FINANCE AND TRADE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXX, Issue 3785, 6 July 1899, Page 7

FINANCE AND TRADE.

“New Zealand Times” Office, Wednesday evening. - The Customs returns for to-day amounted to £1047 9s 2d. The quantity and value of Hie gold exported from New Zealand during the month of June comnared with the figures for the corresponding month of last year., show as under

This exhibits an increase in'quantity of 00490 z and an increase in value ■of £20,133. Auckland shows an increase'of 5i)00J5, Westport 6480/f, Greymouth 0078055 and Dunedin..2ss3pz, A niakipg > the, gross inoroaso 97G90h ; Nelson, Hofeitika and InvercargillVaccount-.for ah aggregate decrease of ‘41200z, thus making the net increase JGlOoss. The export Horn Dunedin is not so large as tlie dredging returns would warrant, and there must ho a good deal of bullion held back for future shipment from the Southern- port - . The export from Auckland also is somewhat disappointing, -and does riot" fully, represent the increased yield that is being obtained from the northern goldfields. The exports from the West Coast show considerable improvement, the result no doubt of several of the larger mines having reached the stage of producing bullion. The - otitput of gold for the first half of the year as exhibited in the export returns and compared with the corresponding period of 1898, shows as under :

This shows an increase of 57;6400z in favour of 1899, or equal to about 42.3 V percent., and representing an increase in value of £225,127. The improvement shown in the first six months of the yeai leads to the hope that the output of 1899 will be about 100,000 oz greater than-last-year, if so, the return of 1899 will be the best for the long period of twentytwo years. The exports of each district for the half-year compared with the corresponding period of 1898 -stand as under:—

The export of silver for the past month amounted to 27,<1730z, valued at.£3251,' against 2-1,-1220z/ valued at £2722 in June, 1898, showing an increase of-335105! of the value of £529. The exports of silver for the first six months compare with those of last year as under:

The increase for. the half-year amounts to '40,‘2816z, or nearly‘32 pel 1 cent, f 'the increased value is a little short of £SOOO. — . ii 1 The London wool sales continue- buoyant, although crossbreds have not recovered the decline of per cent, which was experienced at the opening of the sales. The downward tendency of coarse crossbred has been arrested for the time, and that, at least, is satisfactory. Merino wool commands all the attention, and prices are firm, with an upward tendency. The shortage of merino wool is being seriously felt, and French manufacturers have suffered severely. According to- the “Textile Mercury,” the year 1898 was a disastrous one for the woollen trade of the Roubaix-Tourcoing district. Dyers, finishers, combers, spinners, all lost money. According to the British Pro-Consul at Croix (Not’d), two circumstances largely contributed to this state of things: the fact that- the production of wool does not increase in Europe, Australia, the Cape, or the United States, the only increase being at La Plata; and that what South American wool has gained in quantity it has lost in quality. During the last two years a considerable proportion of that coming from La Plata has been defective, partly from want of care on the part of the growers, and partly from ill-advised experiments in cross-breeding. .

The last cabled quotations for frozen meat in the London market call for some notice. Prices all round have gone back, but the principal feature, of the'decline is in the comparison between North Island and River Plate descriptions. For the week ending 6th May last quotations reached their highest point, when North Island stood at 4jd and River Plate-at 4d. These prices represented an advance of Id per lb, or 32 per cent, in the case of North Island mutton and 33( per cent, in the case of River Plate in' the course of seven weeks. The last quotations show that North Island mutton is back to the old level of 3-jd, the market having steadily declined since the highest /point w r as reached, and represents a fall of one penny per lb, or slightly more than 24 per cent. River Plate light mutton is now 2-id, which represents a fall of Ijd per lb, or 37 ,V per cent, since 6th" May. Before the market w r as disturbed by short deliveries, River Plate mutton was selling at 3d per lb, this price having ruled steadily for several weeks. The present puts River Plate mutton lower than it has been at any time' since the commencement of the year. The heaviest fall in prices has taken place during thq past two weeks, and there is not the least doubt that Argentina mutton has been bringing down the price of New Zealand descriptions. The trend of the market is distinctly downwards, and North Island mutton must experience a further decline for the margin- between River Plate and North Island, which is now id. cannot be maintained. The River Plato shippers are evidently glutted with supplies, and are forcing consumption by greatly reducing values. The high price that was being -paid in the colony for freezers a few weeks ago stimulated deliveries, and from Wellington the increase available for shipment compared with last year is large.-..-The absence of tonnage and the necessity for holding back shipments will probably tend to firm the prices of North Island mutton, but this can only be for a time, and ultimately values must- be regulated by the competition with the Argentina product. At the moment the outlook for New Zealand frozen -meat is not very encouraging. • ■

Messrs Kaye and Carter'report on the Canterbury .grain and produce market, under date 3rd July; as follows: —Milliner 'wheat—Tuscan, 2s ’Gd -' T pearl, 2s s}d: Hunter’s,'. 2s-•^dv\^hick T ' ; wheat,' cood, whole, Is 9cl to 2s Id. IS ran, 37s 6d, s.i. Pollard, 67s 6d, s.i., scarce.

Chaff—Oat sheaf,. 60s to - 60 s, s.i.s oat straw, 35s to 40s,' s;i. : ■ Hay—Derrickpressed, 80s to 'Bss ; hydraulic, 80s to 90s. Oats—Milling, Is 7d to Is 8d ; best 1 short feed, Is fjd to Is.-B^d; -good short feed, Is yd to Is 5Jd j , Danish, Is 4d ; duns, Is 4d to ly yd,; Tartars, Is 6d to Is 7d? crushed. Is 7d.td:ls Bd. . BarleyMalting, 2s 6d to 3s 3d; feed,- Is 6d to ■2s. Peas—Prussian''Blues,- -3s 4d to 3s 7dH Wisconsin, 3# 9d *■’ Partridge. 3s to 3s- Id; Yorkshire Heroes, 4 s S)d ; Veitch’s Perfection,. .4k 1. Od ( Beans, 2s 7d to 2s Bd. Ryecorn, 2s 9d to 3s. Potatoes-f7Kidi}eyijiy,4os; Early Roses,.-.70s to - 75sBeautyof .Hebrons, 70s to' 725 ; 6(t;" BrilcA’k; 1 ' 60s'Breeze’s Prolifics; 60s; Derwents, 355; all s.i. Cocksfoot’-r^F.acraers’,. degased, 3d'to Bid ; machine-dressed, 4UJ to ,4id v _ .Ryegrass— Farmers’ dressed, Ps_Bd to' 2s 3d; 'ma-chine-dressed, ,2f>,Bt], tp. 8,3..8tD- ■ Col. co wgras's.'fofeqieef 3d 'to 6d; clover, 55s Ito Btts-i uMke,' 50s to 60s; rape;2ss ±0 305,.;,; For;indents-; of seeds we are prepared to give special quota.-, tipns,- .l-d.ici io H.-irU it. 3'

■lime. 18')!). June 1898. ()'/,. X O 55. X 12.451 11,811 11,881 ■11,825 — — 1,507 6,028 Westport ... 1,681 C,71il I,!)!)!) •1,133 (.} royiijontii 11,581 5,000 22.121 Hokililcu — — 1,099 . { llunediii ... 15,8.') 1 (Tl,022 15,278 53,921 In •ercargill - 91-1 3,056 11,517 161,921 35,898 Ml’,791

1809. 1838 . oz. X . oz. X March quarter 92,818 300,040 69,168 271,810 April ... 33,343 130,509 15,220 56,918 May 25,992 100,161 15,444 56,907 June 41,547 161,924 35,898 141,791 193,670 752,643 130,030 527,516

First Half-year, First Half-year, 1899 , .1838. OZ..-, tE OZ. £ Auckland 7S.635 286,046 58,562 216.238 West Coast 46,018 184,217 42,793 171,178 Otago .1. 69,975 282,331 31.515: 139,503 Canterbury 12 49 — — Marlborough — 160 , *187 193,670' 752,643 136,930 527,516'

1839. 1898. oz. £ oz. £ January '34,23-1 4,005 ’ 18,177 2,202 February 20.753 2,4-18 . 12,311 1,420 March 30,514 3,357 22,047 2,415 April 22,101 2,555 19,796 2.210 May 31,628 3,711 29,969 '■ 3,361 June 27,473 3,251 24 122 - 2,722 166,703 19,327 126,422 14,331