COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16567, 16 June 1917, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

LONDON MARKETS. * MONEY AND PRODUCE RATES. -Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received 10.35 p.m.) LONDON, June 14 BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. ■ The Bank of England return for tin , week ended June 14 compare with the re : turns of last week as under :— June 14. June 7. , Coin £62,973,000 £52,681,000 ' Reserve 35,029,00(1 35,572,001 1 Note issue .. .. 88,779,000 38.896.00( ; Government deposits 49,784,000 47,999.001 ' Other deposits .. 125.865,000 120,798.00! , Government securities 45,208,000 45,247.001 r Other securities .. 113,124,000 108,749,001 , Proportion of rese.'vo to liabilities .. 19.94 20.0 INTEREST AND DISCOUNT. Short loans are quoted at 41 per cent., th< i same as last week. The rate of discount for throe months' bills ■ is 4} per cent., the same as last week. i CONSOLS AND COLONIAL STOCKS. The following are the London Stock Exchange latest quotations for Colonial inscribed stock, and a, comparison with those reported a week ago:— VariaPrice. tion. £ s. d. s. d. Consols, 2* per cent. ... 64 2 6 17 & British 31 p.o. war loan, 1925-28 86 17 6 Same. British 41 p.c war loan, 1925-45 94 10 0 Same. British 5 p.c. war loan, 1929-47 94 10 0 Same. N.Z. 4 p.c, 1929 85 15 0 Same. N.Z. 3i p.c, 1910 73 0 0 Same. N.Z. 3 P. 0.. 1946 63 7 6 2 61 South Aust.3l p.c, 1930 .. 71 2 6 2 6t South Aust 3 pc„ optional 57 0 0 oOf Tasmanian 3i p.c, 1920-40 7117 6 26« Tasmanian 3 p.c, 1920-40 63 0 0 Same. Queensland 4 p.c.. 1924... 90 2 6 2 6t Queensland 3$ p.c. 1921-30 86 15 0 10 0* Queensland 3 p.c, 1922-47 62 7 6 76» WA„ 31 p.c., 1920-85 ... 74 2 6 76* W.A„ 3 p.c. 1915-35 ... 69 10 0 Same N.S.W., 4 p.c, 1933 ... 82 0 0 Same N.SW.. 81 p.c, 1918 ... 98 7 6 Same N.S.W., 81 p.c, 1930-50... 69 0 0 Same N.S.W., 3 p.C, 1935 ... 70 0 0 76* Victorian 4 p.c, 1920 ... 94 5 0 sOt Victor-'an 31 p.c, 1929-49 70 10 0 5 Ot Victorian 31 p.c, 1921-26 84 0 0 12 6t Victorian 3 p.c, 3529-49 62 5 0 7 6* •Lower. tHigher. DAIRY PRODUCE. Butter is Quiet, and firm. Colonial salted is unchanged. Australian, choicest. 188s to 190s j New Zealand. 194s to 1965. Danish is unchanged. CEREALS. Flour is quiet. Australian patents are scarce at 70s. Oats are neglected. ... Peas and beans are dull, tending to easier. METALS. Tin, £258 2s 6d: three months. £236 7s 6d. Other metals are unchanged. BUTTER AND EGGS. The Dairy Produce Committee has fixed the wholesale prices of butter and eggs for the week ending June 21, as follows:— Farmers' butter, first grade, lid per lb; fresh eggs, Is lOd per dozen. . « FRUIT AND PRODUCE. Business in the fruit and produce markets has been only moderate during the. week. There is a great shortage' of local fruit, and shipments forward have consisted chiefly of Nelson and Southern consignments of apples and pears. Prime fruit is selling,at high prices. The market has been fairly well supplied with Island oranges and small shipments of mandarins and pines have been received from Sydney. Fiji bananas are due shortly. The potato market is congested with second quality shipments. There is a steady demand for prime potatoes at quotation.. Onions are very scarce, and high prices are asked. Further shipments are due from Australia. Fresh vegetables and root crops are in much better demand. Fresh eggs are easier. Farmers' butter is in good demand. FIELD PRODUCE. Potatoes, local, prime, £6, £6 10s; onions, imported, £15. DAIRY PRODUCE. Butter, farmers', in prints, Is Id to Is 3d; eggs, fresh, 2s 3d to 2s 4d. FRUIT. ; ~ - Apples: Local, coloured, extra superior, 13s' to 14s case; good, 9s to 10s: others. 5b to Cs; cooking, 7s to 8s 6d. Pears: Best dessert, up to lis. good 10s; cooking, 8s to 10s. Grapes: Hothouse, Ss 9d lb. Oranges: Local, 12s 6d to 14S case;, Sydney, 13a to 14s. Lemons: Local, prime, 9s case; rough and coarse. 4s 63. Passion fruit. 13s case. Walnuts, lOd lb. Peanuts, Sid lb. POULTRY. Hens, 2s 3d to 2s lOd each, extra good 3s 2d to 4s Id; purebred pullets, 4s to 6s lOd; table roosters, 2s 6d to 6s :\ ducks. 8s to 4s lOd: geese, 4s to 6s; turkey gobblers, 8s to 15s: turkey hens. 4a to 7s. Young pigs, 8s to 12a 6d. CANTERBURY GRAIN MARKET. [BT TELEGRAPH.—PBES9 ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH, Friday. A buyer who has been through the whole of the North Canterbury district says that practically tho whole of the wheat has been sold by the growers. In the Ashburton district there are a few lots that are being held until the spring. There is, therefore, nothing offering on the local market. Oats are scarce, but one merchant says thut he has been Able to secure a few lines lately, paying up to 4s for prime heavy Gartens. Samples of this quality are, however, few and far between this season. In Canterbury, all- classes of oats are very firm. All inquiries for potatoes ore from the North Island, but prices offered are below 'the parity of the local market, w4 only a very small amount of business, is being done in cases where better prices can do obtained. Few lots of potatoes are being bought from growers, and at the sametime there' are not many offering, and merchants are holding off. The price 13 nominally £3 10s at country stations, but some gales have been made at £3 ss. A larger quantity than ustfcl has been sent to.the local auction rooms, and the price obtained there has declined to 7s 6d and 8s per sack for sound samples. . , REQUISITION OF CHEESE. PROTEST BY LONDON IMPORTERS. A protest against the manner in which the output of cheese from. New Zealand had been requisitioned by the Imperial authorities was made at the annual meeting of Messrs. Joseph Nathan and Co.. m London, by the chairman, Mr. Lewis J. Nathan. He said that large purchases were made in Canada at constantly rising prices. In Eng land cheese began to soar to unprecedented prices. The large English make of cheese was left alone by the English Army authorities and was sold on the open market. Consequently, the English farmers benefited fully from these unlimited high prices. Larg3 quantities of cheese from Canada, Holland, and the United States were, freely imported and were sold on this market without any restriction at very high prices. New Zealand alone was Bingled, out ; for exceptional treatment. Directly the cheese, arrived here it was requisitioned by the British Government, and we have never handled one ounc*. We presented our bills of lading to the shipping company on arrival of the first steamer, and then learnt for the .first time from them that our cheese had been taken by Ins British Government straight from the ship. We importer* received no letter or notification of any kind from the Government that they intended to take it, nor that they had taken it In good faith we had paid the bankers' 'drafts and hod taken up our docu ments. When we presented them we found that our chwse and collateral security had gone. We approaohed the Government representative responsible for this method of procedure, aid failed to get the. slightest satisfaction, Boat after boat armed with substantial shipments. The Government look the cheese and continued to leave us to find the money to pay the bankers' drafts. Eventually, when the position was becoming serious, they favoured us with an advance of Bid per lb, or 89s 6d per cwt., delivered here, whereas we ought to have had at least 100s per cwt. We have received nothing mora up to date. Then the British Government made an arrangement with the New Zealand factories to acquire the whole output on the basis of 91(3 per lb f.o.b. New Zealand, and. concelled all sale contracts made for forward delivery. The withdrawal of all the New Zealand cheese from this market naturally further forced up the prices here for English. Canadian. Dutch, United States, and French cheese of every description, to the enormous benefit of the farmers of these respective countries. If our cheese is needed for the forces no one is going to complain. We New Zealanders yield to no one in loyalty and patriotism, but wo do complain bitterly of the method adopted, the exceptional treatment meted out to New Zealand as a whole, as compared with that meted out to the Canadians, English manufacturers, and those of Holland, the' United States of America, etc. Why should the latter be allowed to benefit from the extremely high prices ruling here up to 170s and New Zealand suffer all its forward contracts to be cancelled and their output requisitioned at 91d per lb f.o.b. New Zealand—say, 99s per cwt c.i.f.-? The Government must have known that they needed the New Zealand cheese, for they offered New Zealand 8d when their ' season' opened. If they had acted then and before, all these large sales took place, no one' would complain. They could have put all on the same footing by limiting, the sale prices for cheese here. They are doing it now." ■-. ■•..,.' -•-. :->;.... r .