COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16097, 10 December 1915, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

A SATISFACTORY WEEK. RETAIL TRADE IMPROVES. A satisfactory week's business, is reported, the ordinary sales ex store being supplemented by heavy arrivals from over" I seas, and these were in many cases booked lor immediate distribution, ex ship. Retailers anpfeeliag an improvement in business, andare buying accordingly. Export business has also helped considerably this week, the Talune loading a general cargo for the islands, and tie Hebburn is now in to loai -wool for Boston, making Welling- I ton the final port of departure next Mon- > day. Produce: The week has been noticeable rap a general hardening in grain values, mis is in sympathy with the better prices m Australia and the firmer market at i Home, but the immediate cause appears to be the long spell of dry weather throughout almost the whole of the South island. .Any rain in parts has been quite insufficient, especially as it was generally followed by drying" winds, but it is not vet known to what extent the harvest will ! be affected. Locally the amount of grain ■ grow i is no 0 f any consequence, but a wrger amount of oats than usual has been put m for chaff, and a good yield has resulted wherever there has been no loss j from , us Hay will again be in evidence I ttus year, j Potatoes and Onions. J Potatoes: Supplies continue heavy on account of fanners taking the opportunity of digging while the weather is so good. Price is lower, and best quality are now selliug at 9s, inferior according to sample. An outlet has been found for a good quantity by shipping to the South, where old ■ are very scarce) and the few still left there "will be sold on the spot, as there is now I no demand for shipment to the North. ' Onions : The new season's onions from Melbourne have turned out so well that Califomian have been very difficult to dispose of, and during the week some of the latter have been placed at unprofitable rates. It is far too late to import American onions when they have to sell against , new season's at 10s. (Oat?: Market is very firm as farmers in the big oat-growing districts in the South are now convinced that the continued dry weather must mean a decreased yield at the coming harvest, and in the meantime stocks of old grain are so small that it is questionable whether they will last until the new grain is ready. Further Advance in Wheat. Wheat: The advance already reported has been followed by a further hardening, and altogether the market is about 4d to 6d per bushel higher than last week. Spring weather has bean particularly bad in Canterbury, and while some lots have even been damaged by late frosts, the whole of the wheat-growing area has suffered for want of rain. A few good areas were put into wheat in this province, and these are looking rather well. Flour: The market has an improved tone, in accordance with the firming in wheat, and some of the Southern millers have already advanced their price by £1 per ton. Pollard: Supplies are very scarce, and as the price has advanced in the South, it doe's not pay to import at local rates. Maize: Stocks at the moment are very small, and a much better demand will meet the next consignment from the coast. Better prices are expected, as already the store price has advanced a little. Linseed: Small lots are selling ex store, but the bulk of the demand appears to be ■ over for this season. i Chaff Consumers have been holding off so much in the expectation of lower prices, that local stocks are now very low. Old chaff, of good quality, is still worth £9 I ex store, but large quantities of new may be expected before long, and these are bound to bring the market down, even though at present it is difficult to get the requisite shipping space from Canterbury. Marlborough chaff is being cut exceptionally early this year, and locally there will be a good deal of cutting direct from the stook. This is not usually a safe method, as heating often takes place with sheaves insufficiently dried, but the scarcity is an inducement to hurry in supplies. ' Decrease In Sugar Production. I Sugar: Private reports state that the Louisiana sugarcane crop was damaged to the extent of about 25 per cent, by the hurricane that swept through the South This would indicate a yield of about 112,000 tons of sugar, against 150,000 tons estimated for this season, and 200,000 tons actually produced last year. With Europe's crop expected to show a decrease of about 2,000,000 tons, compared j with last season, the outlook for. sugar is ! not very promising. Great Britain and France have had to draw heavily on the . United States, to take the place of the supplies usually obtained in Germany, importing about 300.000 tons of refined sugar, in addition to the same quantity of raw sugar from Fiji. j Tea : This week's cablegram from Colombo advises prices irregular, except j in the case of good and fine teas. A cable- j gram from London advises that 3A million lbs of tea has been sunk. This is prob-' ably owing to the Uinta and Clan McLeod being torpedoed. It may be mentioned that this quantity is equal to the total consumed in New Zealand in six months. Fruits : Large quantities of dried and, canned fruits have been distributed out | of the Waimarino, thus ensuring a good j supply for the Christmas trade. More j ' could have been sold in some descrip-1 tions, as the shortage in Mediterranean ' j fruits •will throw a much heavier demand I on the American, and retailers were pre- | pared to meet this by heavy purchases. Castor Oil : Market is a little firmer. White Lead: Price has advanced. . NEW ZEALAND INSURANCE COMPANY, LTD. APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEE. The New Zealand Insurance Company, Ltd., which recently extended its field of operations to embrace trustee, executor, and attorney business, has appointed Mr. C. F. Thomas, manager of the Christchurch branch of the Bank of New Zealand, trustee to take over the control of the new departments. Mr. Thomas, who as one of the oldest and best "known men on the staff of the Bank of New Zea- ■ land, is well acquainted with Auckland, , having been stationed here several years I i ago, &nd during that time he took a keen I interest in rowing matters, and was for ' a time captain of the St. George's Bay , Rowing Club. Mr. Thomas will take over his new duties early in the New I Year. PROPERTY SALES. Messrs. Samuel Yaile and Sons, Limited, will sell by public auction, at their Land Sale Rooms, 87, Queen Street, at 2 pm. to-day, the following property : —Four sites fronting Lloyd Avenue (formerly Mary's Lane), Mount Albert; also in the same estate, a section and a house of six rooms, fronting the Mount Alberts Onehunga Road, within two minutes of the Mount Albert cars; a house of six rooms, with or without furniture, in Abbott's Road, Mount Eden; a block of 16£ acres of land at Takapuna, about 10 minutes from the cars: and two sections, each 40ft by 125 ft, in Sherwood Avenue, Grey Lynn. Messrs. Walker and Coakley offered for sale yesterday a bungalow of five rooms, in Croydon Road, Mount Eden. Bidding was fairly brisk, and the property was knocked down to Mr. W. Read for £755. I At the Chamber of Commerce, at 2 p.m. i to-day, Messrs. Smith and Halcombe will offer for public auction the following properties —A home in Owen's Road, Epsom, containing five rooms, and section of 90ft by 275 ft, motor or trap shed, outhouses, etc. ; a two-storey residence of eight rooms in Tennyson Street, Grey Lynn, with deep section in orchard, garden, etc.; a home containing seven rooms in Arthur Street i West, Onehunga, with section of 127 ft by by 250 ft. Also, 201 a 2r lp, more or less,

being Section 219, Parish of Paremoremo; 102 a, more or less, being part of allotment 32 on the public map of the Parish of Pukekohe; property situated in Upper Queen Street, Auckland, being lot 3 and part of lot 4 of the subdivision of allotment 6 and part of allotment 7 of section 7, suburbs of Auckland. j The owner going to the front, the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd., will sell this afternoon at their Albert Street land rooms, three level sections fronting Arthur Street EUerslie; also a section containing lr 17p in Huia Road, Otahuhu. Terms can be arranged. WOOL SALES. EXCITED BIDDING IN LONDON. By Telegraph Press Association—Copyright. London", December 8. | At the wool sales to-day, crossbreds maintained full opening rates, while Merinos, which were rather an improved selection, were slightly firmer. There was excited bidding for all sorts. The following prices were realised for fleece portions of the clip named :—Ribba, lOd ; Boodarie, top 17id, average 13gd; Uaroo, top 14id. average 13^d ; Pippingara, top 15d. average 14^d; Waihopai (N.Z.), top 2?id, average 22 Jd. GOOD PRICES IN SYDNEY. By Telegraph— Press —Copyright. (Received December 9, 10.20 p.m.) Sydney, December 9. The week's wool sales closed strong today, when the best rates of the season were realised. THE WHEAT MARKET. By Telegraph— Association Copyright. London", December 8. Tho total quantity of the American. visible -wheat supplies is 130,234,000, bushels. Chicago options, December, ! 116£ cents to 121| cents ; Mav, 117$ cents to 121| cents. The reaction in the American and Canadian wheat market has caused a decline of about a shilling. AUSTRALIAN PRODUCE MARKETS. ! By Telegraph— Association Copyright. (Received December 9, 9.35 p.m.) Sydney, December 9. Oats : American, 3s to 3s 6d; Tasmanian. white, 3s 6d ; barley, malting, 3s to 4s; maize, South African, spot, 5s 9d to 5s lid ; arriving, 5s 4d to 5s 6d. j Potatoes : Tasmanian, old, £10 to £14 ; new, £17 10s; others, £14 to £16. Onions : New. £4 to £5 10s. Adeuude, December 9. Wheat : Official price, 5s 3^d; flour, £12 to £12 10s; bran, £11; pollard. Is 4d ; oats, 2s. MARKET REPORT. Messrs. G. W. Binney and Sons report for bides, skins, tallow, etc.. as follows: — Hiaes: Market firm. Extra stout ox, 10} d to 10* d: stout. lOd to lOJd; medium. 9id to 9*d: light. 9d to 9id: cow. extra good, 81d to 81 d; good. Sid to Bid: seconds, Bid to Bid: scored and dirty, 7!d to Sd; cut, 7Jd to 8d; damaged. 6d to 6td: kins. B|d to Bid; stags. 6d to 6id; yearlings, Sid: calfskins. 9fd to 94d: good. B{d to 3d: meaty, 7d to Md: cut and damaged calfskins. 6d to 6jd. Skins: Market advanced. Butchers picked skins, full woolled, 13s 6d to 14s; extra large, lis to 12s 6d: large. 10a 6d to lis 6d; medium 9a 6d to 10s; small. 7s to 7s 6d; extra small. 5s 6d to 6sj spring lambs. Is 6d to Is 9d : bare pelts. Is 6d to Is 9d; country dry skins, good. 9d to 9Jd: medium, 8d to Bid; rat-eaten and weevily skins. 6d to 61 d; rat-eaten and weevily pelts and lambskins, 2d to 3d per lb. Tallow: Market firm. Best mixed, in shipment casks. 26s 6d to 275; medium, 25a to 25s 6d: (rood, in small casks. 2-ts to 24s 6dmedium. 23s to 23s 6d: inferior. 22s to 22s 6d per cwt; in tins and drums. 18* (id to Sis. Rough fat. lid per" lb. Bones: Good, dry, £4 17s 6d to £5 per' ton. Horsehair: TaiL good. Is 4d to la 6dmane. 8d to 9d. Wool: In bags and chimps. Super crossbred. 12id to 13d: medium crossbred. Hid to Is; heavy crossbred, 10$ d to lid; dingy. 9id to lOd; bellies and pieces, 8d to Bidlocks. s»d to 6}d; dead wool, 9*d to 104dcrutchings. good, bright, Hid to 12d; medium. lOd to 10id.