COMMERCIAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 3200, 17 April 1871, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

LyiteUm Times Office, Saturday Evening,

The Customs revenue collected at Christchurch and Lyttelton to-day amounted to £144 Is 6d.‘ ’ The following were the items: !&1 St? 4480 lbs, £lB 135,4 d; hats and caps, 2 cases, £4 5s 6d; blankets, 1 bale, £2 9s 6d; hardware, 1 cwt, 2 qrs, 6s; cayenne pepper, 1 case, 5s 3d; castor oil, 2 cases. lls 8d; cornflour,- 3 cases, I3s; brush ware, l ease, 7s; nutmegs, 28 Ihs, 7s; moleskin trouses, l ease, £1 6s 3d.

Sydney. -The Herald of April 6 reports: —There was a slight, improvement in the import market' to-day, a fair amount of business haying been .done both by auction and by private sales. .The cargo of teas ex Byron was offered by Messrs Stubbs and Co;, and a larger quantity changed hands than at any previous, sale. of. .the. season. ~ Medium congues brought £5 2s to £6' 2s ; orange pekoes Is iod per lb. A quantity of Mau ritius and Bourbon sugars were quoted at prices ranging up to >£4l 10s for fine white crystals. The breadstuffa market wus easier owing to the receipt -of Adelaide telegrams reporting a decline there, wheat being quoted at 5s 6d. Bulk ale was iu more demand at. late fates. Spirits inactive. The sugar mar- 1 ket is hardening again, as holders areencouraged by news pf a movement in Melbourne. Teas are in be ter demand. The loss of the Hindu, bound . for .Dunedin, w tht the only cargo of last (season’s crop intend d for New Zealand, is likely to cause some; inquiry for tfiat market , Melbourne.— The Argus of April 8 re-i ports Nothing of the slightest interest was allowed to transpire lithe imp rt markejts to-day, as op.the-evp . of j the holidays no disposition whatever was evinced to entertain any transact ons. In breadstuffs we hear of a moderate trade demand fpr, flour at £l4 lss' to £ 1 5, and small parcels have been moved offat our quotations. Bor Adelaide wheat we continue .to quote eg 64,t0. (is 9d, but no.gre.at demand is.pxpe fenced ; holders' are less ip-' dined to press sales at these quotations than} yesterday, but that is all that cun be said. Under the hammer, Tasmanian wheat pf ra. her poor quality was got rid of at 5s 7d ,to Ss lOd. A,good demand for trade purposes' has existed for oats, at 3s sd to 3s 7d and: 3s Bd. By auction, sales were effected at prices ranging from 3s 4d to 3s ,8$ 1. the latter being for seed. Sales of maige are made to a fair extent at .4s ad o 4s 3d la general trade, business is extremely qui.it,, the utmost lassitude, having pervaded the mat ket throughout the day. Medium to low' medium teas are begin >ing to attract wore, attention; although we have no act ,al sales, to report, jet we Pear of unimproved inquiry springing up at from 16d to 16d. Sales of. currants are made more freely, and 4jd;iH now readily got for prime samples. We hear of some 20d cases Devoe’s kerosene oil having changed bands, to arrive, on private, terms. Oo the spot, 2 4d to 2s 4jd is asked, but the business done is limited, Iu liqu|d.s little has transpired for the last few nays. Hennessy’s pale brandy, in I ulk, is offering at 6s ud to s, .but wlhout leading to any sales of a special .character. The Austialasian of Aprils has the fol lowing> - hq pro luce markets this week have been less active, and appear as if thel continued tise which hap been.,reported for, several weeks, being tod premature and tool rapid, was about to receive a check. The comnie cement of a reaction has been a prominent feature, and though the decline as yet is trifling, it is generally supposed that lower rates must rule before a oh nge for’ the better of a more permanent character takes place. The week opened out with great h aviness, hut it was not nntil near the • lose that any actual .change in the price of breads utfs coul I be reported. Sales of flour were certainly quoted at atrifle less money, but ibese,-being were not tsk n as a criterion; Transactions in both Victorian and Adelaide brands ha e, as a, rule, been of limited extent, and hairing all the indication of a> determination on the part of dealers not to < pu ciase any thing beyond what'■ their actual hJcea«iues forced upon them; Quota .ion* have generally stood at £l6 for good coun ry bran a uf Adelald though' in one instance wshadc «n»(pr was takedi when the eoncession of 50 lons in a line I YicioMtui has ato lu-i-n disposed of at £ls iu trade parcels. For a parcel of Monnt Gambler sold early in th- , week, £<4 16s was realised- But,though*

good dealof heaviness has pervaded the market tor a few days past, it was not until yesterday that a definite reduction wa> conceded in our quotations, and the week closes at £l4 15s to £l6, with a weak market. In like manner, wheat has had to submit to a fall of at least 3d per bushel. Eight days ago, beat Adelaide ruled at 6s 9d, and one parcel of 1600 bushels was quitted at the price ; at same time inferior Victorian was got rid of by auction at 6s 3d. Fort Mac Donnell was sold at 6s 5Jd, and a line of 3000 bushels of this latter description was placed, on terms withheld. A parcel of Tasmanian, about 2000 bushels quitted at 6s 3d, was also amongst the sales reported. On Monday and Tue4#y last, Adelaide wheat was offering at 6s 7d, without meeting, with any response, and we hear to-day of 6s 6d, having been offered for a considerable line with every appearance of its leading to business. The supplies to band have not been inconsiderable, but the greater portion has either come forward to millers direct or to those who intend holding for an improved market. The Sarah, and Mary, the Alma, and the Zephyr, from Adelaide, have brought. 660 ton ß ' ,dfflour, the greater part of which Is to be stored for several months, unless a favourable change takes place in the internal. /By the Gem, Flying Squirrel, Dady Darling, Coorpng, and Fenela, from South’Australia, 23,600 bushels wheat and 80 tons flour havecotne forward. From Tasmania and coastwise some 10,500 bushels wheat and a small quantity of flour have been received. Of the market in Adelaide we have also a less favourable account to give this week. In the commencement wheat was reported quiet pending the departure of the mail, but a large sale had. been effected at 6s 9d, and the market closed firm. For the following three days similar reports as to firmness and want of business were obtained. On the 4th, however, say yesterday morning, our telegram stated that signs of the market’s giving way were shown, and although quotations are uncharged, buyers were holding off for a decline, and this morning we learn that sales had been made at 5s 6d, thus declaring a fall of 3d per bushel. From Sydney we learn cf Port M'Donnell wheat having been sold .at 6s 2d, and Adelaide at 6s 3d to 6s 6d. The Jubilee, it was stated, was taking a large consignment of breadstuffs to London. From the same quarter the loss of the Barwon with 330 tons of breadstuffs was made public. In feeding-grains a somewhat quiet trade has been done. Good samples of seed oats have been wanted, and up to 4s has been paid., Prime milling have met with moderate at- > tention at 3s 8d to 3s 9d, and feeding sorts at j 3s 7d. The only feature of a prominent nature was the arrival a day or two ago of the j Waterlily, from New Zealand, with 2700 bags: oats, and the disposal yesterday by auction of 7500 bushels of these at 3s 7d—a price which! presents a reduction of Id to 2d per bushel. | The quality is said to have been the finest | and the most uniform seen in the market! this season. Maize has not been marked' by; much activity, and prices have declined fully.' 3d ; receding from 4s 6d, quoted early in the j week, to 4s 3d now ruling for parcels. Lower! rates are also quoted from the Sydney side, j In barley there has not been much doing.. Cape for feeding purposes is wanted, and would sell at 3s 3d to 3s 4d. For fine samples; for malting 4s to 4s 3d is required. The; Austra'ind’s shipment of 1600 bags was) cleared off, according to quality, at prices l rising to 4s 3d. One thousand bags of another; shipment were offered for sale yesterday! under the hammer, but were not sold. Maltl is exceedingly dull of sale, and no induce-; ment is capable of enticing the larger buyers to come forward and operate. For the few; small parcels disposed of for trade purp ises,' 7s 6d to 7s 9d is r< alised. 'Tasmanian peas were sold at 3s 10fd per bushel. Bran is got rid of at Is, and pollard is saleable at Is 2d to Is 4d. Victorian made oatmeal is quitted at £22. For pearl barley £2O to £2l, according to sample, is wanted. Hay is disposed of in the public market at £3 to £6. Straw is sold at £2 los to £3 Sales of potatoes are mentioned at £2 7 s 6d to £2 10» per ton.