COMMERCIAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12823, 15 April 1916, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

CHRISTCHURCF MARKETS. Per Press Association. Chris tchurch, April 14. The whe.it market is quiet, quite as much grain offering as is apparently the demand' not being veryactive. Tuscan is still selling at 4s 2d to 4s 3d; Hunters, 4s 4d to 4s od; Pearl, 4s 6d to 4s 7d country stations, but if the latter was offered' ma straight line it would probably command: a-little more money. Tlie for oats is .not very brisk in view of the weaker tone of the Southland market. A fairly large quantity of Gartons has been'purcbased for 2s at country stations. Potatoes are-weaker owing to the quantity, now offering. Sales hare been made at £4 aOs, some buyers offering £i os at country stations. There is difficulty in getting shipping for Auckland. Steamers for that port are expected ; nest week. _ Pollard is scarcer, and is now quoted at £6.105, being a irise of 10s. ■«

THE DUNEDBSf MARKET. . (Otago Daily Times.) . Considerable quantities of wheat are offering on the local market, but, as millers have now secured a ' fair amount, theyjare chiefly confining thenattention to the purchase of odd lots for mixing purposes. A number of farmers ivill not accept current rates, and are putting their wheat into store. Velvet is quoted at os 2d,- ex trucks. Dimedin, and Tuscan at 4s 6d, and red chaff at 4s 7d. There is an.over-supply of Tuscan, but velvet -wheat is short. Competition is keen in the flour market, and it is reported that some millers are prepared to sell at considerable reductions on the prices named below. Flour is quoted as follows: —Sacks, £l2; 1001b bags, £l2 10s; 50lb bags, £l2ilos; 251b bags, £l3. - Pollard, £6 10s. Bran, £3 10s. Oatmeal, £l6 a ton for 25's. -Pearl barley, £l9. there is very little doing in the oats market. Not' much is on offer, and .shipping business is restricted, as stoppers will not quote with a guarantee of shipment, and' buyers, on the other hand, will not purchase unless they are certain to obtain prompt shipment. Oats are hard to buy, and hard to sell, and farmers are holding off the mar,- I ket as much as possible. Seeing that there must have been a very satisfactorv crop this year, and taking into consideration the fact that the export 'of oats is practically impossible, consequent on the lack of snipping space, there ' does not appear to. be much prospect of the oat market being a very bright one for some months to come, at any rate. Plenty of chaff is now available, ana prices have fallen. There is some inquiry from Oamaru and' Timaru, and any surplus for the local market is therefore not allowed to accumulate. The quality of the new season's chaff is improving. - "Wheaten straw is in full supply, and oaten straw is also fairly plentiful. The potato market is easier, and the price for prime sorts has dropped: to £5 a ton. There is a fair amount of business being done at this price. Some farmers, however, are not inclined to accept current offers. . The southemgrewn potatoes are' or much better quality than those grown in the north, and buyers willingly pay 10s a ton more for these. Eggs are scarce, and stamped find a ready market. Dairy butter is also in snort supply. ' Supplies of bacon have increased a little, but the quantity coming forward is still short of the demand. Current wholesale prices are as follow : Chaff. —Prime oaten-sheaf, £3 os to £3 10s; medium to good, £2 10s to £3 ( sacks extra). ,' to £2 ss; wheaten. to £2. Potatoes. —Prime, £»;. medium lots, £4 10s to £4 155.-

Onions, to £5. Eggs.—Fresh-, Is 9d: Is lOd for stamped; preserved, Is 6d. Butter.—Milled, Is 2d per lb; dairy, in lib packets, Is Id to-Is 2d; separator (bulk), Is 3d. . ' Pigs.—Baeoners, 6Jd per, lb; porkers, 6Jd.

DUNTROON SALE. The yarding.of stock at the Sale con. ducted at Duntroon yesterday by the Oamaru Auctioneers' Association comprised about 3000 sheep and 250 head of cattle. The sheep were late in. getting to yards and owing to lack of accommodation the sheep were not offered for sale to.- advantage, many lines of sheep not being drafted. Owing to delays in preparation, the sale was fate in starting, and was continued throughout the Uay in pouring j a in. Considering the •circumstances, the sale was a good one, prices being well maintained, and for store sheep and cattle somewhat better prices were secured than have been ruling of late. Practically everything was disposed of under the hammer.

Appended arc the majority of the sales effected: —

National Mortgage and Agency Co. sold, on behalf of \v. M. Ross, Hakataramea, ' ICS f.m. ewes at 3s lid. Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. sold, on account W.- Sutherland, 48 s.iii. ewes at Ss lid: account James Spiel's, Livingstone, 180 2-tooth wethers at 12s lOd, 100 2-tooth-ewes at 18s lOd, 42 2-tooth ewes at 18s Sd, 53 4-tooth wethers at 18s; account Stringer Bros., 51 ewes at 2s 7d; account John Adams, junr., 3 13.L. rams at ligns; account John Grant, senr., 5 heifers at 255. Dalgety and Co. sold, on account W. Wright, 153 6 and Stooth ewes at 13s 7d,. 200 ewe lambs at 14s, 173 wether Jambs at 8s 7d; on account Alex. Wilson, Kurow, 100 2tooth wethers at 16s 4d, 150 fullmonith ewes at 5s 2d to 5s 4d; on account E. -Walker, 110 lambs at 16s od; on account client, 88 ewes at 14s 7d; on account E. O'Neill, 65 fat lambs and 20 fat owes at current rates, cull ewes at os 8d; on account W. Wright, 74 fat Jambs at 16s 7d, fat ewes at 16s, cull ewes 3s: on accountJM. Hampton, lambs to 8s 7d; on Mr Stringer, fat lambs at current rates; on account W. Brown, fat lambs at 17s; on account E. Conlan, 100 lambs at 5s Id, 2 pens wetliers at ISs 9d, 42 fat ewes at 14s 3d, 70 cull ewes at 3s 6d: on account T. Beck, 2 pens ewes at lis, cull ewes at os, fat ewes at-cur-rent rates: on account L. M'Gradie, 2 pens fat ewes at, 16s 3d, 40 fat lambs at 18s: on account Mr Stringer, 180 2 and 4-tooth ewes at 19s 7d; on account various' clients, being m;ostly cattle from Waitaki Islands, at following prices:' Pen- bullocks at £9 7s 6d, pen fat heifers at £6 ss, pen mixed cattle at .'£4, pen steers at £4 6s, i>en big bullocks at £8 12s 6d, pen cows at £3 17s 6d, pen heifers at £3 12s 6d: steers at £2 lis, fat heifer at £4 17s 6d, vealcr at £2, cows from £2 to £3 12s 6d, pen steers at £2 10s, pen forward heifers at £5, 46 18-months-old cattle passed. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.'sold, on account J. Murdoch, Otekaike, 94 ewes at 13s 9d, 71 ewes at 7s; on account W. Menzies, Haka, 29 ewes at 7s; on account James Menzies, Duntroon, 60 fat ewes at 17s od; on account Cairns Bros., Haka, 230 ewes at £3 3s; on account W. Sutherland, Duntroon, 40 store wethers at 14s' and 14s sd, 86 small 2.tooth wethers at 9s; on account J. Sutherland' 1 -cow and calf at £4 10s.