BRITISH TRADE

Manawatu Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 2564, 23 December 1924, Page 8

BRITISH TRADE

POSITION OF WOOL .MARKET

[By Electric Cable—Copyright.] [Aust. and N.Z. Cable Association.] LONDON, December 20. There has been a glut of new issues on the Stock Exchange this week, the capital involved amounting to about £12,250;000. These have had a somewhat unsettling effect on the gilledged market, which has been further affected by liquidations for what are known as window dressing operations but there have been serious declines in values. There is an underlying feeling of confidence, which promises well for improvement after the holidays. The foreign bond market has /)een enlivened by • dealings in the new Greek loan, which was enormously over subscribed. The large applicants received under four .per cent, of I lie amounts they applied for, and there has been a great rush for it with ilio premium maintained at about seven per cent. In the foreign exchange market the chief interest lies in sterling, which closes firm at 471 cents. The main, support comes from America where sterling is still talked of as likely to be higher and there seems a possibility of the strength being maintained tion the spring when the rate usually improves.

The markets for all nonferrous hase metals continue firm, and the feeling regarding all of them Is optimistic for there seems no present indication of anything likely to cause a serious setback on either side of the Atlantic. The position of lead appears particularly strong, and apparently there is no sign of any relief from the shortage of supplies, Barge contracts for pig lead have been placed at high prices for February-. March shipment, values in the United States have been advanced to a very high level in order to prevent export sales and to attract Mexican lead. Thus Europe is compelled to fal back largely on Spain and Australia, with fair supplies from Burma and Africa. *

Discussing the wool outlook in connection with the sudden decline of prices at the New Zealand sales, a Bradford newspaper points out that the underlying factors governing the wool situation have not changed. There is good ground for stating that the current supplies exceed the requirements of the world’s wool and textile industries during the next nine or ton months. If America maintains her present rate of machinery activity, she wjU have to ouy heav-

ily in the early months of 1925 1o enable manufacturers to tide over the period till the domestic clip comes into the market. Germany has bought enormous weights of yarns at prices, not far behind the current quotations. Spinners who handle the German trade feci quite confident regarding the coming year, though it is possible if prices went still higher the Gorman market would be adversely affected. The purchasing power of Central and Eastcr’n Europe is so low that if the price of wool clothing goes beyond a certain point the demand will be forced to cheaper fabrics. The home trade outlook has disturbing features, the most serious of which is the bugbear of high prices, which is bound to make trade difficult. Were prices more reasonable one could more confidently predict healthy trade expansion, but as it is the tendency is in right direction and there is no reason to fear a break in prices. The experts’ forecasts made in Seiitembor that the French wine vintage would be poor have proved fallacious for. to the general surprise, the officiai returns show that in some of the principal districts the yield far exceeds that of 1923. In four departments of the Canal du Midi, namely, He ran It, Ande, Gard and Pyrenees Oriontalos, which provide roughly half of the French yield, the total is estimated at nearly twenty-eight and a-half million hectolitres, an increase of two and three-quarter millions over 1923. The four principal districts of the champagne region show a yield of double that of 1923 and in the gironde department the yield is 5.605.405 hectolitres, which is nearly 700,000 in excess of 1923.