COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 6688, 23 September 1882, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Niw Zealand Times Office. . Saturday morning. Business during the" week has been fairly brisk ; operations have, however, as usual, been restricted to supplying ordinary requirements; there-has been a good inquiry for woolpacks; stocks do not appear to be as heavy as usual; sales'of full si ze packs' are’reported at 3s 2d to 3s 3d ; holders appear to be Arm at these quotations r cornsacks are . offering from Southern ports at bs to 8s 3d. Dried fruits have been wellpatronised, and currants have a firmer tendency) some holders now ask B£d; for the last two months currants have been sold at under cost price in consequence of competition from Southern ports; Eleme raialna are.quoted at 6fd to 7d; sultanas, 7Jd : prime figs are scarce. , Candles, D.K., are firm at Bjd; sales are not brisk. Sugars are quoted at L4llos, L 37 10s, and L33 10s for W.. 1.0., and C. respectively; a better demand exists for Mauritius and Fiji yellows. Salmon Is firm at 8s fid to fia for best brands; lobsters are worth 8s 6d to 8s fid ; sardines, halves, have been Hid during the week at 10s fid, but stocks are vsrj

light; quarters arc quoted.at6s9dto6s, Kerosene is ialow of sales, and holders, to clear stocks before the summer, are compelled to accept unremunerative • prices; we hear of salsa Is GJd to Is 7d„ duty paid, for UOdeg test oil; a sale of 15) test is reported at Is 3d In bond ; the shipments of kerosene advised for this market are, ex Oronsvaerfor Wellington, via Auckland, sailed 22nd July. b6O cases, and ex Duke of Richmond, sailed 2nd August, 3335 cases. Galvanised iron is about the same, viz., L 24 to L 24 10s for 6 to 8 feet 26-gauge, from store, and L 23 lOs'to arrive. Cement has had a little business; sales have been made at 15s and 15s 3d, Fencing wire is dull and stocks are heavy ; we quote Ll 4, Ll 4 10s, and Ll 5 for Nos. 6,7, and 8 respectively. Galvanised barb wire is quoted at L 64 to L 5 6; black, L 49 to LSO ; nails still sell at 18s Gd for assorted parcels; Maine axes are scarce, and quoted it 645. Colonial produce.—Potatoes still sell freely at Gss, bags extra; flour is unaltered; butter has fallen during the week, and fresh is now procurable at Is 3d; there is no prime salt in the market.

Messrs Lidbetter and Cooper report a little more animation in the share market. Closing prices— Bank New Zealand, L 23 10s ; Colonial, 475 ; National Insurance, 28s 6d to 28s 9d; new issue, 2s premium ; South British, 61s to 61s 6d ; Standard, 15s 9d to 16s; Union, 20s; Colonial, 9s lOd to par; Loan aod Mercantile (buyers), 117 s; Trust and Loan, 115 s; Equitable, 116 s ; New Zealand Shipping, 97s 6d ; Welcome, 107 s Od ; Homeward Bound, 9s; Humphrey Gully, 23s ; New Zealand Land Settlement, 21s ; Ross Flat, 67s 6d.

(UNITED PitiaS ASBOCIA.TIOX.) Auckland, September 22. The flour market remains unchanged. A pretty satisfactory trade demand has been experienced for local flour, but, through the large importation of Southern, it is not what it should be. Large quantities of flour have been shipped from Auckland to Sydney, but prices obtained have not been high. Oats, 3s Gd to 3$ 8d; maize, firm at 4s to 4s 3d ; oaten chaff, scarce, L6to L 6 10s; potatoes, firm, L 3 16a to L 4; Canterbury cheese, firm, 8d to 9d; Canterbury bams and bacon, advanced to 8d to 9d. KNOWS FT. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. report, under date London, August 10; —Wool: The close of the Ant a erp sales on the sth instant established no very substantial change in the position of the market for River Plate produce. Good and superior wools were, on the whole, well competed for, and maintained April values, while second-rate and inferior descriptions were quoted at a slight decline. Of the total catalogued—29,7oo bales (of which 5000 bales were Australian produce)—2o,soo bales were sold, the quantities withdrawn comprising chiefly the lower grades of South American staple. The prospects for colonial wool at the forthcoming London auctions are unchanged, and though the course of business has doubtless been somewhat effected by political events, there is no reason to expect any appreciable change in the current of prices if our harvest results bear out 'their present promise. We are inclined to look for a good demand for sound combing merino, which has been relatively scarce all through the season, and which now will naturally be found in still smaller supply. It should not be overlooked that any risk which may be held to attach to the importation of wools by way of the Suez Canal may have the effect of limiting, in some degree, the arrivals of the new clip for the November series. An increased consumption of coarse wools and crossbreds has recently been reported from Scotland, but no change for the better is perceptible in the trade of Bradford. Corn Market.—Since date of our last report the wheat market has exhibited further symptoms of weakness, owing in a great measure to the improved prospects of the harvest in Great Britain, consequent upon a favorable change of weather, and to the confirmation of the belief that American supplies for the coming season will be on a more extensive scale than those of the season now closing. We are accordingly cbliged to quote a decline of about 2s per quarter on wheat and Is per sack on flour. Cargoes arrived off coast have been gradually reduced to two- one of wheat and one of maizewhile the business in cargoes on passage and for shipment has been limited principally to a few sales for the Continent. With regard to oats and barley there U nothing fresh to quote. We are just now beginning our own harvest of these cereals with good prospects all round. Tallow—For the two public auctions held during the fortnight, 8192 casks Australian and New. Zealand were Catalogued, and 2263 sold under the' hammer. The market has been steady throughout this period, and the advices received from Australia respecting the shipments thence for the month of July—only 800 casks as against 3600 casks last yearimparted Increased firmness to the more recent sales held on 4th instant. There was then a satisfactory inquiry for all descriptions at prices exhibiting an advance of 6d to Is per cwfc. beef marking the greatest improvement. Supplies are net excessive, and a fair trade demand exists We quote :—P.Y.C. (new), 565. per cwt; Australian mutton, fine, 44s Gd to 45s Sdper cwt; do do, medium, 43s to 44s per cwt; do beef, fine, 41a to 45s per cwt; do do, medium, 43s to 44s per cwt. Leather, Hides, &c.—Leather —At public sales held on 4th instant 8046 sides, Ac., were offered and 4165 sold at and immediately after the auctions. There was rattier better competition, and, quality considered, the prices realised were in many Instances jd per lb above those obtainable at previous auctions. Frozen meats. —The Lusitania (s). with 4393 carcases of mutton and 40 quarters of beef arrived on 31st ultimo. The mutton was in excellent order, and is now selling at from Gd to 6£d per lb. The beef, which also was good, is making 6jd for hind quarters, and 6£d for fore quarters The Orient’s shipment was duly closed at rates equivalent to those reported in our last. The shipment per Sorrento has not made patiafactory progress, and we understand a large quantity of her beef was condemned. To-day's quotations for home-fed meats are as follows : —Good English and Scotch beef (bodies). *4B 6d to 5s 6d per 81b ; do do mutton (carcases), 4s to 6s per Blb. Babbit skins.—Last sales were held on the 7th ultimo, and values are unchanged from the quotations given in our No. 197, as follow:—Good to prime skins, 19<jd to 24|d per lb : ordinary fair to good, ll£d to 16|d; common to ordinary; 9d to HJd ; small and suckers, 6sd to per lb. ,