FINANCE AND TRADE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4315, 26 March 1901, Page 6

FINANCE AND TRADE.

Tiie Customs returns for yesterday amounted to £1421 3s lid. After writing off £8562 for-deprecia-tion, the net profit of Bryant and May, Limited, for the past year was returned at £55,839, which, with £8479 brought forward, Have an available balance of £64,318. Dividends amounting to 15 per cent, for the year have been declared, leaving £4318 to be carried forward.

A' project for storing kerosene in bulk i 3 just about to be completed at Port Adelaide, South Australia. The erection of two tanks, each capable of storing a million gallons of oil, is nearly finished. From these tanks the local demand will bo met in small or large quantities. In order to provide access to the works, a wharf is being provided on t‘ho river frontage, where steamers bringing oil in bulk will be able to berth and transfer their loads, which in some eases will be as much as, or more than, 3000 tons.

Official, annual and monthly reports of exports and coastwise shipments hy all salt 'producing centres in the United Kingdom were issued during the first week of February. Summarising these, it seems that December showed an improvement of 567 tons. During the year 820,900 tons were shipned, or the enormous decrease of 134,361 tons. Liverpool showed a falling off of 71,324 tons, and Runcorn and Manchester Ship Canal 22,312 tons reduction. The Gloucestershire district exhibited a slight improvement. The net profit of the- Price’s Patent Candle Company for 1900 is returned at £89,700, or about £9700 less than for the preceding twelve months. The shareholders, however, were warned by the chairman to bo prepared for a decrease in consequence of the war in South Africa, which was expected to prove very prejudicial to the company's important trade with that countrv. The past year’s performance under the circumstances, is an excellent one, for, though the profits are lower by over £9OOO than in the nrevions year, which was a record (profits being larger hy £13,000 than in dny previous twelve months), ■ they are still some £6OOO in excess of those earned in 1898. The dividend, also, though reduced from 68s to S6s per share, is higher than that raid in respect of 1898, which was only 32s 6d. The usual sum of £12,500 is written off for depreciation, £IO,OOO is transferred to reserve, raising that fund to £60,000, and £6OOO is carried forward, dr about the same as a year ago. In common with other industrial issues, the company’s shares have depreciated in value within the past year. Even on the basis of the reduced dividend, -however. the yield is still about 5 per cent.

Messrs Murray/ Roberts and Co. have received ‘the following. wool cablegram from their London house, Messrs Sanderson, Murray and Co., dated 22nd March;—A larger attendance of buyers. Competition brisk. Compared with opening rates, merino advanced 5 to 10 per cent. Fine creasy or scoured merinos are relatively dearest.

The Department of Agriculture has received the following cablegram- from the Agent-General, dated London, 23rd March:—Butter, 100s';. market dull. Heavy supplies of butter on hand. Cheese, 48s: market lifeless: recent shipments of cheese arc better quality than previous ones. New Zealand hemp, good fair Wellington, £24 10s; fair current Manila, £34. The hemp market is very firm in snot deliveries. The stocks of hemp on' hand are light. The market is dull in distant deliveries. Cocksfoot. 1711) standard, 325; Buyers are not keen ip do business in cocksfoot. For quick solos lower prices would have to be accepted. Canterbury mutton, average. 4RI; Dunedin and Wellington, 4d : Australian. 3' d : River 'Plate. 3.U1; Canterbury lamb, fi;d ■ Wellington,.ujd ; Australian. 4ld ; beef, bind. 33d; fore, 3R3. The tctnlcs sales in mutton received since Ist January have bran 1.208.845 carcases. against 1.140.64(3 last year same period, the market drooping: total lambf, 425.74". aqain-r J 36.312. market steady. The beef market is not favour?,Me. : DAILY PRODUCE REPORT. Tbe following wholesale quotations ruled yesterday in Wellington with Messrs Laery and Co., Townsend and

Paul, Thompson Bros, and Co., and Mr J. Gandy:— ' , Wheat—Whole fowl, 2s 7d to 2s 9d; broken, 2s 3d to 2s Cd . oats, short feed Is lOd to 2s 2d, dun Is Kid to 2s ; barcy, feed Is lOd to 2s.pearl 11s Od to 13s; maize 3s ; Hour, roller, £0 15s to £7 ss; •loilnrd. £4 15s to. £5: -barley, dust U 4 5s to £4 10s; bran, £3 15s :o £t; oatmeal. j.id to £lO 10s; split oeas, £l2 10s; chrlr. from £3 5s (ex store) and £3 10s (delivered); hay, £4 '■» £4 10s; potatoes £3 to £3 10s; , onions, £1 10s to £4; partridge peas. 3s lid. Butter, dairy "d n, S.i (pats), 7d to : d (bulk), sep;; rat or /ii to je : cheese', factory, medium 5 ,1 to s>d, loaf 54 ti ; o 6d. Bacon, sides 6d to o;,d. roils 6ld to 7d; hams, 7id ; fuv. 5 (mixed), 2s 6d per pair, ro. ■■ <-r . 3s ..or .pair. lucks, 3s Od to 4“ per pair; turkeys, •3« to 10s: t*ec*e. 4s C-i to 5s 6d : eggs, fresh Is Cd, preserved Is; honev, 4d a 4’d. Apples, dessert 4s Cd (o 8s- 401 b case, cooking 3s Cd to 4s C-i ; pears, de,sert -Is to K)s Cl. cookin'.' Its Cd to 4s 6d; quinces, o.s to is; peaches, 4s to u.s; water mel-ns. +.u to IQd each; pie melons. 4s per c-.vt ; grapete, outdoor 2d to 4d per lb, hot-house Cd to lid. Tomatoes, Is Cd to 2s Cd per case: green peas, 4d to 8d per peck; cauliflowers, 2s Cd to 4s per sack; cabbages, 2s to 3s per sack; parsnips, 9d per dozen bunches; carrots, 6d per dozen bunches; turnips. 3d to Cd per dozen bunches: turnips (swede), £1 10a to £2 per ton ; French beans, per lb; vegetable marrows, Is to 3s per dozen; pumpkins, 3s to 5s per cwt; celery. Is to Is Cd per dozen. The prices quoted aro the highest and lowest returns on the market- yesterday, the dr.t - reiic-e in price being re updated by the quality and the supply and demand at the different marts. In many oases the extreme prices din not rule with all the firms, the lowest and highest prices supplied being quoted above.

COMMERCIAL CABLES. er.szs XHSOOI.ATMW. LONDON, March 24. FROZEN MEAT. ’ The following are the official quotations of the Frozen Meat Trade Association for mutton and lamb in lots of 100 carcases of fair average quality: Mutton —New Zealand crossbred wethers and maiden ewes—Canterbury, unchanged, at 4jjd per lb; Dunedin and Southland, l-16d higher, at 4 3-16 d per lb ; North Island, l-16d : lower at 3 16Ifid. _ , River Plate crossbred or merino wethers—Jleavy, unchanged, at 3jd; light, unchanged, at 3}d. Lamb—Prime Canterbury, unchanged, at Cd per lb; fair average (including Dunedin, Southland, Wellington and secondary Canterbury), unchanged, at s}d. New Zealand beef—Fair average quality, 1801 b to ,2201 b, ox-fores, 1-lCd lower at 3 l-16d per lb; ox-hinds, unchanged, at 3,\d. WOOL. At yesterday’s sales, the tone of the market was firm, and there was good competition at late rates. The sales included the following clips:—Biddiford and Sons, crossbred, 6id; W. Douglas, crossbred, 63 d. To date, during tho present series 123,352 bales have been offered, and 116,417 sold. WHEAT. Sixteen thousand,quarters, New South Wales March-April shipments, have hedn sold at 28s 7jd per quarter c.i.f.