MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 3439, 21 May 1898, Page 3

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

By TalagramK.—Press Association. — Copyright, Beoeivod May SO, 10.60 p.m. London, May 19. The Bulk of England returns published <on Thursday show the total reserve of notes and coin for the Week to be ■£25,441,000, as against .£23,813,000 for last weejk, the proportion of reserve to liabilities being 46T2 per cent, as compared with 43 27 per Cent, for the previous week. The complete return? are ; as under:— | Tht stock of gold coin and bullion is 1 .£33,635,000; public deposits, £11,933,(1); other deposits, £4,313,600; Government securities, £13,186,000; other securities, ,£34,310,003. The following are the latest quotations for Government securities : Variation os Price. OOI X ed last week* £ H. d. J|?% Imperial Conanis .. 110 10 0 5/- lower 4% New South Wal«i J,. 117 10 0 10/* lower Bj% New South Wales ..'HU 10 0 2V* higher B% New South Wales .. !I7 IB 015/- lower 4% Victorian .. ~. HI 10 010/* lower 84% Victorian .. . .104 5 0 10- lower 04% South Australian •« 109 0 C 6/• lower 8% South Australian .. 100 0 016/- lower 4%QueenslaDd .. ..109 10 015/* higher Queensland .. a. 104 0 o 6/* lower Sew Zealand* .. 11l 15 0 5/« lower 8 New Zealand! , .. 307 0 0 »0/-lower New Zealand} .. 99 0 0 5/-lower West Australian ,•• 104 0 f 5/* lower Bi% Tasmania .. ~)108 0 1 J Jnchanged •lutoreat payable In May and November. * {lnterest payable in Janrary a~d July, {lnterest payable in April and October. The American wheat markets are calmer and are steadily declining; the Continental and English have similar trend, and there is some disposition to re-sell, but buyers are holding off. London quotation for hard Duluth, 665; Euasiau cargoes, 40s. New York quotation:—Bed winter, 146 cents. Parcels of Victorian wheat sold during the week at 60s ; May shipment, 46a; June shipment,-45a; and are now worth a shilling less. There 'is no demand for late shipments. Sugar is firm—Java, 12$ 3d; German,9a 6d. Iron, 475. The Bradford wool market is lifeless, and prices are unchanged. Babbits—Colonial, weak at B}d, with no demand. ENGLISH WOOL SALES. Received May 20, 9.40 p.m. London, May 19. During the series of colonial wool sales jnst closed, 188,600 bales were catalogued, of which 100.000 were sold for the Home market, and 76,050 for the Continent. No purchases were made on American account, but 40,000 bales were held over. Compared with the March sales, the best greasy merinos closed at id lower; medium and faulty sorts, practically recovered from the decline they experienced at the opening of the sales; fine crossbreds closed a shade firmer, and other descriptions of crossbreds id lower.