing Nixey's, is at present travelling through New Zealand, utrengthening his firm's, relations with Dominion distributing houses. TEA —The Colombo sales olosod on 19th March with an easier market for common teas; but all grades of fine teas were firmer. Tho weakening of the market for common teas is attributed to the fact that at the end of tho Calclutta season supplies of all common, btalky teas were excessivo, and buyers for all markets fought shy of them. In order to dispose of them, lower prices had to bo taken. The effect of this state of things is reflected in the Colombo market. "• PRODUCE.— The oat market has firmed considerably since" a demand for London has set in; also sinco reports of bad '•weather having affected the Southland crop have gained currency. Prices havo advanced id to Id per bushel, according to sample. Other lines are on about the same levol as last week. OlLS.— Castor-oil Ims advanced Id per gallon during the week. Linseed oil lias advanced 2d per gallon during tho week. The Vacuum Oil Co. is loading in New York for N.Z. ports the steamer AngloSaxon. Sho is due about July naxt, and will' be followd by another steamer, the departure of which is nojt^yot fixed. FAR JBASTERN Merchants in Melbourne, who havo been counselled by the Argus with reference to trade in the Straite and the Far East, appear to agree that, the current freight rates from Australia are a heavy before the further development of trade between the Commonwealth and the East. Early last year they enjoyed low rates, and believed that, when the ■Dutch Packet Company came into the •trade they would • soon possess a direct •line to Singapore and a throo-weekly service to all the main Eastern ports Recently, although the opportunities for trade have multiplied, owing to the strong disposition in the Philippines to take Australian flour and the growing demand for Australian butter, the' freight charges have been increased, and 'an understanding has been arrived at between the three companies which control a great deal of tho tonnage in tho Eastorn trade — .Messrs. Burns, Philp and Co. ; the Dutch Royal Packet S.N. Cq,; and Messrs. A. Currio and Co. As 'the outcome of this understanding, the freight on flour for certain Eastorn ports is double what it was in July- last year., the increases | mounting steadily upwards asyfollows: — |' "•-. Date.. k' ■ Per Toir&f Flour. 'July 1911 7 6 and Sept., 1911 ■ „.■ ... 'lO 0 •Oct., Nov., and Dec, 1911 ... 12 6 .Jan., 1912, and onwards ... 15 0 "To some Eastern ports the, freight v is 16s 6d a ton. The position of Victoria-u traders with Singapore is rendered the difficult by^roason of tho centralisation,of shipping: ! in Sydney.' ;,They have $x> takei just. so much £j?aco as Svd*£ey competitors, -care to leaVeMhem. \'X bis at times moans' very littleSiiJdeedL ', n.s regards the Shanghai trade', riaye neoeaearilyto play .second fiddle. 'The ■New South Wales Government pays a subsidy of £3900 a year to 'the Eastern and Australian Company for a service which in the ordinary course will come up for review thie year. The freights from the United States and Canada are as follow : — To Japan, 8s 4d per ton; Hongkong, 10s sd ; Shanghai, 12s 6d ; Manila, 14s 7d.