LONDON COMMERCIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9736, 5 February 1895, Page 6

LONDON COMMERCIAL NOTES.

[FROM OUR OWN OORREBPOK ENT ,] % \ ?;: i•; / Londok, Deo*, er 29. WOOL.-—As to the wool market, th%i a little to record. Practically, no business), u has been done during the holidays, and absent there is no sign of improved' prices jhough hopes are entertained of extended tginess with America during the coming year. Messrs.. W. Weddel and Co. report :-sThe London |market has been very quiet |ring the past fortnight, and there has reallsjeen next to nothing doing. A little inquirthas been made, but it has not resulted in fastness. Advices from the provinces anc|he Continent generally speak ol a better tot in the trade, but the extremely low price*eported from the Australasian markets r e more than likely to check any tender towards higher values. In the new year lis confidently anticipated that a much lar| business will be done with the United Statt There is a steady current of business even where, except the North of France, whel prices of tops have fallen so low as to mat, trade very far from satisfactory. To dad 77,850 bales have arrived for next sales including 13,448 bales from New Zealand. ' Wheat. — Wheat is down Is owing to in creased supplies .and financial exigencies New Zealand wheat fetches £1 4s to £1 5; 3d for good longberried. New Zealand oat are down 6d, and realise £1 3s to £1 5s 6d Messrs. Weddel and Co. report:Thi weather over the whole area of wheat-grow ing Europe is comparatively mild and wet the only exception being South Russia, when frost and snow have set in, but heavy snow falls have protected the young plants. Durinj last week the approaching holidays checkec any disposition towards new contracts Prices have been maintained with difficulty owing to the general falling off in demand Reports from Argentina estimate the surplui about 2,000,000 quarters below last year, bu it is too early to get correct and reliable in formation on this point. There ii, however in- that country, a less desire to sell ii advance than prevailed before last harvest Shipments generally to United Kingdom an now becoming comparatively light, and ai stocks are well reduced, there should bi early signs of an upward movement. During the last five months the shipments to Europe from North and South Ametica, Australasia, Russia and India, have averaged about 30,(XX quarters per week below last year, and 55.00 C quarters below the year previous. As wintei will seal up most of the South Russian ports, there seems every probability of the demand keeping fully up to the supply for some weeks to come.

Flax.—New Zealand flax is dull, and quotations are only nominal, £12 10s to £14, Messrs. Weddel and Co. quote :—Fine Auckland, £14; fair Wellington, £13; good Lyttelton, £13 10s ; common, £12 10s ; tow, £5 per ton. Frozen Meat,—Frozen mutton is Id a pound up, but business at present is little more than nominal. Messrs. Henry S. Fitter and Son say :—Since the issue or our last report the trade has been upset by the Christmas holidays, and unfortunately the weather has been mild and damp. The principal demand, as usual at this season, as been for turkeys and prime roasting beef, which fetched very good prices; but mutton and middling beef found a slow sale. The market has not been overdone with home killed mutton, but trade has been slow, and prices are quoted a shade lower, Continental mutton has also been coming to hand in smaller quantities, but the quality has been generally poor, The demand for New Zealand mutton hai naturally been rather slow, but holders have not been anxious to sell, and prices show an improvement on last quotations. The pros-' peets for the near future are good, and the demand for the early months of the year promises to be satisfactory. If, therefore, the supply can to a certain extent be regulated, then prices should be such as to give satisfaction. The supply of Australian and River Plate sheep continues fairly good, and j being fresh bright sheep, they are often pre-' ferred to medium New Zealand sheep, which have been kept in store too long. The j American beef trade continues on much the ! same lines as previously reported. There ' has not been sufficient best quality, but there has been an ample supply of inferior. Australian beef has been selling fairly well, and as the supply is shorter, prices are firm. Many large consignees of beef and mutton are holding it in the expectation of a rise about the middle of January. A curious suggestion has just been made with regard }* marking of frozen meat. It is proposed *"\fc it should be embroidered, as it were, ]T lt K a specified mark or design worked in 0 f some edible and innocuous substance That's all! I leave the suggestion to speak*,)!- itself as to its feasibleness.

Frozen X^kes. —Frozen hares, from New | Zealand are soling in the London markets at 3s 6d each, ant, are said to be in excellent condition. \ Buttjck— As to-New Zealand butter, I am sorry to say I have but a gloomy tale to tell. It is in a very bad Wiy indeed. Only a few picked brands of choicest quality will realise £5. Ordinary best bufcer brings oulv £4 14s to £4 16s. This is £1 lower than the ruling price at the sameperiod of last year. The present wholesale raSe means that the retail price to consumers *ill be Is per lb, ; and there seems a strong disposition to keep it at that standard which is found convenient. Apparently there is an inclination to cater for the " shil!ing-a»nound" customers, and to make the present £4 14s and £4 16s wholesale rate a sort of standard for the future. The extra quantity 'if Danish butter and the tremendous rush c* colonial have combined to depress the market, and the finest Danish butter brings only £4 16s and £5 4a. One case came under my notice, of a. dealer in quite a small way who has been losing no less than £1000 a week for some time past through buying in " forward" contracts. This shows how serious is the present market depression to everyone interested in the trade, not merely the producers, though at such prices they can make little or no profit. Mr. Henry Reynolds, short though his time in England has been, has nevertheless found opportunity to visit most of the chief trading centres — Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, etc. He found all literally " choked" so far as butter was concerned, every store chiefly of Danish— and no symptom of any early improvement. Danish butter was quoted yesterday as unaltered in price. Until some upward movement occurs in this class there is no chance of any rise in the Midland markets. Next week, too, some 50,000 packages will be landed from Australia. All must be coldstored. Most of last week's arrivals had to go into the " freezers ;" and so far there are no indications of any relief in the glut. It is generally supposed that in order to quit these accumulations the price will be steadily kept down at 94s to 96s for some time to come. But it is hoped that then when this relief is obtained there may be some slight spring. In England a rise often comes very suddenly. For instance, two days before Christmas tile London poultry market was glutted, and best turkeys, etc., could be bought readily at 6d per lb. On Christmas Eve the market was almost bare, and Is 6d to 2s was easily obtained for quite ordinary poultry. Thus, it is hoped, may be the course of events as to butter. By keeping prices down, a large sale will be stimulated, and so the elut may be cleared much quicker than is at present expected. Directly this is effected, prices will go perhaps not much, perhaps considerably. .A great deal depends on the weather. Such extreme mildness as that of this December is very prejudicial to the interests of the New Zealand dairy trade. Talking about Mew Zealand butter, I have just received from Messrs. S. Page and Sons, the well-known provision brokers, the following memorandum on the subject:—" The butter marketgenerally has been very much depressed, owing to the mildness of the weather and the heavy supplies of all descriptions, especially of Australian, of which there have been landed since our last report, a total of 87,862 boxes. ' The shipment by the Austral (30,204 boxes) is the largest on record. There have also been landed two shipments from New Zealand : 2267 packages ex lonic, and 4701 packages ex Tongariro. These enormous arrivals, and the large make of English and Continental, have broken down the prices of Colonial, and the finest is urgently pressed for sale at £4 10s to £4 14s per cwt., any higher price being quite exceptional. Considerable efforts were made to effect a clearance of stocks on hand before the landing of the record shipment ex Austral, and before the Christmas holidays, butNthere is still a considerable quantity uusold of former arrivals and at present there does not seem much prospect of a decided advance iu prices, unless the weather hardens and checks the supply of European." Cheese.— New Zealand cheese, Messrs. Page say that a small consignment of 979 cases is selling at £2 63 to £2 10s per cwt. Tallow.—The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company report:—During the past four weeks three pnblic sales have been held, when 5345 casks were offered, of which 2781 casks were sold. The demand was very unsatisfactory, but though prices rather favoured buyers, there was no quotable change in values to record. The closing auctions for the year were held on the 14th instant, and since that date the market has remained unchanged. Importations into London for the four weeks ended 22nd inst., amounted to 8170 casks. The stock of all kinds in warehouse, on the 31st ultimo, consisted of 18,514 casks, against 8242 casks at the corresponding period last year. i» Hides, Skins, etc. — Messrs. Flack, Chandler, and Co. inform me that hides remain unchanged in price. Sheepskins are down id per lb for merino, and' Jd to d for combed. New ; Zealand, rabbit skins axe <

down id • bones are up 10 pw^rT^ l os per ton lower ; horns fairly' B w& s oo{. Copba.-The • New Zealand t 7. Mercantile Agency Company renorf *, »nd the date of our last issue the ° been very quiet, and quotations ~r ket has lower. Singapore afloat is offered .» ?*« £13 per ton without attracting b uv !* all ip at parcel of New Zealand in a sinS? 8 at »l r at. £13 2s 6d. We quote :3 n dried £13 ton; SydneykUn-dried fe 8 * 2s 6d ton; Singapore sun-dried if, 10 £ Importations during the four wi ß 3 tc 22d instant aggregated 434 tons fr* end trans. wns ltol n A-