COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16292, 27 January 1915, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

LONDON MARKETS. Press Association—By Telegraph.—Copyright. LONDON, January 25. Wheat: Market quiet, ans occasionally Easier. . Silver, 22Jd per oz. ■ ' r nihi shares, 38s 9d to 41s 3d. Copper: Spot, £63 ss; three months, £63 7s 6d; electrolytic, £66. Tin: Spot, £165; three months, £155. Lead, £18 7s 6d. Spelter, £32 7s 6d. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S CABLEGRAM. (Pie United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, January 26. The High Commissioner cabled under date January 23 (Note: Quotations, unless otherwise specified, are average market prices on spot): — Mutton. —The market is steady and fair business is doing. Canterbury, sid; North Island, 5 7-16 d. Lamb.—The market is steady. Canterbury, 6sd The supply is running short. Other than Canterbury, this season's, 7d; very best quality, as high as 7id; second grade, 6fd. Beef.—The market w firm, with an increasing demand for the better grades owing to short supply. Frozen hindquarters, 6 5-16 d; forequarters, sld; chilled hinds, 7£d; fores s|d. Butter.—The market closed rather quiet, but a fair demand continues. Danish is quiet, 150s to 1545; New Zealand, 142s to

1445; exceptionally good, 1465; Australian, 140s to 1445; Siberian, 136s to 1335; Argentine, 140s to 1445. Cheeso.—The market remains firm, with a good demand. The Canadian market is quiet, but firm. White and coloured, 84s to 86s; New Zealand: A good demand continues; white and <oloured. 82s to 83s; exceptionally good, 84s, English cheddar, firmer, 90s. liomp.—The- market is firmer, with a better demand. The market is speculative. New Zealand good fair, £27; fair, £25. Fair current Manila, £29. A forward shipment sold at the same price. Wool.—The market is firm and at the advance. All merinos have gained jd per lb since the opening. Wheat.—The market is firm on account of a report from the Argentine that the weather there- is too wet. Nominal quotations : Canadian, 58s; Argentine. January shipment, 60s, excluding war risk. .«» CHRISTCHURCH MARKETS. (Pin United Pbess Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, January 26. There is nothing fresh to report in regard to wheat, millers being dependent upon grain imported by the Government, a supply of which is now due from Australia. The wheat harvest is now becoming general in North Canterbury. There is a good demand for oats, and several lines of the new crop have been sold at 3s at country stations, and for u small line of Algerians suitable for seed and for immediate shipment to Austraia 3s 3d is reported to have been paid. Several sales of new oatsheaf chaff have been made at £4 at country stations. No transactions are yet reported in barley. Growers are asking 6s, and malsters are evidently not prepared to operate at this figure. A few small sales of ryegrass are reported at 3s 9d to 4s, at country stations. The fact that the crop throughout the dominion was expected to be a short ono has caused an unusually large amount of seed to be ini|>orted, both by North and South Island firms. A few potato growers have sold part of their crops for forward delivery at £4 per ton. North Island buyers have not yet shown any disposition to operate. Good crops aro reported in the western parts of the Wellington province, where the season has been a favourable one, but all along the East Coast of the North Island, right up to Auckland, the crop will be a short ono on account of the long spell of dry weather. Tho main crop in Canterbury has been much benefited by the rain of a fortnight ago. «, SOUTHLAND MARKETS. (Faou Ouk Own Couukbwjnobnt.) INVERCARGILL, January 26. Tho amount of business that has been passing in live stock during the past week nas been greatly in excess oi tnat transacted during any other week during the war. The tone of the market is good, and is likely to remain so for some time. Very hign prices are being paid for fat cattle owing to the demand created by the necessity to fill army contracts, and in some cases as high as 45s per 1001b is being paid. The average price, however, is about 43s per 1001b. It is reported that buyers aro snapping up everything they can lay hands on, even stuff that is half prime, and in consequence of that the plentifulness of feed, good forward store steers are in great demand. Besides local buyers visitors from Otago have been in evidence, and during 1 the past week have taken away at least 500 head of fat or well forward bullocks. Young store cattle ako aro in greater demand than they have been for many a month. The quantity of turnip feed that is promised throughout the province is rendering it imperative for farmers to purchase. Fat lambs are in fair demand at 6d per lb, but not nearly to such a great extent as beef and mutton, the coarser moat being of course, preferred for army purposes. At tho Wallacetown stock sale to-day there was an extra large yarding of fat cattle almost immediately after the sale commenced freezing buyers let themselves loose, and the consequence was a sale of record prices. The highest price reached was £31, which was obtained by the National Mortgage and Agency Company, for a bullock vended by Mr John Evans, of Lochiel. The weight of this animal was estimated at anything between 1300 and 14001b. This is a record price for tho Wallacetown yards, and was paid by Mr W. Swale, a freezing buyer. The bullock was of a Shorthorn cross. * SHEEPSKIN SALE. The Dunedin Woolbrokers' Association (Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd., A. Moritzson and Co., National Mortgage and Agency Company, Ltd., New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., Otago Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., Donald Reid and Co., Ltd., Stronach, Morris and Co., Ltd., and Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ltd.), reports as follow:—The usual sheepskin salo was held on Tuesday, when large catalogues were submitted to a full attendance of buyers. Competition was very keen, Especially for the better class skins, for which pieces were id to id per lb dearer, and crossbreds to the extent of dearer; while dead skins also showed a rise of £d to *d. Best lambskins sold- at prices which were jd to Id per lb above those of the previous sale. Quotations: Half bred, best. 9Jd to lOd; good. 9id to 9|d; inferior. 8d to B|d; fine crossbred, best. 9jd to DJd; good, 9d to 9£d; medium, &Jd to B^d; best coarse crossbred, 9jd to 9fd; medium to good, B£d to 9d; inferior. 7£d to 8d; best merino, to 7d; good, sfd to 6Jd; best pelts, to 6|d; good pelts. 6d to 6fd; medium, sid to s|d; hest lambskins, to BJd; good lambskins, 8d to B£d; ho3t hoggets, 9d to 9|d; halfbred dead, best, 9d to 9£d; crossbred dead, best, 8d to B|d per lb.