THE FIRST WOOL SALE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19486, 16 November 1926, Page 12

THE FIRST WOOL SALE.

VALUES AT WELLINGTON. MARCH PRICES APPROACHED. BRADFORD DECIDES TO BUY. NINETY PER CENT. CLEARED. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] WELLINGTON. Monday. The opening wool sale of the season, which was held in the Town Hall today, may be said .to have realised expectations, although values were not quite up to the level of the closing rates of the March sale, which was the finishing sale of the past season. There was considerable pessimism last week among brokers, for it was thought that Bradford would not be much in evidence, but the reported chance of the miners' strike terminating had some influence and it is somewhat significant that Bradford was the mainstay of to-day's sale. The condition of the wool offered was good. It was light in condition and well grown. Catalogues contained a large proportion of crossbreds, which in normal times would have been classed as American style wools, that is, wool of high quality. There was a sprinkling of Merino running through the catalogues and this met with good competition from the woollen mills of the Dominion and from Bradford and fetched comparatively good prices, np to 22|d being realised for a lot from Marlborough. No Forcing of Prices. There was a full attendance of buyers, all consuming countries being represented. Competition was keen np to a point, but not very exciting. Buyers were not forcing the prices against American operators, for, unfortunately, America maintained almost a strong silence. A comparison of prices with the March sales shows that Merinos and halfbreds were at about the March parity. The offerings of 44's to 59's were a halfpenny lower and 36's to 44's one penny lower. Hogget wool appeared to be making high prices and two lots reached as high as 15|d, the bulk selling at 12£ d to 13£ d, There was a considerable quantity of this class of wool offered. Very little lambs' wool was offered and what was available sold well up to the March parity under keen competition, especially from operators on French account. Little American Bidding. As already stated, Bradford was the chief operator ,at to-day's sale. Continental representatives bought sparingly ! while America was only occasionally in the picture. Growers generally showed a commendable disposition to meet the market although there were a few who insisted upon fixing absurdly high reserves. There was a very fair clearance and it is estimated that about 90 per cent, of the offering of 11179 bales sold under the hammer. The range of prices was as follows: Merino d. d. Super . . ~ 21 to 221 Average .. .. .. 17 to 202 Inferior ~ .. .. lli to 15 Fine half bredSuper .. v». y, 17 to 191 Average .. .. 121 to 162 Medium Halfbred— Super t. .» .. 131 to 15i Average .. ... .. 134 to 141 Inferior .. .. .. 101 Fine Crossbred— Super .. >. s. 13 tp 141 Average .. .. .. 11l to 13 Inferior .. ~ >. 83 to Coarse Crossbred— Super ~ , < .. 11 to 12 * Average .« .. .. 10 to 111 Inferior ... .. ». 7! to 91 Low CrossbredSuper ~ «. Average 91 to 11 Inferior . ■ .. .. 8 to 91 Hoggets— Super ~ k v »i 11 to 163 Fine . ~ .. 10J to 141 Mediom . < .* -- ». 10! to 141 Coane . « .. 91 to 12 Low *. ■ . v ». .91 to 101 Laroba— Down, fine *« ■ -.» 111 to 14J ' Mediem 11 Seedy and inferior .. 51 to 9i Bellies and PiecesMerino, good to super . 12 to 16 Halfbred. good to super 101 to 123 Crossbred, good to super 8 to 131 Crossbred, low to medium 5 to 8 Crutchings— Medium to good .. 7 to 91 Inferior and seedy .. to 6-J Locks - Merino .-. .. .. 7 Halfbred .. .. 61 Crossbred .. .. 6 On the whole, taking all the circumstances into account, the sale may be classed as satisfactory although crossbreds were below the March level of values. COMMENT BY BROKERS. PRICES SHOULD HOLD. THE COAL STRIKE A FACTOR. [by telegraph.—own correspondent.] WELLINGTON, Monday. The following are extracts from brokers' reports concerning the wool sale:— "Everything considered, the sale must be reported as fairly satisfactory. We see no reason why present prices should not hold, especially as there is every pros- | pect of the long drawn-out coal strike soon being settled, and with this an aci complished fact a sounder and more confident tone would immediately rule in the textile trade. ' "It was thought that the Continent would be the mainstay of the sale, but this was not so. This may be due to the fact that the bulk of the wool was above the standard of Continental requirements. America also did not show a strong hand. Probably she was not buying at all. At any rate, prices from American operators were no betted than from the Bradford section. This quarter was fully active and had as their strongest competitors operators for Scottish mills and Australian factories. Bradford showed a strong hand for the hogget wool offering and there was much of this of good quality in the sale, and this wool made comparatively the best prices. French buyers bid eagerly for lambs' wool and good pieces. Some extraordinarily good figures were paid for the latter. The Dominion piills were wanting merino and halfbred and high prices were pafcl for good quality."