COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11685, 21 June 1901, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Heiuld Office. Thursday evening. The Stock Exchange is still very quiet, with but limited business doing. In banks, Now Zealand sold at £2 10?. and there- are buyers at £2 8s; buyers of Nationals offer £3 las, sellers asking £3 18s 6d. In insurances Now Zealand sold at £5 8s and £3 8a 6d. sellers at the latter price, and buyers at £5 is „d. South British, sold at £'.. and there ore buyers at £3 19s and sc'.icrs at 4.* is. Nationals sold at 18s 6d, am! more are jilted at the same price, but sfik-rs ask ids. There are buyers of Accidents at £1 18;. In &a stock, "Auckland* aro firmer. lot lull>paid, buyers offer £13 lis, and for n<nv ,- rw £11 103, hut there are no quoted sellers or either. ' In shipping there are sellers of Northern Steam paid-up at lE*, °" tl at 17s Sellers of contributing ask 19 luu, buyers offering 7s 3d. Buyers of -Sew Zealand Shipping offer £6 12s 6d an, for Union Steam £10 12s 6d. In coals, Ilikurar.zis are offered at 9=. with buyers at L > be. Twipiri mines sold at 18s Id. and seders ask 18s Od, buyers offering lis 6-.1. xhere ato sellers of Westporta at £3 12s. In timber, Kauri Company, contributing are offered at Is 6d. Leyland and <) linen sold at £1 lis, and there are sellers at £1 1", and buyers at £1 10s. Mitchi-lson Company are offered at 18s 6d. New Zealand Drugs arc offered at £2 13s. There- are sellers of Union Oil at £1. and buyers at 19s .W. Northern Boot are offered at 9s 6d. with buyers at 9s. Avondale Brick and Pottery are 0.(«red at £1, and thero are buyers at 19-. Sellers of D.S.C. a*k 9s 3d, buyers offering 8h Pd. Tonson Garlick Company are ohored at 18s 6d, and New Zealand and River Plato (new issue) at £1. The market for mining stock is very flat. Waihis are offered at £9 10s, with buyers at £3. »'»aihi Extended sold from Is 5d to 'Is. Waihi Bearn at bid, Waihi Consolidated at Is 7d. lal-.s-rr+uis aro offered a! £1 3s. There are sellers of Crown? at 12s 9d. with buyers at 12« 2d Komata Reefs sold from 2s 8(1 to 2s 4d, closing with sellers at the latter price and buvers a* 2s 2d. Tairua Broken Hills sold at' 2s, May Queens at bid. Barrier Reefs are offered at 3s Id. General business has resumed its normal condition since (he holidays, and both wholesale and retail report brisk trade.

Produce shows several changes during (bo wee!;, the gen. ral tendency being decidedly upwards. Maize lias been in strong demand locally, no doubt owing to a great extent to the high price of wheat, and even with the absence of any export trade prices have advanced. Wholesale lines have been placed at 2s 4d on the wharf, the arrivals for the week being 323 sacks.

Potatoes continue to advance, although it is difficult to correctly estimate present value, as Southern quotations vary from £4 10s to £5 f.0.b.. with very few offering. Hales have been made during the week at anything above £5 5s ex wharf, and up to £5 ex store, importers being willing to quit at these prices, as they show a good margin on the price at which, purchases were made, although the figures aro not on a par with present or future Southern prices.

Oats are firm at 2s o|d c.i.f., and ex store prices have advanced. As in tho case of potatoes, deliveries air being made of linos purchased before tho rise, and we have heard of some fortunate buyers being offered a bonus to have their purchases cancelled Fowl wheat is very scare.?, and only smell orders are executed. Considerable shipments of milling wheat have- been made to London from Lyttelton and Tiinaru, and as the Melbourne price has advanced to 2s 9J.d it is expected that a furlliOi market may shortly open in Australia. Bran and sharps are both scarce. Onions are firm in price, though not as a rule, particularly firm, in quality. A good sample is worth 13s. Linseed is scarce.

The jute market continues- to show an upward tendency, higher prices in Calcutta having caused some improvement in most lines.

Rico has recovered the slight decline wo reported four weeks ago. Sago and tapioca, are a little easier. Linseed oil easily maintains the recent advance, as storks are extremely light. At tho same time the demand is not heavy at. this time of the year. Kerosene has advanced to 9s wholesale. owing to Hie scarcity here. Tn Wellington it is quoted at lis 6d. A Sydney report, says that the " pool" has boon very successful, not only in maintaining prices, but in actually establishing advances in the face of the threatened swamping of the market with bulk oil from Borneo, and the probability of keen competition between two powerful "syndicates. News by the 'Faisco mail shows that the New York prions have declined from an 8.70 base to a 7.90 base, and that many think the market may further decline. A feature of the freight market has been the charter by tljo Standard Oil Company of a steamer of a. capacity of 250,000 cases to load for Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, which is said to be the largest cargo ever sent from

America. An impression prevails here that in their determination to fight, tho Borneo oil the Americans have rather overdone their competition, and brought their prices for future delivery unnecessarily low, for so far die threatened competition via Australia ha.s not made Hie slightest differenco to prices, which, indeed, have steadily advanced, owing to the temporary scarcity. Wo have already pointed out that the local price depends not so much on the prico of tho day in New York as on whether stocks hero amount to 2000 of 2C.000 cases. Most dried fruits aro in bettor demand as the winter advances. Dates and figs are soiling very freely. Currants are lower. Owing to the low state of tho Murray River supplies of Mildura lexia raisins will not reach Melbourne until about tho end of

this month, and consequently will not be available in New Zealand until the middle of July. The aualitv of the fruit this season is re-iorted to he better than last year, and it IE nop'xl that this estimate will prove correct. These <\.i:nra!ian raisins are getting more popular, and ore gradually replacing some of the Levant fruits, owing to their superior appearance and keeping qualities. ' clean raisins are also becoming more popular, and helping to displace Levant fruits. Trio:? this season are particularly 1 a t Prunes ore likely to be very low when the new fru : t arrives on the market, as there is a heavy carry over from last season's crop. Kvi'por?ted arip'cs and pears are a shade higher as the Californian stocks run short, while peaches and apricots remain the same for rno-d qualities, although in the latter ~>t is expee'ed that the new fruit will be quoted at an advance. We ,-v evpee' the quotations for new seaon's'canned fruits by next mail. Meantime priu'S are firm. . It is expected that Californian onions will I)" a very heavy crop, on account of largely increased acreage and favourable growing weather. Shipments will commence towards the end'of July. . . Tiie California Fruit Canners Association at ]:• -t o'.iote Cocktail salmon, after having it off the market for months. The general mark i« reported to be firm, although prices have not advanced owing to the lew prices .j, --1,;,.!, futures ran be contracted for. The Columbia River pack is very light, and prices are c-:rr;--rjonding!v liieh. r- rppe-V.that'iho United Slate- Steel Corporation ore not going to have it all their own war in the matter of prices, as they are like'v to have .-trcng competition from some of the out-ide firms, one in particular, the American Iron and Steel Works of Pittsburg, which lias a present output of 2200 tons of steel per cay, which it is proposed to increase to 4000. Advances arc reported in the following items of American manufactures, axles, enamel we, 1.-M.C. cartridges, and a slight advance in wire, while cable advice from London shows a similar advance of 6s 6d per ton in .Johnson's wire. An interesting return has been published showing the foreign commerce of the I. niton .States for the year ending June, 1900, and .•dine particulars of one item alone will show the extent to which American goods are fighting their way against British manufactures. Of wire the ' exports were nearly 120,000 tons, and it is remarkable to note that the principal buyers were Australasia 29.061- tons, Argentine 18.823 tons, Canada 17,869 tons. United Kingdom 13,847 tons. Pig iron exports amounted to 160,000 tons, of "which 70 per cent, was shipped to the Continent of Europe and Canada, Australasia being seventh on the list with 6000 tons. Steel rail shipments aggregated 140.000 grass tons, Australia being .-fifth on the list with 20.000 tons. It is a good thing that we look on Americans as cousins, or we should not lie able t . view these figures with equanimity. Sheet glass is in short supply until arrival of the iiawkc's Bay. Shortage is also reported in Usher's whisky, White Horse Whisky, Dogshead and Bulldog stout. A substantial shipment of the first-named is expected by the Cloch next month to supplement the supplies ex Lizzie Pell this week.

Nestlo's milk is short until arrival of the Tekoa.

Distributors have come to an arrangement by which it is expected that there will be no more of the cutting in the prico of candles that has been a trouble lately.

Supplies of flax have been short of late, and tho mills are further hampered by the approach of winter, which will restrict tho output. There is not much demand, but 'he market is fairly steady, and most lines that com" to hand are placed at lalo rates. In the local produce market there aro not many changes to note. Prices aro as fol-low.-:—Factory butter is Is, best fanners' c<\, second quality 7d per pound wholesale. Eggs have dropped to Is per dozen wholesale. KAURI GUM MARKET., T!io following aro our quotations of kauri gum for the week ending Juno 13, 1901: — White gum : Poor ordinary, £25 and upwards : fair ordinary, £45 and upwards: bold three-quarter scraped, free from nuts, £72 and upwards; East Coast (best quality';, £12 and upwards; re-scraped, £115 and upward-:. Black gum : Nuts, gifted, £10 and upwards; medium, free from sugar, £18 and upwards; good, £48 and upwards. Remarks on market: Arrivals for 13 days of June. 330 tons. In spite of the small quantity <f gum arriving, the market is once more dull, and sales are not to bo effected as easily £8 a. fortnight ago.

LONDON. By Teicryaph.— Association.— Copyright. London, June 19. At the tallow sales 1225 casks were offered and 1200 sold. Fine mutton, 20s 6d; medium, 26-: 6d; fino beef, ditto, 27s 6d; medium, 2&5.

FROZEN MEAT. [DY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

Napier, Thursday.

Messrs. Kelson Brothers this afternoon received the following cable from the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company:—" Frozen meat market: Prices are unchanged." AUCKLAND STOCK EXCHANGE. Business DONE.—New Zealand Insurance, £3 Bs, £5 Sa fed. Bnynr.s.-Th'.nk or New Zealand, 48s; National Bank, 765; New Zealand Insurance, 67s 9d: .National Insurance. 18s 6d; South Rritisn Insurance, 793: New Zealand Accident Insurance. 3Qs; Auckland Gas. old, £13 14s; Auckland Gas, new (£4), ill 10s; New Zealand Snipping, £5 12s Cd; Northern Steamship, paid up, 173; Northern .Steamship, contributing. 7s Cd; Ilikurangi Coal. 8s 6d; Tu'ipiri Coal Mines (Limited). 17s 6d; Northern Boot, 9s: I nion Oil. 19s 3d; Leyland-O'Bricn TimLei Co. (Limited), 395; Avondale Brick and Pottery. 193; D.B.C. (Limited), 8s 9d; Broken Hill. 3d: May Queen Extended, l>d; Monowai, 2-' 3d; Chelmsford, Is 7.1; Crown, 12s 3d; Komal.a Reefs. 2s 2d: Pride of Waihi, Jjd; Rising Hun. 4;„! : Mai of Waihi, I'd: Tairaa Broken Bills. Is 10d:'Wailn, £9; Waihi Consolidated, Is Cd; Waihi Extended, 3s lid; Waihi South. lOd; Waitekauri, 10s; New Four-in-Hand, 2s 4d.

SELLERS.—National Bank. 78s 6d; New Zealand insurance. 68s 6d; National Insurance, 19s: South British Insurance, 01s; New Zealand and River Plate, new, 20s; Northern Steamship, paid up. 18s; Northern Steamship, contributing, 7s lOd; Hikurangi Coal, 9s; Taupiri Coal Mines (Limited). 18s 6d; Northern Boot. 9s 6d; Union Oil, 20s: Kauri Timber, contributing, Is 6d ; Leyland-O'Brien Timber Co. (Limited). 32.-.; Mitchelson Timber Co., IPs 6d; Avondale Brick and Polterv, 20s; D.S.O. (Limited), 9s 3d; Tonson Garlick Co. (Limited). 18s 6d: Broken Bill, 4d; KuranuiCaledonian, Is Id; May Queen. Hauraki. 7*d; May Queen Extended. 4d; Monowai. 3s 3dNew Alburnia. 4d; New Wkau, 2d; Victoria 2;d; Kapowai. contributing, 7d; Welcome Jack, contributing. lOd; Alpha, 2d; Chelmsford. Is 10d; Crown. 12s 9d; Imperial, 2dKomata Reefs. 2s Id: Ohinomuri Syndicate, Is Id; Pride of Waihi, 4Jd; Rising Sun, 6d • Tairua Broken Hills, 2s 2d; Waihi. £9 ICsWaihi Beach United. 6d: Waihi Consolidated. Is °d; Waihi Consols. 6d; Waihi Extended' is 4d; Waihi Grand Junction. 42s 6d; Waihi South. Is Id; Waitekauri, 12s 6d; Woodstock 7s: Now Four-in-Hand, 2s 7d: Hauraki Freehold, 7d: Barrier Reefs. 3s 4d; Whangamata, Gold Corporation, 3s Gd. G. A. BUTTLE. Chairman. AtiPRET) OLDHAM. Secretary. 3.15 p.m., Juno 20, 1901. CALL AND DIVIDEND LIST. calls; Made. .C s. d. Date. Chelmsford .. .. May 28.. o (I 1 ..June 23 dividends: Waihi 0 2 0 ..Now Tnnsoii Garlick Co. .. .. 8% ..Now Mount I.yell Mining and Rail. way Co 0 2 (5 ..July 1 New Zealand Land Mortgage C" 2} % ...Tilly 6