FINANCE AND TRADE

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4303, 12 March 1901, Page 6

FINANCE AND TRADE

The Customs returns for yesterday amounted to £1519 13s 2d. The Agricultural Department has received the following cable message from the A'mnt-General, dated 9th March: Butter, 102 s; Danish, 108 s; heavy supplies on hand; market dull. Cheese, 19s; market lifeless. The hemp market is firm; good fair Wellington, £24; stock Ist March, 774 tons. Fair current Manila, £23 ICs; stock, 13,570 bales. Cocksfoot unchanged. The Bank of New Zealand’s produce circular of date January 31st shows that the importations of colonial wool into Great Britain for the period covered by the five wool sales of 1900 were as follows : —Nev Zealand, 395,629 hales; New Sjjth Wales, -264 119 bales; Victona, 234,135 bales; ‘Queensland, 123,902 bales; South Australia, 47,398 bales; West Australia, 26,414 bales; Tasmania, 16,817 bales; HBjrf’i Africa, 104,838 bales; total, 1,2i*,052 bales. New Zealand had 376,349 bales available for • C>e 1900 sales, as oomnarca with 395,JC3 bales for 1899. The kauri gum marset in January was hi a decidedly poor eonait.rn. Of 4700 packages offered, only /00 were sold, and tho stock on. han't amc.nted to 1933 tons. Imports to the United Kingdom for last year amounted to 3132 tons (1500 tons less than for the previous year - ) and the deliveries to 2843 tons (800 tons less than for the previous year), and yet the demand is described as extremely limited, and bidding was practically nil. The hemp market was in a hopeful condition. The demand was good, and about 1900 bales were disposed of in three weeks at firm to higher rated. Tallow ■ appears to oe in too great supply on the market, as at three series t of sales ' inly 1277 casks were sold, the catalogues amounting to 6175 casks. The current price for” New Zealand mutton tallow was 28s 6d to 29s 6d per cwt. The market for cocksfoot was extremely slow, : wholesale buyers having large stocks on hand. Arrivals had also been heavy, and prices quoted were 32s to 33s for i 17 to 181 b seed. The high prices ruint for New Zealand mutton at the bet'twirrg of the year, consequent on the short supplies, was driving large buyers to purchase River Plate sheep, and the demariAp New Zealand was therefore Tery ■HBTj&amb was selling at satis- ’ the supplies not being excMflp) of prime quality was in f but secondary quality is - COMMERCIAL CABLES. PRESS ASSOCIATION - ; LONDON. March 10. ■ FROZEN MEAT. The following are the official quotations of the Frozen Meat Trade Association fer mutton and lamb in lots of 100 carcases of fair average quality: Mutton—New Zealand crossbred wethers and maiden ewes ( —Canterbury, unchanged, at 4|-d per*lb; Dunedin, and Southland, -Jd lower, at 4Jd per lb; North Island, unchanged, at 4d per lb. River Plate crossbred or merino wethers —Heavy, unchanged, at 3id; light, unchanged, at 3-Jd. Lamb—Pome Canterbury, unchanged, at 6d per lb; fair average (including ' Dunedin, Southland, Wellington . and secondary Canterbury), J-d lower, at bid. New Zealand beef—Fair average quality, 1801 b to 2201 b, ox-fores, unchanged, at 3‘d per lb; ox-hinds, unchanged, at 3Jd. OTHER PRODUCE. Hemp is fusn. Fair Auckland, Decern r :r-February shipments, is quoted at £23 15s per tofi. Wheat.—The Hcrmione’s cargo of New Zealand wheat sold at 29s 4Jd per quarter. Sheepskins—At r.e -sales there was fair competition; nierimr; are unchanged. There' was a smaller demand for , crossbreds,, w.,.c.. a: cwe .1 o per cent, decline. Wool —T'ri A have closed wiiU prices - ' . ;; halt the River Plate won!'- ■ were sold.