FINANCE AND TRADE.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6383, 4 December 1907, Page 6

FINANCE AND TRADE.

LONDON COMMKU-CIAL C A DDKS.

WUijS ASSOCIATION,

LONLMDV December 2. Tho whaat an<l lloui* afloat for the United Kingdom is 1,085,U1HJ quarters; for eke OaiD im-nl, J.I2IMLO; Atlantic nliij>moritK, 81)1,000; Tucific whip mom.**,

THl'l WOO!. M-AHKI7T

LONDON, I Acorn iwr I!,

At tho wool H.'ile-H there vvai> inerr-.ased tomxmtitioa. J’ricas for all d< i '-criptioM.H were frilly maintained.

BAKU AT NAPIJ4K.

NAIM Kit, ■|soc«iiilj(!l- T

Tho first wool sale of tlm msihoil opened thin morning, laDore a largo and h jTrrsontauva aUen<lam:e. 'i he eatalogmmnnprirtcU VWRJi bales, nganioi 7118 at bust years ojavning. Th<‘ air of buoyaney, liowever, then apparent, was today missing. Lidding kept in defined limits, ami in tin* mujeriiy of im-dane.-s failesl to reach sellers’ idea,-# of valuer, iuni a large proportion was passed in. Homo of tho be,st crossbred wool, for \vhiefi last year a shilling and Kid wa.-> ofl’orwl, sliowkl a drop of 2d. IDivts. too, complained t.lmt wool a.s a whole had (lelorjoratoil, ami that the staple was not so well grown nor so good in Wiaruefer as Hint of last year.

Top prieo, 13.1*1, was realised for a fine pamplo of Oon-ietlalo wool. I'ino crosshjeds poM up I o fii<i. nuxlinm ercvsbrrd; up to BJd, ami coarse up to lid. Jfest halfhml brought up to Hd. The drop was from 2d to fid per lb all round.

Dalgeiy and Ltd,, have received the following cable messages from their London house, under dale of the 2nd Inst, Sheepskins—Mxpect a decline in prices at next sales of 5 per eeni, especially for clothing. No improvement In prices is expected in the near future. Wool—Sales continue without further nhange. Tallow—The market is; somewhat firmer, owing to Russian orders. Kahbitskins—•Prices arc unchanged; 8173 bales offered, and 2528 bales sold.

Mail nows from Home concerning the rice markets stated that there was a very jinn tone in the markets there, due to Lho strong position to arrive. Patna* were particularly firm, as there was a largo inquiry for export. Shuns wore still obtainable at a reasonable figure. The market for new crop had been some* wlmfc excited on gloomy rejKjrts of a Jargo shortage in the Indian crops, owing to tho cessation of mine* some six weeks earlier than usual, leading to drought in many of tho central provinces. (hm'Seins and Hangoons wore considerably liighor, ami a largo business had been done at fully Gd advance. The Dutch pullers wore selling large quantities of cleaned rice to Germany, where there was a rojx>rte<l shortage in the cereal crop of ■finite four million tons. The position in Rangoon. w;is remarkably strong, the shippers meeting with great difficulty in buying rough rice, ami it was feared that higher prices were inevitable.

Commenting upon the tea market, at Homo "Tho Times” stated that it was Interesting to note a revival in tho public taste for good quality China teas. Tfc wne maintained by consumer** that they had an aroma and delicate Havour which could not bo matched by tho Indian and Ceylon # products of anything liko tho same price. Good China Leas .did not adapt themselves readily to the demand for cheap family blends; they hod individuality, and they boro niucji tho name relation to common lens as* fine clarot did to a vin ordinaire. During tho four months, Juno-Septeinber, KIO7. tho doliverico in London of black China tons (Congou and Souchong) were i.SIS.OOOIb, an increase of nearly 1,200,000 lb, as compared with those of the same four months of 190 G.

The Glasgow Corporation is a body which has entered into largo trade umlcrtakings. One of its most successful enterprises has been tile electricity department, which representsacapitaloutlay of .£1,055,000, less a return of .£13:1,703 from the sinking fund. Consumers have bonolited greatly from tile enterprise, and in the financial your 199 G-7 the average price for electricity in Glasgow per unit was 2.06 d. Tiie Corporation does not sect; to make.a profit oiftf of its works, for the margin allowed over cost during 1906-7 was only 0.28 d. The actual balance ‘of gross revenue earned by the department over wprking expenditure for the twelve months was ,£118,609. Interest »n loans absorbed .£19,613, the sinking fund took .£21,112, and .£41,755 was written off capital account, the surplus of £3069 being transferred to reserve. The great point about the accounts presented »y the department ie the completeness of their tabulation.

The Premier of New South Wales has recorrod from the State's Commissioner in the East statistics of the area and field of certain principal crops in India tor the current year. The rice crop, ho points out, in not a success compared With the previous year, and there is a decreased output. As to wheat, lie shows ' that an increased cultivated area of 8,131,500 acres in 1907 gave a decreased yiokl of 131,300 tons, which is very serious for India, from the fact that the natives are gradually becoming largo consumers of flour. Although the yield of wheat has practically been on the increase up to 1906, still the exports have been on the decrease, owing to the greater local consumption. With an exportable surplus Indian wheat appears on tho markets of England, Egypt, Belgium, Spain, Prance, Arabia, Germany, and a few other countries, so that the falling off would indicate that tho Indian product cannot bo depended upon for these markets, a strong indication that record prices are likely to be maintained during 1908. There is an increase in the jute crop of 317,000 acres under cultivation, and 531,000 boles in the yield. On the whole the crop is reported to bo gen6rally good, but insects damaged it considerably in places, so that tho return for the year can only bo looked upon as normal. Raw jute now represents 32.92 per cent, of the total value of Indian raw produce exported. , WELLINGTON STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY'S QUOTATIONS. Burins.. Skllebs. Sinus. £ 9. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Banks— '

National of N.Z., LW. .. D 7 0 & 8 6 _ Fihahciai,— N.Z.Loan A Meronn* Hie, cnm .. 0 0 W’gton. Investment _ 0 12 3 Wellington Deposit and Mortgage .. — 0 10 0 __ OA8— Feiiamg .. ,. 0 17 0 o i.q o Wellington, ic .. — 9 3 IxnDjuKoa— National ofN.Z. .. 1 6 9 New Zealand 4 o A Standard of N.Z, .. 1 2 0 Mb at Prbsirtimq C'h'etohnrch Meat Company, £10 pd 10 10 0 10 13 a £i pd 5 o Boar Moat, Jt .. 2 9 Railways aito 9Mip*r?i«— W«tu*Maoawatu 2 9 3 2 4 9 N.Z, Shipt)ing Co, a < e 6 5 0 c 0 Union Steam Ship 20 2 0 — Coal— Westport .. •• 7 13 0 7 16 0 7 IG 0 Westport - Stockton Ltd.. CaGdpd .. 0 8 0 0 9 0 — MtaCRLLANROOS— Kauri Timber 15/’ pd cum 0 10 0 Loylaxkl - O’Brien Timber .. 2 a — MjHINO— Komata Reefs, Ltd 0 I 8 0 1 10 — Karan al-Calodonlan 0 1 0 0 1 N.Z. Crown 0 B May Queon, Ltd 0 1 3 ~ 0 1 4h Talisman Consoli- | 2 14 0 dated 2 13 3 U a | 3 IS 9 WaiM G.M. Co.,ex.. — s 6 0 S 6 0 Klff Hirer ,, .. 0 18 6 i. — 0 I 10