COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16547, 22 November 1915, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

Daily Timee Office, Saturday morning. Prices continue to move upwards. Uurmah candles have been advanced to s§d per lb for 25-box lots, and 6d for smaller quantities. These prices, however, are still considerably under cost. Supplies of oauistic soda are difficult to obtain. Orders are now only being booked for shipment next February at the earliest, and higher prices are named. For the small local : stocks available 7s 6d per dozen is asked. Local merchants are very much dissatisfied at the delay in bringing forward the transhipments ex Waihemo from San Francisco. This steamer arrived in Wellington on the 10th inst., and her transhipments for Dunedin will not come to hand till Monday. She is bringing the now season's Californian seedless raisins, sultanas, figs, etc. A parcel of Morton's Epsom salts arrived during the week. Golman's semolina shows a smart advance in price, and merchants will not be able to sell, on tho basis of the present cost, at under 5s 9d or 6s per dozen. Peck's paste is now quoted at 8s per dozofl. Sago and Tapioca are in short supply, and will continue to be so until tho arrival of tho dircct steamer, which is duo to leave Singapore in December. Cable advice from Singapore announces a very decided advance in these two lines—upwards of £2 a ton. The local quotation for the goods availabo w 21s per cwt for sago, and 22s for tapioca. As previously reported, quotations in Grcece for currants have risen to a high ■ figure. Local storekeepers have been inclined to consider the prices asked by distributers here ae too high, but it should bo noted that Australia will take all that are being offered, there being a shortage there. Jordan almonds are likely to bo late in arriving on this market, as tho growing season in Spain has been backward. Large-sized packets of Sapon arc quoted at 61s per case, and 5s 3d per dozen for broken ]ots; small-sized, 25s 6d per case; less, 2s 3d per dozen. Salt shows an increased cost, and prices continue to advance. Cooper's bird seed is costing 5s 6d per dozen packets.

Lentils have advanced by about £3 per ton, according to cable advice from Singapore. Fresh herrings are in short supply. Pineapples are now quoted at 4s 9d per dozen for (cubes), and 6a 9d for 2lb (whole). The Kia Ora, due to arrive on December 8, is bringing supplies of Colman's starch and mustard and Keen's blue. All hardware lines are still advancing in price, and merchants are finding great difficulty in securing supplies. Goods ordered by letter from London take, approximately, one year to reach the warehouses in Dunedin, and in many instances goods ordered by cablegram will take about the _ same length of time to come to hand. It is particularly hard to secure anything in mild steel, as the output at Homo is required for ■war purposes. Importers also find a difficulty in obtaining copper tubes and copper sheets, as tho Homo Government has commandeered practically all tho stocks available, and is controlling the export. Advice from Now York, under date October 22, states that "prices for practically all iron and' steel materials continue to afrvance, and orders are not being accepted for delivery in less than fwo.to three montba. In fact, some of our large steel manufactories have withdrawn entirely their outputs for months to coimc, being fully contracted for." A lot of hardware material has been lost through t.ho destruction of the Northern Monarch. One lino of £0 tons of fencing wire for Dunedin was on this vessel. LONDON MARKETS. PreM Association—By Telegraph.—Copyright LONDON, November 20. (Received Nov. 21, at 5.5 p.m.) Rubber: Para, 3s; plantation, 3s 2d; smoked, 3s ljd. Jute: November and December shipments, £25. Hemp: January-March shipments, £35 10s. Copra: November and December shipments, £28 17s 6'd. Cotton: November and December shipments, 6.85 i. . . Butter: Danish, 174s to 178s; Australian, nnsalted, 160s to 1645. Wheat: Quiet and rather firmer. Chicago December options, 106 cents to 104 i cents; May options, 107| cents to 106 i cents. Tho Ijidian Government has extended its prohibition of the export of wheat till further orders. FROZEN MEAT MARKET. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, November 20. (Received Nov. 21, at 5.5 p.m.) The following are the latest quotations for all classes of meat, including ex-store sheep. _ In the case of those not quoted tho price is unchanged:— Nov. 13. Nov. 20. a. <L Canterbury mutton, light 7J 7 Canterbury mutton, Beoond quality, light — 7J — Canterbury mutton, medium ... ">i Canterbury mutton, heavy „. ... 6f Southland mutton 7J — Southland mutton, second quality 7$ — N.I. mutton, beßt brand*, 66-641b — N.I. mutton, ordinary, 58-641b .~ ~ — N.Z. ewes ... ._ ... ._ „. 611-16 Australian mutton, light ... — — * Australian mutton, medium — — * Australian mutton, heavy — * Australian ewes - — ' * i Elver Plate mutton, light, 40-551b — — Biver Plate mutton, heavy, 56-731b — — Blver Plate 6wet ... — Oanterbury lamb, light 8 7J Canterbury lamb, second quality 7| 7g Canterbury lamb, medium ... Canterbury lamb, heavy ... 7J North Island lamb, 'selected ». — — North Island lamb, ordinary ... — Southland lamb, selected — — Southland lamb, ordinary 7J Australian lamb, best brands ... * — Australian lamb, fair quality ... * — Anetrallan lamb, inferior * — Biver Plate lamb, first quality... — 6t River Plate lamb, second quality — 6} New Zealand beef, fores — ... — — New Zealand beef, hinds — — Australian beef, forea — — Australian beef, hinds — — Argentine beef, ohilled fores ... — Argentine beel, chilled hinds ... 7£ — Argentine beef, frozen fores ... — 6jf Argentine beel, frozen hinds ... — 8J S. American sheep, light ._ — — S. American sheep, heavy ... — — ' S. American lambs, first quality — — S. American lambs, second quality — — S. American ewes — — * None offering. Other meats are unchanged. Babbits: Dull. New South Wales blues, 22s 6d, ex store. LONDON SHEEPSKIN MARKET. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company is in receipt of the following cablegram from its London office: — "Sheepskins: Combing advanced Id; clothing, £d."

OAMARU MARKETS. (Fbom Odb Own Correspondent.) OAMARU, November 20. Tho show has interfered with business in this market this week. Inquiries have been received for wheat, but, notwithstanding tho fact that samples have been placed under offer to millers on a lower basis of prices than those given in Canterbury press reports, no sale has been made. Thero are no oats here," and merchants are drawing supplies from Southland. The market for potatoes has practically closed for the season, with very few left in growers' hands. Unfavourable feed prospects havo restrained business in stock, which was also interrupted by tho show. Still, several lines of lambs havo changed hands, including a big lino for January delivery at 17s. Another big line of good tussock wether lambs was sold at 13s 6d for delivery in February, and several email lots of farm store lambs, mixod sexes, have been placed at 14s and 14s 6d. Some business has been dono in store cattle for transfer south, the sales including a mob of 40 steers in forward condition at £8. For a draft of store cows £6 5s was paid, and some mixed sexes of yearlings have been placed at £2 17s 6d. Fat bullocks, medium-weights, have been sold at £13 and £14. The strong winds which havo prevailed lately havo dried up the moisture near the surface of tho ground, and, as tho subsoil. has never been wetted, rain is again badly needed for both cereals and grass.