COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2587, 23 May 1870, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

(Dally Times Office, Saturday Evening. The amount of Customs .Revenue receive I to-day on gooda cleared lor consmnp. feion was as follows, viz. :— £ g. d. £ 8. £. Brandy ... 28 3 8 Coffee ... 30 0 9 Whisky ... 70 13 9 Tea ... 11 5 0 Geneva, ... IS 12 9 Sundries... 3 8 4 Beer ... 4 16 3 Total ...£167 0 6

The week's business has been very unimportant, the expectation of the arrival of the home mails, and the continued inclemency of the weather, preventing town transactions during the major part of the time, while the latter cause has sufficed to suspend country business,: except for tho3e places where the state of the roads now allows of goods being forwarded. The ships advised from ports in the United Kingdom are also making mostprofcraefced passages, andimportscontinne very light. This cause has added to the duhies3 observable among import; houses, it is therefore only possible to .note an unvaried state of the marketa. In the current trade doing, no alteration in values or inclination to better enquiry being apparent. The transactions in liquids have been of no note; whiskies and genevas remain dull, and the demand for brandies is below the average, prioss being barely sustained. Stocks of sugars have become light ; there is a disposition to business, but holders are looking for batter rates, and in consequence, sales will not be heavy just immediately. Sales of teas have been made to a better extent, prices showing no disturbance. Both colonial and imported provisions have been in fair request at prices showing a shade of improvement. At present the timber market is very heavily supplied with all deHariptions ; ths late auction sales havo been unattended with success, but privately- parcels have passed from first hands, tko particulars of which have not been made known. The produce market has been but moderately active, the small parcels of grain conifog forward have mostly

been placed at the previous week's rates, but no speculative enquiry is manifest, and the shipments, even within the colony, con* tinue of no moment. At the mills the demand for flour has been fair. Prices are reported as without alteration. Fine flour is quoted at;HO K;s to Lll.

Section 34; block XII. Dunedin, and situated in Elm Row, together with a dwelling house of eight rooms and other improvements thereon, was sold on Saturday for the sum of L 225, the auctioneers being Messrs Gillies and Street.

Messrs Wright," Stephenson, and Co. report, for the week ending May. 21st, as follows :—

Fat Cattle.—None yarded during the week. The market being bare of good beef, any lots of prime quality coming forward will meet with ready sale. We quote first qua'ity, 20s per lOOlbs ; second ditto, 15s to 17b (3d.

Fat Sheep —A large number of inferior quality came to hand, and realised little better than store prices. We have sold 500 wethers, good quality, at 2d per lb, wnich may be taken as market price for good mutton.

Store Cattle.—We have enquiries for weUgrown store bullocks. Our sales comprise 150 bullocks, 2 to 4 years, and 30 cows, at L 4 per head ; a mixed herd of 120 head, a large proportion being cows broken to bail and with calves at foot, at same price ; and a small herd of 20 dairy cows with calves, at L 5 each. These prices may be taken as current rates.

Store Sheep. —Enquiries are numerous for half-bred and merino wethers and lambs, but few are offering. .

Horses.—At our yards, on Saturday, we disposed' of a shipment of 40 head, ex Phoebe, from Wellington, consisting principally of light stock, at from 1,7 to L 27 per head, averaging Ll2. We quote heavy draughts L4O to LSO ; middling do, L 27 to L 32 ; good saddle and light harness horses, L2O to L 2 4; middling and inferior do, L 7 to Ll2.

Grain.—The maiket is very depressed at present, and sales can only be effected for local wants. We quote—Wheat (old), 4s 3d per bashel; new do, 4s per bushel; oats (new), 2s 6d : ; barley—unless of bright colour and good grain—is quite unsaleable.

The Argus of the 14th inst. reports :— Business in the import markets to-day has. been exceedingly quiet, and enquiries for '■ goods generally have been of a very trifling; description indeed. We have no doubt that; the disagreeable state of the weather is in some degree accountable for the very insignificant nature of the day's trade. Breadstuff's' evince no animation ; only trade sales of flour can be reported, and at prices which show no alteration whatever. Victorian brand's are disposed of at Lll 5s to LU 10s. Wheat ismoved off at from 4a lOd to 55., for an • average sample of Victo ian grown. We un-; derstand, however, that owing to the very superior quality of the Wangaratta wheat, as' much as 5s 3d is obtained. Sales of fair parcels are reported at this quotation. Maize is quitted at 4s lid to 5a for trade parcels ; we have not learnt that the arrival of the Hector has affected the market as yet in any degree. Oats are very firm. We note a good enquiry at 3s 4d to 3s sd, and even as much, aa 3s 6d is realised for; very prime samples.: The sale oi, teas this forenoon attracted a large attendance. Some 3000 packages^ chests and half-chests, chiefly the former,' were disposed of at prices ranging from 9d to 13d. Some very dusty was got rid of at from od to s|d. Sugars are very steady, for though buyers still keep back, there is not the slightest appearance on the part of holders of giving way. We observe that a large sale of faulty sugars will take place on Monday, as the damaged portions of the Queen of the Seas and Perigny's cargos will then be submitted to public competition. By our Adelaide telegrams we perceive that an advance of L 3 per ton has been obtained at a sale in that market of 1,50u hundred bagsj Hops continue to attract a good deal of noticel We learn of the sale of a line of 29 pockets "Golding's," very prime 1869 Kent's, having been effected at as high as 2s 4d. Medium Kent's are also in ready sale at Is lid. We are informed of some 70 pockets fine Tasmanian 1870's having been cleared out ia parcels at up to Is lldr Galvanised iron is attracting more attention; a shipment of 120 cases (60 tons) of Scotch make, 26 gauge, has, we understand, been taken up in one line on terms withheld. In liquids, Herinessy's case brandy is kept prominently in view, and holders have now advanced > their selling prices to 275. In the morning a trifle less was accepted, but,.we now hear of no sales below the rate named. '■■■;.