DUNEDIN WOOL SALES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11956, 1 February 1901, Page 8

DUNEDIN WOOL SALES.

The third sale of the .present season was held yesterday, when 7586 bales wero submitted, as against 8945 for the corresponding sale of last year. There was a good attendance of buyers. The reports of. the selling brokers given below deal with the course of the sales, so that it is only necessary to submit a table of the quantity submitted by cach firm: — Bales. Wrigh'i Stephenson and Co. ~ 1971 N.Z. Loan and M.A. Company .. 1530 D. Reid and' Co. ■ .. .. .. 12S1 Dalgety and Co .. 1153 Otngo Farmers' Co-operative .. 715 Stronach Bro3, and Morris .. 431 Farmers' Agency Company .. 251 Horitzson and Co .. .. 105 Matheson, Prain, and Co. .. „ 132 Total 7629 . Wright, Stephenson, and Co. report:—We held our third sale for the season in the Otago A. and P. Socioty's .Victoria Hall on Thursday. Tk attendance of buyers was not equal to what it was at the sale earlier in the month, the absentees being the representatives of the three northern woollen mills. The quantity catalogued was 7586 bales, against 8915 bales for the same series last year, and, generally speaking, the quality did not compare favourably with that of last season. The amount of ill-bred and dingy wool offered is said to bo larger than at any previous sale in Duuedin. No doubt this is due to the mixed character of the crossbred flocks now bred and to tho fact that the majority of farmers winter their sheep on turnips. Bidding throughout the sale lacked animation, and only'in the case of the finer bred merino and half bred wools and good pieces was there anything like competition. For the best ficcco wools of these, descriptions last sales priccß wero fully maintained—in some particular instances they were • a shade better,—but pieces, although well compoted for, did not sell quite so well.. For medium quality merinos and crossbreds the demand wa3 very poor, and with regret we have to chronicle d decline of hil per lb on the'?, classes. The withdrawals were unusually heavy—probably one-third of the lowoi'-class wools were passed in; in some cases without eliciting competition.

Wo catalogued 1977 hales, and, including private sale 3, have disposed of 1412- bales since our last ropprt. Most of tho private sales were at par to 3d per ib advance on the passed-in bids, and in the case of N over Abbotsford, for 7 bales of very choicp. merino flcece, we obtained tho top price of the season—viz,, 9Jd per lb. Merinos—super 9Jd to Bd, medium 7Jd to 6jd, inferior 6Jd to BJd; halfbreds—super 9d to Bd, medium £d to 7d, inferior 6}d to 5Jd; crossbreds—super 8d to 7d, medium 6jd to S|d, inferior 5Sd to 4Jd; thrce-qnartorbrcd longwools—super 6d to 5Jd, medium 5Jd to sd, inferior 4Jd to 4sd; pieces—super GJd to sd, medium to 3Jd, inferior 3d to 2d; locks— • super 4Sd to Sid, medium 3d to 2d, inferior ljd to Id. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company report having offered a. catalogue of 1530 bales of wool to a fairly representative gathering of buyers. A i6w oi the woollen mills from the neighbouring districts aud provinces were not represented; these no doubt having bought all they wanted farther north, as well as at the previous sales south. The offerings at this series wore very disappointing in quality; in most cases showing a lack of breeding and great discolouration. Very few good merino and half bred were forward, and the lew of the really good lines of the former met with keen competition among the local factory representatives, and brought prices quite up to thoso ruling last sales. These lines, however, were few in number.. On the other hand, medium quality merino suffered a drop of quite Id per lb, as also did medium halfbred and fine crossbred, as compared with last sale on the 11th. Coarse-grown crossbred also showed a drop of from Jd to .Jd-per lb. The following well-known brands sold at or over;—]. l ' over Brandon, O between two half-corcles, LM over C, TD over Anise Hill, KO, GT in circle, GS in square, Cainard, KYE, EV over F, ORM, 6G, G4, WD over bar over 51, EM, Horseshoe* over Greenvale, G7, (M), R in circle. Their catalogue showed the following range of prices: Merino—fleece Od tc 7Jd, pieces 4d to njd, locks lid to 3Jd; halfbred-vfleecc 6d to 7*d, pieces 3Jd to sid, bellies 3d to 3Jd, locus Hd to 2jd; fine crossbred—fleece 5Jd to GJd; coarse crossbred—fleece 'ltd to 5Jd. Out of a catalogue of 1530 bales they report having withdrawn 535.

Donald Reid and Co. (Limited) report as follows;—We held our third sale of the season's series at the Agricultural Hall, Crawford street, Dunedin, on Thursday, 31st January, when we ' submitted a catalogue of 1281 bales, comprising Leicester, Lincoln, Shropshire, merino; and crossbred wools, made up chiefly of farmers' ■ wools and clips from small grazing runs in tho Central Otago districts. With the exception of some nice and well-got-up clips from tho Roes Valley, Waipori, aud Clinton districts, the bulk of the wools offered by us to-day were rather dingy, earth-coloured, and tick-stained, and did not open out to advantage, which clearly showed either poor wintering, inefficient dipping, or both combined. For all sound, bright wools of tho finer sorts there was fair competition' up to and in a few cases above the rates obtained at the last sale; strong wools of all sorts were in poor demand, and showed a decline of from Id to Jd per Ib, while for tickstaincd, earthy and dingy lots it was difficult to find buyers. Pieces and locks were well competed for, and all readily found buyers under good competition at prices barely equal to those obtained at tho last sales. • There was a moderate gathering of wool-growers aud others interested in the sales, and a very full attendance of buyers—English, foreign, and Continental manufacturers and speculators being well represented, Tho Mosgiel, Roslyn, and Bruce woollen mills were all represented, and for wools suitable to their requirements gave good assistance to the sales. The full catalogues submitted by the various Belling brokers made a total of 7573 bales. Of tho 12S1 bales offered by us, 1031 were sold at auction, and 190 were passed, as bidding was not up to valuations, aud in some cases not equal to reserves fixed by owners. We are in treaty for tho sale of some of the lots passed in, and hope to dispose of them privately. Except for tho very finest sorts of wool, the sale all round lacked spirit, and dull throughout; the only consolation to sheep men being the satisfactory prices ruling for lambs and sheep. Our next sale will be held on Friday, 22nd February, and all wool intended for this (the last of the series) should reach our stores not later than Tuesday, 19th February, otherwise it cannot be included in the catalogue. The following shows current values;— Greasy halfbred—superior, 8d to BJd; good, 7d to 7Jd; medium, 5Jd to GJd; inferior, 5d to 5Jd. Greasy merino—Superior, 8d to 9Jd; good, 7d to 7.3d; medium, Od to GJd; inferior, 5Jd to Greasy crossbred—Superior, G|d to 7gd; good Gd to G^d; medium, 5d to 5Jd; inferior, -IJd to -ljd. Greasy longwools—Superior, 5Jd to Gj;d; good, 5Jd to 5Sd; medium, 4Jd to sd; inferior, 4d lo 4Jd. The following krands realised tho highest prices: —Bar over JJ, 2 bales greasy merino, 9}d; WL, 0 do, BJd; JD over Ree3 Valley, 14 do 7Jd, ado 7Jd; Diamond with — through, i do, 7Jd; JD over Bees Valley, 6do 7Jd, 0 do 7d; HR over shears, 2 do, 7d; JD over Rees Valley, 4 bales greasy comeback, 7d; — over JJ, 3 bales greasy halfbred, BJd; JI, 6 do, B}d; M over EH, 7 bales greasy halfbred ewe 7ijd, 3do hogget 7Jd; JD over Rees Valley, i bales greasy A halfbred, 7Jd; — over JJ, 3 bales greasy crossbrcd 7Jd, 3 do 7d; M over EH, 12 do 7d, 3 do GJd, 6 do GJd; JD over Rees Valley, 8 do. Gid; JHA, 2 do G}d; PS in circle, 4 do, GJd; B over —', 2 do, GJd; WJ, 3 do, GJd; WL, 5 do, GJd; MD, Gdo 6}d, 9do GJd; CJ, 2 do, Gd; M, 6 do, Gd; G2, 7 do, Gd; H2, 2 do, Gd; XX, 8 do, Gd; MF, 7 do, Gd. Messrs Dalgety and Co. report;— There was a decline at the third series of wool sales. This was expected from the tone of yesterday's cables. Our Sydney office'wired yesterday;— " Good demand for wool in general, and competition is animated, but prices are all round less firm, unfavourable London advices having affected values." From London wo were advised last night: "Since our last telegram merino sheepskins are unchanged; crossbred sheepskins are lower by Jd." This was a bad sign. On the other hand, New Zealand prices right through the season hove been abovo those of London and Australia on a parity of values, more especially for all fine wools; and 110 doubt the death of the Queen has had a depressing cffcct upon tho market both at Home and here, and tho London market will have to rise considerably to pay people for shipping from this colony. The opening of London wool sales 011 the 15th of this month was 1 great disappointment. It had been fully axpoctcd by the trade that there would be. a rise on tho previous London series held in October of from 10 to 15 per cent. Instead of that there was only a rise of 5 to 7£ per cent, on merinos and fine wool, and 110 rise at all on coarsc;crossbred, and as the sales have progressed the opening rates were hardly maintained. So, rea'|ly, though tho Dunedin market is per lb all round worse than 011 tho 11th, and worse ihan that for irregular and inferior wools, it is good by comparison. We offered 1153 bales, and sold about 900. Our catalogue was not a very representative oni, we having disposed of the bulk of our wools on the lltli. Top prices were as follows:—Merino flcece, Bd, this being got for a sample grown by Captain Gardner, of Birchwood; pieces, GJd; halfbred, 7ld for a lot from Mr J. M'Lcod (Ginunorburn); crossbred, GJd, this being obtained on behalf of Mr W. Currie (Lovell's Flat).

The Otago Farmers' Co-operative Association report:—We catalogued 715 bales and 501d505, one lot of 71 bales being withdrawn for shipment. Bidding was niueli quieter than at the previous 'sales, and wety description of wool was weaker by from®Jd to Jd by comparison with the sales of the 11th. Competition was confined principally to local speculators and fellmongors, though a few bales of the best quality went to the mills. The representatives of the English mi'ls sat quieter for the most part, their silence showing that the values realised were abovo tlieii ideas. Our top price was 8d for halfbred grown by Air Robert Cowie, of Wetherstones, 7Jd for merino from the shed of Mr J. M'Arthuv, of Clydo, and G|d for Mr Cowie's crossbred. Two or three special lots brought up to 8d for halfbred and 9Jd for extra choice stud merino, but these were tho exceptions. Messrs Stronach Bros, and Morris report having held their third sale of. tho season at the Victoria Hall, Agricultural Buildings, on Thursday, 31st January. The attendance of buyers was a representative one, As compai'ecl with the sales held on the 11th inst., values may be said to have reccdcd 3d to Jd per. lb. Cables received during' the week from London showing a decline in that market to the extent of bringing prices back to the level of previous series, the full was more or less reflected at local auctions, although values here were somewhat irregular, as instanced by the fact of wools passed in at last sa!cs : making id per lb hiorc in some cases. The clips submitted were not, on the whole, attractive, and all tick-stained and earthy sorts met poor competition. Halfbred, quarterback, and merinos of nico condition were well contested for, and found buyers usually in the representatives of local mills.' We obtained 7Jd for halfbred ewe wool marked Cora Linn, from South Canterbury. Values may be quoted as follows:— Greasy halfbred supc<, 7Jd to 8ld; medium to good, 6Jd to 7}d; inferior, 5Jd to 6d; merino super, 8d to BJd; medium to good, GJd to 7£d; inferior, 5d to fid; crossbred super, &2d to 7Jd; medium to good, 5d to GSd; inferior,. -ljd to SJd. Picces and looks showed only a very slight decline. Our catalogue comprised 431 bales.

The Farmers' Agcncy Company report as follows:—Wo beg to report having holtl our third wool sale of the season on Thursday, Owing to a large number of our clients deciding to ship their wool direct to tho London market, our catalogue was n small one—2sl bales. Although there was tho usual attendance of buyers, bidding was by no means brisk, the Home buyers',oporating very sparingly, and we consider that, compared with the sale of January 11, there was a decline of from Jd to Jd per lb on nearly all classes, the drop being most marked in the case of earthy and strong wooh. In consequence of' the competition from the local mills, the very fine sorts almost held their own; but this can only be said of some choice lots, and they were not numerous, in Thursday's offerings. .Iho unfavourable cables arriving, from London in reference to tho wool and sheepskin sales now going on had a depressing effect on this market, and it seems very difficult to forecast,with any degree of certainty the trend of the Home marketi. The January London sales oponed with good com-

potation—although the prices were on a low Lis,-arid it was expected in most quarters that they would show a hardening tendency rielit to the.close; but instead of tins they have weakened. Whether .Ins u only temporary or not it is hard to say, but, for the sake of our • farmer friends who have shipped Home on their own account, wo sincerely trust that subsequent sales of the year will show an improvement. Our top price on Thursday was 8&d, obtained for a nice parcel of merino grown by Mr Donald Williamson, of Clinton. VVe think ■ the range of values on Thursday generally were as under:— Greasy super .halfbred, 7Jd to BJd; good to medium, 6|d to 7Jd, super,crossbred, 6Jd to 7Jd; u,e fj ll " n 'A 1 ■, GJd; three-quarterback, good, 6Saito 6a; medium, 4sd to ojd. Messrs A. Jloritzson and Co. report thus: We offered about 165 bales, the catalogue mostly being made up of medium qualities, very few really good wcols baing offered. The trade was ifairly represented, but in, sympathy with the London market prices were down from Jd to Id per lb. With regard to the finer wools 110 doubt the. reason was that the factories were fully well supplied, their representatives • only binding for special lines. Even at the reduced prices the English buyers bought very little, speculators being the principal operators. At our sale best merino ruled from 7d to fid; medium, Cd to- GJd; inferior from 5d to Gd. Best halfbred fetched from to SJd; medium, EJd to GSd;. inferior, 5d to 6Jd. Best crossbred brought from Gd to 7*d; medium, s}d to 6Jd; inferior, 4Jd to sd. Bellies and pieces realised 21d to sd, and locks Id to 2£d. Messrs Matlieson, Praiii, ar.<l Co. report: We held our second sale in Victoria Hall yesterday, when we offered 132 bales of wool (all greasy),' mid, under very fair competition by the usual representatives of the trade, sold every lot under the hammer (except two lots) at prices which may be considered fairly satisfactory under the circumstances. There was certainly less keenness than at last serifcs, and prices, with the exception of really nice lots, were not up to the standard. On the whole, however, we are fairly well satisfied with the result, ns we got prices fully up to our valuations.