COMMERCIAL

Evening Star, Issue 16996, 19 March 1919, Page 6

COMMERCIAL

WOOL SALES. CONDITIONS ON REOPENING. Prass Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Delayed in transmission.) LONDON, March 6. {Received March 19, at 8.50 a.m.) Public auctions of Australian and New Zealand wools will bo resumed in London on April 2, when 62,000 bales of combing wools and 20,000 bales of clothing wools, will be offered. These include representative selections, and will bo open for full homo competition, also to a limited extent for buyers from allied countries. The sales will resolve into a competition between homo trade firms, subject to a fixed reserve price. Frequent auctions will be held during the remainder of the year. Offerings wiu bo regulated by the trade’s capacity to absorb the wool. The Government’s issue price will be lowered 7j, per cent, on April 1, and will remain in force till the end of November. NEW YORK, March 14. Three million two hundred thousand pounds of Australian greasy and 700 bales of scoured wool were sold at auction. Prices were high and bidding was active. METAL MARKETS. LONDON, March 17. Copper: Spot, £76; forward, £72-6s. Lead: Spot, £2B; forward, £25 10s. Spelter: Spot, £3B; forward, £36. Tin : Spot, £241 ss; forward, £254 ss. Silver, 47|d per ounce. COMMONWEALTH CUSTOMS RETURNS. Tho Commonwealth Customs revenue for February amounted to £1,262,826, or £14,466 better than the returns for the same month of 1918. The revenue for the eight months of the financial year now expired was £10,784,268, or an increase of £1,626,051 over that for the same period last year. Large quantities of Japanese mother-of-pearl buttons are finding their way into Great Britain. These are made from Australian shell by means of Japanese cheap labor, and are being offered at considerably below British manufacturers’ prices. This is likely to have a detrimental effect oa the Australian mother-of-pearl industry.