YORKSHIRE WOOL TRADE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6962, 30 October 1909, Page 8

YORKSHIRE WOOL TRADE

GREAT CHANGE IX WOOL PRICES. THE REAL CAUSE. TBOM OUR SFZCIAL COBWESPOVDEKT.. BRADFORD, September 10. Business continues in Bradford on a fair scale, and the activity of the past month has not yet fizzled out. There is still doing a. fair amount of new trade, and all qualities are more or less affected. Merinos stall occupy the box seat, and they are influencing for good other qualities. Consumption here is maintained at the highest point, and there is.nothing new to say upon that head. Our commission wool combers are hardly as busy as they wore, this being entirely the result of less wool in the hands of topmakers to put out to comb. Imports during the past two months have been larger for tho end of the season than we have ever seen, and being practically all merinos they have kept going those combing especially lino wools. There certainly is much encouragement on this head, and instead of porters playing by the eooro as wo have often seen from .lime to November, the majority are well employed. In this respect we have an evidence of the brisk conditions which are at present obtaining. The same thing is seen at spinning mills, where there is not a single frame standing in Bradford and district. It is actually months since I heard an acquaintance say than any spinner was slack, and even among crossbred men there is plenty doing. So long as this end of the. industry remains good, so long wilL the Taw material be absorbed, and that is what we all want to see. Thj question is a very vexed one as to what amount, of stock is at present being held in Bradford, and while eome say it is considerable in 36's to 44's quality wools, yet above 46's there is by no means a big quantity of raw material.

a review of frices. Being practically on the eve of a new importing season, it "will not bo badly spent time to look back over the course of the past twelve months, and see.how wool has advanced. It is to-day a wellknown fact that wool was picked up at Adelaide's first sale in September, 1908, on a basis off 20d for super 60*» top, and some remarkably cheap parcels were bought. The trade could well do with repeating that profitable experience, but buyers w-ill have no such good luck this season. Prices to-day are up another street altogether, and it is already a foregone. conclusion that tops bought there will cost at least 26d, that being the limit upon which Bradford buyers will attempt to operate. However, the price of wool to-day is vastly different, and below I show what leading descriptions wero worth in-London twelve months ago, an 4 what they aro worth, to-day :

| COURSE OF CROSSBREDS. Crossbreda have also participated in a very encouraging way in the upward course of events, more particularly the medium and fi.neT classes, due largely to excellent American support. Coarse descriptions have not responded as many could have liked, and I account for it mostly because fashions arenot running upon these wools. Then, tho production has materially increased, both in New -Zealand and south America. Thoro is bound to bo a large production of these wools so lom» as tho frozen mutton industry occupies the prominent position which it does, and I certainlv think that the future of strong cr-vss-bi-ids is favourable. We never yet saw m tho history of the wool trade merinos stand for lone 'with such u hii; difference as we see to-duy between the price of 4<)'.i tops and super 60V, the former being a Ion;; way tho cheapest nrt-cle on the market. However, the following is an epitome of the standing

of crossbred wools in London at the present date compared with twelve months ago: ,

THE REAL CAUSE OF THE RISE. The real courso of wool values presenting to-day such a marked change compared with a year ago, is duo to a return of confidence in. the raw material, and above everything else to an augmented consumption. The mills of the world are in a largo measure a* busy to-day as they were in 1007, and with tho political outlook good, and al.-o the prospect of a. continuance of cheap money, it certainly looks as if w,e were to see a maintainance of high prices. Something tot-ally unforeseen will have to obtain if we are to see any set-back in values. America, I feel fure, is going to bo a larger buyer of colonial wool during the coming season than ever, and unle.-s I am greatly mistaken we shall see record prices paid for the tip-top wools of Western Victoria and the Rivcrina. • The class of trade which America, is at tho present doing will absorb larger weights of raw wool, and the wave of prosperity has not yet reached its height across the Atlantic. All reports to hand, both by mail and cable, speak of growing trade, though its seems to many as if things were going a little too fast. There is always that danger about booms. Everybody in Yorkshire feels that at this juncture to make haate slowly and not mish the situation is a far safer line of aetion than that things should bound forward, only to re-act uncomfortably some day. What upsets the wool trado the most is these booms and slumps, the latter in particular. We have to-day in Bradford several big firms who are unwilling to follow the upward trend of events, and who are buying from hand to mouth, hoping before the end of the year to bo able to buy at less money. At the moment the prospect of doing this is by no means very bright, and even importers will not to-day sell forward at what they would three weeks ago. A few of our more progressive firms are willing to take 2s 2Jd for 60's super, and a penny more for G-t's, but a.s yet this business has made little progress, several waiting to know what Adelaide does before embarking upon selling forward at all heavily.

- CONTINENTAL FUTURES. Futures this last fortnight have steadily advanced at all French centres, and there is a steady appreciation also for distant months. Reports to hand of trade conditions, both from France and Germany, are encouraging," tli3 most briskness being seen a! worsted spinning centres. Woollen mills are hardlv as well off for work as those engaged in tho combing and spinning branches, and tho latter seem to be fully as comfortably placed as are the mills in Yorkshire. Below I show what have been quotations, both at Antwern and Eoubaix, since the beginning of this year, the English currency being only given for Itoubaix:—

The quotation of 6.12$ is for 60's River Plato wool tops for October delivery, while for 'next January delivery the quotation is 6.02}, and for next April 5.92 J, *o, practically speaking, the difference is only *d between' October and next April delivery, a very small difference

indeed, show-in™ that even speculators at Roubaix on the terminal market do not look for any material set-back in values. EXPANDING WOOL IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

The, Board of Trade returns published this week give many evidences of ;m expanding textile trade, especially at the ran- material end. In regard to the imports of wool, it uiav .surprise some to learn that for the first eight months of this year we have received less irom Australia than wo did for the corresponding date a. year ago, and also less than in lt'o7. From other sources, particularly the Argentine, South Africa, and New Zealand, our imports have sensibly increased, and tho following are the total frcm nil sources for the eight months during the past three years : Year. Pounds. WI7 578,012,072 1903 528,181.123 1909 610,535,510

What interests us infinitely more is the export side of the account, and here we see that we have shipped abroad sensibly Jarger quantities of wool to every country except Holland. Tho figures here are worth givinE in detail: WOOL EXPORTS.

Turning to the more serious side of our exports in semi and fully manufactured articles we see here not over satisfactory features, the volume of business generally being behind two years ago, but on the whole a trifle better than last year. Tho following are the leading particulars into which wool enters:

The most disappointing feature of the above is the small total of our exports of worsted fabrics compared with two I vears ago, these being sensiblv down. II see on the other hand that our im- \ jx>rts of woollen stuffs, which mostly came from France, amount for the eight months to 49,J33,326 yards, our imports for the same period a year ago bein£ 49,753,156 Yards, and for the first eijyht months in 1007, 51,100.3-40 However, oven our overseas trade during" the past throe months has somewhat improved, and Bradford's export houses are busier than thev have been since "the autumn of 1907. The only fear is that with all mills bein*r busy the production is more tlian what Homo and foreign markpts can absorb, for after tho recent financial crisis many markets wero somewhat overweighted with toxtile fabrics. - I

1 Sept. Sept. average. average. 1908. 1909. Per lb. Per lb. GREASE MERINO. d. d. d. d. N.S. AVales: Riverina, good .average N.S. Wales : X. England, 12-121 12-121 UJ-15-1 lil-151 fine, nvge. condition ... S. Australia: Midlands, good length and condition 0-9 i 111-121 Queensland: Central, good staple 11-111 12J-131 Victoria : Western, good Quality and condition 14-11} J6J-171 Cape: Western Province, fair combing... 8J-9 101-11 Cape: Kaffarian, average combing 81-9 9-91 Xatal: i"aiir staple 7-7} 8-81 Cape: Snow white. superior 19-191 205-211

Sepr. Sept. 1908. ' Tor lb. io'uS. ' 3'crib. NEW ZEALAND. d d. <1. d. Hnlfbred: super; 5ft's 56V ... ll.V-lL' 10-17 Crossbred: medium; 46's 8-S1 11'.-12V Crossbred: coarse; Ifl's 7_71 0-91 Crossbred : coarse; 36's fi-C, 8-SJ-Sliped hnlfbred lambs... ii-ia ll',-l.-.V Sliped .'J-brcd lambs ... 0-10 12-Ki Sliped , Leicester lambs Sliped Lincoln lambs ... 8-81 Gj-71 101-11 9-0]

Date. January 7 February - Antwerp. Eoubaix. Francs. Francs. ... 5.27} 5.32} ... 5.30 5.32} Current s. d. 1 11* 1 11* March i April 1 May 7 Jun» 10 ... 5.50 5.50 ... 5.62 5.70 ... 5.82* 5.95 ... 5.72*. 5.821 1 11* 2 03 2 1* 2 li! July 15 August 5 Sept. 9 ... 5.67} .5.721 , ... 5.75 5.90 ' ... 5.90 6.12} 2 0J 2 15 2 2J

To ucrmanv 1,771,700. 1,320,800 3,079,700 To Netherlands 612.S00 761,900 672.000 To Belgium 2&!,000 2i7,600 555,000 To France... 652,200 747,400 1,410,300 To United States 11,514,100 11,560,600 25,559,000 To Canada 1,112,800 130,200 1,005,000 To other countr i e s 3,693,300 3,502,400 4,020,300 Totals ... 19,G23,900 18,552,900 36,397,300

1907. 1908. 1909. Tops, lb. ... 125,473,600 23,587,000 27,703,100 Woollen yarns, lb. ... ... 1,739,500 1,152,400 1,587,700 Worsted yarns.; lb. ... ... 37,663,700 31,935,900 35,936,100 lloliair it alpaca yarn s, lb. 11,037,500 8,882,800 10,241,100 Woollen tissues, yds. ... 59,721,100 53,516,900 51,177,600 Worsted tissue:*, yds. ... 70,333,100 52,380,800 55,427,600 Flannels, yds. ... 5,001,300 1,670,300 4,551,300 Blankets, pairs 551,268 418,230 411,492 Hosiery, wool, etc., , £ ... 1,011,839 552,716 169,475