FINANCE AND TRADE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1650, 14 October 1903, Page 68

FINANCE AND TRADE

Higher prices will have to be paid for cotton goods, and already it is believed that wholesale dealers have raised rates. A recent New York advice says:—‘Although prices on the raw material have fallen enuring the past week at least 1 per cent, per lb, it has had no effect whatever upon the prices of the finished article. It was currencly reported that an agreement had been reacliefl among the mill-owners of the north to close down during August, which led to heavy buying for a time, btut this has since been denied, although a general restriction of this product wiii undoubtedly take place during tiiat month. The prices oi denims and duck continue to advance, whilst such goods as the Otis, Columbian and Mass have been withdrawn from sale for the present. It is generally supposed that higher prices will prevail, and continue at- least for the next four months, if not until tne close of the present year. The cheapest line of denims offering to-day are York denims, Boz, at 6fd, and 9oz at 6Jd per yard.

A Bradford report of August 13 states: Wool. —Although the holidays axe not yet over, and, generally speaking, things axe quiet, the tone to-day is decidedly better than it has been. There is no quotably change to note in any description, and in fine wools business is certainly very quiet, but prices are well maintained. In crossbreds, especially 32’a, there is a distinct turn against the buyer, and this also applies to some sorts of English wool. Neither in mohair nor in alpaca is there any new business of oonsequenoe or change in prices to note. —Yarns. —In. the export trade merchants report that business i 3 to a large extent suspended, but some of them have a few small orders winch indicate at least that the holiday period will not be unduly extended. For super €o’s, and also for thick coacing yarns of low qualities, there is a few inquiries. Mohairs are quiet, and there is no new business in alpacas. Botany spinners report the coating trade depressed; but for fine dress warps, and also for wefts in the dross trade, there is more doing. The fancy and coloured trade has fallen quiet, and the Huddersfield market is dull. —Pieces —In the dress trade manufacturers have rather more encouraging signs, and are taking orders for spring more freely than was the case last year. The home trade has been rather disappointing, but has ceased' to be of any great consequence. The shipping trade on the whole is maintained.

Regarding the state of the Liverpool market for salmon on August 13 the “Produce Market Review” says:—“The tone of the salmon market is distinctly higher, and business at the advanced prices is only restricted by the limited quantities offering ; practically the whole of the stock in first hands having been withdrawn from the market during the last few days. Fishing is still in progress on the Fraser River and Puget Sound, but up to date the paok is very much smaller than last year. Slightly better news is now coming to hand from the Fraser river, but nothing to indicate that a large paok is probable or even passible. On the northern rivers the pack is at an end, and in round figures it is 100,000 cases less than last year. India Is this year absorbing an unusually largo amount of gold. Most of it

now goes from Australasia, the shipment® thorofrom to that quarter to date since January 1 aggregating no less than £o,417,000. Gold is received sometime® froyi England, but the shipments from Utdia to England in the first seven months of this year exceeded by £70,000 the shipments to India from the mother country. The conditions are clearly making for any necessary sufficiency of the most precious metal for currency requirements, though the continued import of silver on a large scale shows how much needed this is also for the purposes of trade. Tlio recent deliverance of Lord George Hamilton indicates the prosperity of cho country under British rtule, despite drought and plague. The fact that for several years after the cessation of the free coinage of silver the redundancy of rupees was gradually converted into a deficiency, and that the Government has since had to buy silver and coin for monetary requirements Cfrfom time, to time, are among the best evidences that can be offered of c-lie growth of industry and trade. In addition to the heavy import of gold since the beginning of the year there was an import of silver from Britain alone of the value of £3,728,000. The figures of gold and silver importation into India to date point to a record year in tins re' spcct in the history of the great Indian Empire. Far and away India will be the largest absorber cf Australasian products this year—that is, after the mother country.

The Portland, Oregon, correspondent of “The Minneapolis North-Western Miller” wrote on August. 7: —“The Oriental flour trade has reached greater proportions for so early in the season than it has ever before attained. Every steamer leaving for t lie Orient has all of the available space on hoard taken unto November from Portland, and the Puget Sound steamers are correspondingly well filled. The Indrasahma, which sailed from Portland on Monday, took out over 50,000 barrels of flour and 15,000 bushels cf wheat, and shut out nearly 20,000 barrels of flour that were offering. Not only is there a big demand for flour from Japan, bat the price is coming right along up the grade, and sales were made this week as high as 3dol. 50 cents per barrel, an advance of 70 cents withm a. month. Practically the entire shipment of the Indrasahma was for Japanese ports, only 1000 barrels going to Hongkong. Within the last few days Hongkong merchants have been nibbling again, and dealers are expecting more business from that quarter in the near future, as the Russians and Japanese had ahcut>cleaned out the spot stocks at Hongkong, which were so heavy before the war talk began. The low freight rate has, of course, been a contributing factor in this sudden boom in the flour trifle, but the prospects for war seem to be the overshadowing factor.

The price of tin is deolinging, and though not greatly different from the opening rate of the present year, stands close on £2O below the pome at. One time reached during 1903. Deliveries in London and Holland during the eight months of this year amounted to 18,378 tons, compared with 20,307 tons during the corresponding period of last year, but stocks at the end of August were 17,538 tons against 16,741 tons in 1902, so that consumption lias been checked. The strike among the tinplate workers of Wales has contributed towards this result. The latest ma.il brings particulars of the output of tin during 1902 of Perak and Selangar, which, between them, are responsible for some 88 per cent, of the Straits ' production. Last year’s output was 46,480 tons, or 260 tons less than in 1901. This year, however, the mines - have shown a recovery. High prices last year- induced the opening of new workings. European capital is finding increased employment in the tinmining industry of the straits, but the coolies are becoming more independent, and are demanding payment on the profit-sharing basis. Much interest is being shown in the probable effect of the imposition on June 1 of an additional duty on ore exported. The imposition was made ostensibly to prevent the ore being taken to America and smelted there. At present the United States purchases 70 per cent, of the smelted tin of the Straits Settlement, but a Yankee combination desires to control the business by smelting the raw product at home. It is suspectedl, however, that the Straits Trading Company, which owns smelting works at Penang, is at the bottom of the movement to prevent ore from being exported. It is stated that miners would welcome an extension in place of <a restriction of competition for ore.