AUCKLAND WOOL SALE

Evening Star, Issue 21620, 16 January 1934, Page 5

AUCKLAND WOOL SALE

SPLENDID FRIGES SUPER LOT PASSED AT 25 PENCE [Peb United Pbess Association.] AUCKLAND, January 15. A clear indication of the buoyancy of the wool market was provided at the second Auckland sale, which was held in the Town Hall to-day. The upward trend of prices which characterised recent sales was largely arrested, but the levels, which were generally firm at the values established at Wellington a few days before, were 25 to 30 per cent, better than those which ruled at the opening sale at Auckland in November.

There was a steady demand from a full bench of buyers, with occasional periods of brisk bidding. The general tone appeared to indicate that the era of double-figure prices ushered in by the first sale at Auckland was firmly founded.

The catalogues comprised 25,206 bales, and there was practically a total clearance. In the case of one of the larger catalogues the passings amounted to only 1 per cent. Buyers spread their demand over all classes of wool, with the result that, while there were minor fluctuations on the latest Wellington .nates, there was at no time any quotable alteration. The coarser typos of cross-bred were inclined to be- erratic at times, and in some instances prices were a shade easier than the corresponding values at Wellington. Preliminary estimates place the average price pet lb at approximately 12Jd. On this basis the price per bale would be in the vicinity of £lB ss. The top price was paid for a line from Messrs Zimmerman Bros., Bangiriri, four bales of Southdown fleece bringing 24Jd a lb. The sensation of the dav was the passing in of the Waiti clip of Mr G. Gray, of Gowcs Bay, Waiheke, at 25d. The line comprised twenty-five bales of fine half-bred, and was passed on the bid of Messrs Murray Roberts, and Co. Ltd., who, it was reported, secured it privately at the figure offered. Germany was the outstanding individual competitor, and with Japan was responsible for most of the inquiry for fleece wools. . Bradford operators, however, came into the market much more prominently than they did at previous sales in the dominion this season, and secured a fair proportion of the offering. French interests Were quietest, but as is usual with them, they paid particular attention to lambs’ wool and piece lots. RANGE OF PRICES, The following is the range of values, with a comparison of those ruling last January:— _ r ‘

ON CREST OF WAVE ANALYSIS OF SALE [Special, to the • Stab.’] AUCKLAND, January 15. Riding the crest of the wave, Auckland wool-growers chuckled with delight to-day as the keen bidding of excited buyers at the second Auckland sale of the season indicated that, for them, the depression has been left behind, and that they are once more well on the way back to prosperous times. Bidding at first was quiet and restrained. There was hesitancy to declare at the new high values, but, once competition was started, it ran to levels quite as high as had been hoped for. CONDITION OF CLIP. After the complimentary reference to the Auckland clip as represented at the November sale, it might have been expected that to-day’s offering would receive like commendation, but such is not the case. The chairman of ! the Wool Buyers’ Association (Mr Herbert Hill), in conversation ''with a ‘ Star ’ reporter, said that the standard of the wool at this second sale was below that shown in November, and also inferior to last week’s offering in Wellington. “ It- is heavier in condition, and badly got up,” he said. “ That - is not to say that there are not some excellent clips, well got up and efficiently classed, but the bulk is capable of considerable improvement. Of the lines classed on farms, the large proportion are poorly skirted, and there are very many of the smaller clips that have not been classed at nil.” These remarks did not apply to wool classed in the brokers’ stores. _ In ibis connection it should be emphasised that the practice of bringing wool into the city stores to be classified is steadily growing, and to-day there was a larger proportion so dealt with than at previous fixtures. Evidently it is a policy that should be still further extended. SOURCE OF BUYING. The class of wool offered to-day did not attract so wide a range of buying, as did that at Wellington, being generally of lower standard. Demand was restricted to those countries requiring this-special class. Germany and France are keen bidders for short, stubbv wools, and they were especially prominent., Japan was in the market for.

evenly jgraded wools of both fine and coarse types. America will not touch unskirted wools, while the local mills were again strong competitors for a small proportion of the finer _ wools available: but when final shipping instructions are received, it will probably be found that, as usual, a big proportion will be marked with the destination Bradford, still pre-eminent as the world’s great wool centre. “Taken altogether,” remarked one broker, “ buying seemed to be evenly distributed, and this, may be accepted as a good sign for the general stability of the market. At Wellington it was reported that the Continental buyers were largely predominant, and while this trend continued, there was the fear that values might not be sustained. In this respect he considered that to-day’s sale was better than Wellington’s. CATALOGUE AND ORDER OF SALE. Dalgety and Co., 7,988 bales: Abraham and Williams, 3,634; Alfred Buckland and Sons, 1,941; Farmers’ Cooperative Auctioneering Company Ltd., and North Auckland Farmers’ Co-op-erative, 5,504; Loan and Mercantile Agency Ltd., 6,139; total, 25,206. OLD WOOLS SELL WELL. When wool was in the doldrums many farmers were warned that by holding on to their wool, its condition would suffer materially, but this does not seem to have been borne out by to-day’s sale, where clips that had been held back for several seasons realised satisfactory prices, as instance the following figures realised for a clip several years old: Fine cross-bred, 15}d; medium crossbred, 13|d; coarse cross-bred, 12d; medium B cross-bred, 13d; coarse B cross-bred, lOd; medium hogget, 15d; first pieces, lOd ; bellies, 9d ; first.lambs, I6}d; second lambs, 10}d. EXTENT OF RISE. • Compared with the first-sale of the season, held in November, when Auckland led the way for the dominion.in thjs sensational wool revival, prices are probably up from 25 to 30 per cent., and are three times as high as they were at this time last year. “ The most notable feature of today’s’sale,” said a leading broker, “is the wonderful demand for coarser and rather rough to average type of wools. These met with keen and widespread demand at good payable prices, whereas a year ago they were virtually unsaleable ” SOME SPECIAL CLIPS.

Amongst the outstanding clips was that sent in by T. L. Vining, of Mangataugi, comprising Corriedales > and Ealf-breds. Ot the Corriedalcs, thirteen bales realised 24d; nine bales of hogget, 19}d to 20d; twelve bales of half-bred, 23d; and five bales of cross-bred, 21}d; while bellies and pieces realised !6}d. ‘ S. Allen, of Coromandel, obtained I9|d for cross-bred owes, and 14}d for 8.5.;. W. Julius Hyde, of Takapau Point, secured 21d for half-bred, 15d to 18d for cross-bred, and 7}d for crutchings- .. Another very well grown clip was that of E. L‘. Tucker, of Ohinevvai, whose prices were: Fine cross-bred, 17d, medium hogget 16d, medium cross-bred 143 d, coarse cross-bred 13d, B crossbred 10}d. Gordon H. Wood, of Waimangu, had the following returns: —Half-bred 24}d, fine cross-bred 21}d, medium cross-bred 183 d, bellies and pieces 123 d, lambs !s}d. . Waiheke was, as usual, well to the fore in the prices realised for J. and D. Gray’s clip, shorn on that island. 25d was offered and refused for twenty-two bales of fine half-bred ewe wool. In the same entry half-bred hogget and wether each realised 21}d, bellies 17d, pieces 19}d, second pieces and locks 10}d. EXCHANGE PROBLEM.

The opening sale of the present season returned £029,694; to-day’s fixture may furnish over £400,000, so that, with the third sale still to come, the season’s total should come reasonably close to the figures ruling in the boom period. It must not be forgotten that exchange of 25 per cent, between London and New Zealand plays a part in the high prices paid to-day. The farmers are getting the benefit at the moment, but the swelling of the credit balances in London, through to-day’s high prices, will intensify the problems of the Government^

Jan., 1934. Jan, ., 1933. Super fine half-bred— d 50-56 ... to 25 to d 124 Medium half-bred, 50-56— 10 to 11 Super ... to 21 Average ... 194 to 205 .9 to 9| Interior ... 174 to 19 7 to 9 Cross-bred, 44-46— 65 Super ... 13 to 15 04 to Average ... Hi to 12J 44 to 55 Interior ... 8 to 11 3 to 44 Coarse cross-bred, 40-44— 4 to 45 Super ... 114 to 12 Average ... 10 to 11 34 to 4 Inferior ... 65 to 92 2 to 35 Low cross-bred, 36-50— Super ... 10 to 11 3 to 35 Average ... 8i to 9J Inferior ... 65 to 8i 2 to 3 Hoggets —i Extra super half-bred 20 to 214 8 —. Half-bred ... 16} to 20 to 1U4 Fine 14 to 17 6 to 84 Medium ... 11 to 14 5 to 64 Coarse ... 9J to 12 34 to 45 Lambs— . ,,. Down ... 14 to 145 6 75 Fine, 46-50 12i to 16| to Medium, to 44-46 11 to 12 3 5 Seedy and to inferior 55 to 12 1 5 Bellies and pieces, cross-bred— to 45 Good to sup. 9i to 14 3 Low to ined. ' 6i to 9 2 to 3 Half-bred 155 to 19J Crutchings--34 Med. to good 65 to 85 24 to Inferior to ili seedy 5 to 6i 14 to Locks — f to 14 Cross-bred 6 to 6J 1