COMMERCIAL.

Evening Star, Issue 12865, 14 July 1906, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

MONEY AND MARKETS.

(For continuation see Late Shipping.)

Mr B. C. Aston, chief of the chemistry division of the Deoartmeni of Agriculture l feels very gratified with the result of his analysis of four roots of sugar beet, grown at the Government's experimental farm in the Waikato. Four samples were received in Wellington, all well-formed, hard, white roots. The analysis is : No. 1, 51b, 16.1 per cent, of 6ugar; No. 2, 521b, 14.25 per cent. ; No. 3, 4£lb, 16.7 per cent. ; No. 4, 3£lb, 16.46 per cent. " The striking thing," says Mr Aston, " is the very large weight, combined with the high percentage of sugar."

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright

LONDON, Jnly 13. The Bank of England returns show the stock of gold coin and bullion to be £55.906,000; reserve, £25,747.000; r>roDortion of reserve to liabilities, 48.45. The notes in circulation total £30,069 000; public deposits. £7,166,000; other deposits, £45,902.000; Government securities, £15.977,000; sad other securities. £29,408,000.

Three months' bills are discounted at 3£ per cent.

Consols are quoted at £B7 17s 6d. The following are the quotations for colonial Government stocks, compared with those ruling a week previous :

The wheat markets are quiet, but steady. Cargoes are firmly held. Victorian arid New South Wales afloat is offered at from 31s to 31s 3d. and Adelaide July-August shipment at 32s 6d. 'The Times' estimates the condition, of the British crop at 96 per cent, of the average. The flour market is flat. A reduction of a shilling has taken place b the nrice of American patent floor, and this is likel-o-to further reduce tlte demand for the Australian article.

CoDoer : Spot, £79 ss; tlhree months, £7B 15s.

Tin : Three months, £165 17b 6d. Lead, £l6 6s 3d. The imoorte amounted to 16,480 tons; Australasian. 4,845 tons. The exports amount to 5,401 tons.

Pig iron, 50s. The srtffar market is otiiet. German, 8s 4d; first marks, 10s sd. The Bradford wool market is decidedlv better. The _ inquiry for merinoes is barely maintained, but crces-breds are firm. Quotations are unchanged. The butter market is stead v. and nrioes aro unchanged. There is little demand for colonial butter, and the bulk of the recent arriv.-jHs has been stoned. The nrincinal business is beincr done in Fiborian hn.tt<M\ which is arriving at the rate of 30.000 boxes per week. The cheese market is quiet. New Zealand, 60s to 645. At the wool sales the Gear rTro realised Is per lb and the Carvcssa 13-J-d.

(Received July 14. at 9 27 a.m.)

At the kauri gum soles 1,157 cases were offered, and 250 sold. Good sorts were firm •, others were neglected; three-quar-ters scraped, £7.

THE OAMARU MARKETS

JFbom Oct. Own OojutasroNnKHT.' l

.OAMARU, July 14.

Another quiet week has been experienced in the grain market, and transactions have for the most part been confined to small lots. Thp chief'sale recorded was one of over 1,000 sacks of redchaff wheat at 3s 4d,. less commission, on tracks at a country station. A small lot of the same variety was quitted at 3s 3d at a country station, and several small lots of velvet were taken at the same price. For a parcel of mixed Tuscan and velvet 3s <W at a country station was given, and a mixed line of the same, varieties of seconds quality found a buyer at 3s, delivered in Oamani. Sales in oats have been limited to small lots which have ben taken it 2s s£d, f.o.b. There has been some'hing of a revival in potatoes, and tab's Oerwents have been selling fairly freely H from £lO to £lO 10s, f.0.b., the pur-

chases being.mainly on North Island account: There is no inquiry for seed Derwents, but Up-to-dates have been sold at £l2 on trucks at Oamaru.

THE SOUTHLAND MARKETS.

[Special to the Stab,] INTEKOARGILL, July 14. The Southland grain market might have almost ceased to have been a grain market dur.ng the past month, for the most of the business done has been the supplying of quotations which have led to very little, if any, business. It is now perfectly clear to all the local brokers that the price of oats was rattled up too quickly, and one result has been the importation of maize by Auckland consumers, and thus their trade has been lost to Southland. Merchants have been offering their stocks in various markets recently, but from all quarters the reply is the same—quotations too high—and they are now living in the hope that the Victorian supplies will not last until their harvest, ae reported, and leave no surplus in that colony for export to New South Wales. In addition to this, it is generally thought that the spring deliveries will not be. so heavy as usual, and there two factors may keep the price steady. To-day r s quotations' are purely nominal, as no business is being done, to farmers 2s on trucks is the very best offer for B grade, whi!o the stuff eom'ing in below that grade is so mixed that it is worth anything from Is Bd. Deliveries during the paet week or two have been very light to the Bluff, thonjrh the railways returns show that 14.091 sacks were carried on the Southland section last week. This season's total now stands at 258,621 sacks, or 85,979 sacks less than the total for the eaane period last year. These figures, however, represent all grain carried on the railways jn Southland, and in consequence include other than that carried to the Bluff. The chaff market is very quiet, and sales are only being made from hand to mouth at la«t week's quotations. The wheat market is also quiet, the bulk of the milling wheat threshed being already delivered. During the past week two small lines of fair milling have changed hands at os and 3s Id, on trucks, and this is about the market quotation to-day. Fowl wheat is plentiful, with only a fair demand, at 2s 8d to 2s 94 ' Th R potato market remains firm, Up-to-Dates felling freely, but Derwents are not, wanted at last quoted rates.

THE WOOL SALES.

Messrs Dalgety and Co. report having recxaved the following cable from their head office, dated London. 12th July : "The wool sates continue without further change- The decline is chief!v on inferior and faulty qualities of merino woo] e<nd scoured merino wools."

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Ap-ency Company are in receiot of the following cable advice from their London oitioo : —" The sales a.re procrossing fairly wed. Since the clew of last sales the prices are lower for cross-bred scoured by Id to l s rl, crtss-bred lambs by to Id."

ENGLAND'S GOLD RESERVE.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

t _, ,-, u LONDON, July 13. Lord Goßchefn, speaking at, the jubilee dinner of the National Discownt Company, said that Great Britain s small gold reserve would be insufficient in the event of war or m any other great crisis. FRESNO COPPER MINE.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

LONDON, July 13. (Received Jnly 14. U 9.56 There is much excitement on the Scotch exchanges over the experts’ report stating the worthlessness of the Fresno coiKier mme. which was floated in 1902 in Edinburgh with a capital of £400,C00.

A HIGHLY-PRICED RAM.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

LONDON, July 13. (Received July 14, at 8.51 a.m.) The first prize winner for rams at the Roval Agricultural Show was sold for 1,450 guineas for the Argentine.

July 6. Julvl3. New South Wales 4'g ... ~ 108 108 New South Wales 3£'s .„ ~ 100 100 New South Wales 3's _ .- 88 88 Victorian 4's ~. 1C2{102i Victorian 3s's ~ 99 99 Victorian ,3's „, _ 88 88 South Australian 3^'s ... 101£ 101 South Australian 3'a ... ... 88i 88* Queneland 4's ... _ _ ~ 105X 10>i Queensland 3j's... _ ... ~ 98-J 98A. Queensland 3's „ ~ 86*. 86i New Zealand 4's ... „. ._ 106 106 New Zealand 3Vs ~. ... .„ 100£ 100-A New Zealand 3*'s _ ._ — 89 89 Tasmanian 3i's ... _ _. _. 99 99 Tasmanian 3's ... ... ... „ 88 88 W«si Australian JJ's „. 99 9ft West Australian 3's ... 88 88