WOOL SALES

Evening Star, Issue 12418, 3 February 1905, Page 4

WOOL SALES

cross-Brsd down id to i*d. •'. The thiru of the present , season’s senes of wool .sales was held at the Agricultural Hall Buildings to-day. Since the last sale in Dunedin; on January 13, cable advices have reported a drop in the Homo market on the high prices then ruling for tho coarser wools. Tnere was consequently a good deal of interest evinced to see how far the local market would be affected. ?j? C the selling firms show that ij • .cross-bred wools is variously estimated at from fd lb to ijd lb, while thefiner wools (half-bred and inerino) show change from the rates ruling at the last sale held hero. Pieces and bellies, too, are realising prices about equal to those then obtained. The attendance of buyers was very large—larger than at Ser t es ~('‘ n d ; one new Home buyer at least made his first appearance at this innrket. As far lils could be judged, the American demand was not in so much, evideride Us at last sale, but the. buyers for the local mills, Roslyn and Mosgiel, secured a fair proportion of the offerings. Other New Zealand nulls—Kaiapoi and Oamaru, for instance—did not appear to be represented at this sate. To-day’s bidding seemed to indicate that buyers for shipment, though not prepared to give tho prices for coarse wools ruling three weeks ago, are anxious to purchase at their telegraphed limits, whatever they may bo. To that extent the bidding was particular!? bright for all good, clean, and well-classed lines.

The total offerings to-day were 6;455 bales, comparing with 6,852' bales offered at the corresponding sale last year. The offerings by the respective firms were as follow:

Wright, Stephenson, and Co. 2,050 Donald Reid and Co ... 1,161 Dalgety and Co 1,’093 New Zealand Loan and Mercantile... 940 Otago Fanners’ Co-operative ... .„ 470 Stronach, Morris, and Co M 331 National Mortgage and Agency _ 320 A. Moritzson and Oo „ 60 6,465 Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. report as follows :—The third series of wool sales for the present season whs held at the Victoria Hall to-day, when 6,466 bales were submitted. Our catalogue consisted of 2,050 bales. There was, if anything, a greater attendance of buyers than at the last series, but the sale was in marked contrast with that held in January. For the choicest of merino wools and super half-breds, suitable for the American demand, and for the local factories, indeed, competition was quite as keen, if not keener; but for all descriptions of medium and low cross-breds, as well as heavy-con-ditioned three-quarter-breds and merinoes, the bidding lacked animation. As regards these qualities, buyers have apparently lost confidence in the future of the market, and evince no anxiety to operate in them, except at prices showing a decline of Id to ltd per lb. The highest-priced lots on onr catalogue were: Merilib—Sixteen bales of first combihg merino ewe. from the wellknown Argyle Station, Waikaia, ll|d. Half-bred —Thirteen bales, branded 2F, at 11W ; and nine bales, marked half-circle over Greenvale, ll|d. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company report that their offerings to-day were 940 bales, out of which they only passed eighty-one bales. This result is considered very satisfactory, in view, of the decided decline in the market since the last sale. Altogether, their sale, even in the case of cross-bred wools, was rather beyond their expectations, while in tlie case of fine wools prices were quite as good as those ruling at last sale. For pieces and bellies very satisfactory rates were realised. Judging by their catalogue, the average drop in cross-bred wool would seem to be from lb to §d lb. In some cases the drop was over the latter figure, which, of the two mentioned, is probably nearer the mark. In half-bred wool prices were much about on a par with those ruling at last sale, while the demand for merino was, if anything, better than at last sale. , Average. pieces suffered a drop of from id to id lb. As teleghipbed reports from the Home market indicated that there had been a drop of lid lb on heavy crossbred wools. The bulk of their catalogue was composed of medium cross-bred; with a fair proportion of merino and half-bred. The top price realised. was 10jd lb for cross-bred, lb lor half-bred, ahd lOd lb for merino, though of the last-mentioned class they did not offer any very, choice lines.

The National Mortgage .and Agency Company offered a catalogue of 310 bales, which they cleared with the exception of four lots. The bulk of . the wool was cross-bred, a fair proportion being half-bred and merino. They report a drop of from |d lb to lb m cross-bred wool, while rates about equal to those realised at the last sale, were obtained for half-bred and merino, and also for bellies and pieces. Their top price for crOSs-brted was brought by 10 fames bf hoggets branded 1.6. (Waiwera), which realised 10id lb, ind ll bales cross-bred ewe of the same brand brought 9|d. Other cross-bred links sold were: T.tL cofajoiried, 5 tailed; at 9|d; J. sin circle, 6 bales of ewes’, at 9d; T _ over half-circle, 5, at 9d; H. M. conjbihed, 16 df ewes’, rtt 9id; do, 3of hoggets’; at B|d: Y.V., 5; at 9d; Anchor, 2, at 9d. In three-qilarter-bred, 23 bales of Greenfield brough B|d. In half-bred their top price was 9 id, realised by 2 bales of H.E.S.; . other halfrbted lots were R in circle, 4 bales, at and 4 W., 2 bales, at Bid. In merino the top price was 9|d for 4 bales, 11 under half-circle. Fourteen bales of first combings Romney, brand B over Wyndham, realised 9£d.