COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18199, 21 March 1921, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

Daily Times Office, Saturday morning. _ Hinton’s (Limited) are now quoting this season’s first quality dessert fruits at 17s 6d. The Kurow, which has left Auckland, has on board 269 tons of sugar for Dunedin. Some of the Dunedin merchants aroffar from satisfied with the way in which the proportionate allotments to each merchant have been made with previous shipments, and the Board of Trade and local members of Parliament have been asked to look into the matter. A new agency line, Optimus coffee essence, has arrived on the market. The current quotation is 26s per dozen. Wholesale stocks of sago and tapioca are now getting short. The line by the Sealda has all been distributed. The next parcel is due to arrive in about four to six ■treks’ time. The distributing price for maizena has been reduced to 6Jd per lb. 1 Supplies of evaporated peaches are out of wholesale hands. Cerebos salt is now being sold at a slightly reduced rate. Clover cream (substitute for cream of tartar) has been reduced by no less than 2Jd per lb. Waxshine is now being offered at 11s per dozen, a reduction of la per dozen. Confectionery bags show a reduction all round of about 10 per cent. e Challenger pipes are quoted at 33s per dozen. Chairman cigarettes have been reduced in price, in consequence -of some®of the merchants being overstocked. This popular brand of cigarettes in England .does not apparently meet the favour of the colonial cigarette smoker. Advices by the mail from Australia state that an attempt has been made to*.exploit the Californian market with ' Queensland packed pineapples. The venture, however, did not turn out a success, the Hawaiian pack being offered at a lower rate.

LONDON MARKETS. LONDON, March 19. (Received. March 20, at 5.6 p.m.) Cotton; Liverpool quotation, American Middling-Upland, April delivery, 7.63 d per lb. Rubber: Fine, hard Para, lljd per lb; plantation, first-latex, crepe, llgcl; smoked, ribbed-sheet, IOJd. Copra; South Sea, bagged, March-May delivery, £2O 10a per ton. Jute: March-April shipment, £32. • Hemp: March-May shipment, £42. Linseed oil, £2O 10s a ton, equal to 2s 4d a gallon. Turpentine, 60s a cwt, equal to 3s 9id a gallon.—A. and N.Z. Cable. ®

APRIL WOOL SALES. LONDON, March 18. The Colonial wool Merchant®’ Association has fixed the quantities of the April sales at 60,000 bales, and the British and Australian Wood Realisation Association at 60,000 bales of free wool' and all free arrivals to March 3. —A. and N.Z. Cable.

BRADFORD WOOL MARKET. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 18. The Bradford wool market is very flat. Sixty-fours quality, nominally, is quoted at 39d per lb.—A. and N.Z. Cable.

BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 17. The Bank ot England returns for the week ended March 17 afford the following comparison with those of the previous week:— March 10. March 17. Coin and bullion £126,513,000 £126,513,000 Reserve 18,300,000 18,669,000 Proportion of reserve to liabilities, p.c 13.75 14.80 Note circulation 128,475,000 128,106,003 Government deposits ... 17,881,000 ■ 18,910,000 Other 1 deposits 115,196,000 107,259,000 Government securities ... 39,154,000 23,834,000 Other securities 93,718,000 102,077,000 Short loans, BJ per cent.; three months’ bills, 8J per cent.; Treasury bills, 6 per cent. —A. and N.Z. Cable.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE BATES. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 17. The foreign exchange rates on London afford the following comparison : * Par. Mar. 10. Mar. 17. Paris (fr.) 33.222 64.65 - 66.28 Christiania (kr.) 18.169 24.21 34.65 Stockholm (kr.) 18.169 17.40 17.34 Montreal (dol.) 4.86 4.45 4.47 New York (dol.) 4.86 3.90 3.90 i Yokohama (yen.)' 244 39J 29J Hongkong (dol.) 33J 27 27J Berlin (mark) 20.43 246 J 245 Calcutta (rup.) ... 10 to gold sot. 15J 16jJ —A. and N.Z. Cable.

GOVERNMENT SEGOTHTIES. Frees Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 17. The Allowing are the latest quotations for Government securities, with a comparison with those ruling last week: — Last week. This week.

AUSTRALIAN WOOL. AUCTION BALES IN ENGLAND. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. MELBOURNE, March 19. The Melbourne Wool Conference has agreed that the allocations of the quantities of wool for auction sales in England shall be arranged by the British and x.ustralian Wool Realisation Association, provided that the quantity for the Australian auctions be not less than that for the English auctions. The association accepts the responsibility of redeeming £5,000,000 worth of priority wool certificates before July 31. —A. and N.Z. Cable.

CANTERBURY RAM FAIR. (Per Ukitkd Prbis assooiatiov.) CHRISTCHURCH, March 18. The annual ram fair opened to-day, when flock rams were offered. There were no Lincolns. Very few Rom Mys found buyers.,English Leicesters cold sldggishly, but Down breeds went off well. Corriedalee were in good demand, but halfbreds met a weak demand. Breeders sought stock for lamb producing, and breeds with a good grade of fine wool. The rang© of values was —: Romneys, £1 10s to £8 8s; Border Leicesters, £1 10s to £7 10s; English Leicesters," £1 10s to £6; Southdowns, £4 15s to £10; Shropshirea, £2 10s' to £10; Corriedales, £1 5s to £3O; halfbreds, £1 10s to £6; Suffolks, £7 to £lO.

PRICE OF BUTTER. (Per Umtted Press Associations "WELLINGTON, March 20. A local representative of a leading British house in the’;,provision trade, upon receiving a cable,„is prepared to make an advance of Is 4a per lb for butter on open consignment.

v DAIRY PRODUCE. SOUTH ISLAND SHIPMENTS. The secretary of the South Island Dairy Association has received the following allotment of dairy produce exports for shipment at an early date:— Dunedin—Mahana, 4500 crates cheese; Oorinthio, 6060 crates cheese. Bluff: Oorinthio, 13,000 crates cheese, 4000 boxes butter; Ruapehu, 8500 crates cheese; Otarama, 3000 crates cheese.

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE. Th© New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company has received the following cablegram from Londlon, dated 16th inst.: “Tallow; We quote present spot values for the following descriptions: Fine mutton, £1 19s 6d per cwt; good beef, £1 16s per cwt; mixed, £1 10s per cwt. Very small demand. “Cheese: There is a good demand for coloured at £7 19s per owt; but the market is slow for white at £7 65.”

RABBITSKIN MARKET. The Now Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company has received the following cablegram from London, dated 17th inst.: “Rabbitskins: Small demand for furriers; others fairly good at an appreciation of 124 per cent.”

OAMARU MARKETS (From Our Owir Correspondent.! OAMARU, March 19, There has been more variety in the business done this week in the grain and produce market, other things besides wheat having been handled, though only to a very limited extent. Wheat has come forward in great freedom, so that millers have been able to discriminate in their purchases, some lines, particularly those including Bordier and similar inferior varieties, being turned aside. Of course, finance has had not a little to do with this discrimination, glisters being naturally averse in a time of financial stringency to laying up stocks for the whole year at the beginning of the season. The total turnover of wheat has again been very heavy, but the transactions have not included any sales of great magnitude. Two lines of 3500 sacks each of mixed varieties and a couple of 1200 sacks of mixtures head the list, with a number of others of 1000 sacks each; thence tapering*,down to a few very small lines. ?' A little business has been done in oats, a line of good milling quality having changed hands at 2s 4d net, at a country station. Peed Gartens have been sold at 2s 3d net, delivered ah store, and 2s and Is lid net, at country stations. Barley is difficult to place. The best offer made- by maltsters for the Chevalier variety has been 4s 6d net, on trucks, but even at that figure there is still little disposition to buy at present. Some small movement has been made by Cape barley, at from 2s 6d to 3s net, at country stations, according to samples and railage distance®. A few lots of cocksfoot seed have changed hands at from 6d to 7Jd net,' delivered in Oamaru. A line of chaff found a buyer at £3 15s net, on trucks, sacks extra. The stock market continues in parlous plight. There are sellers, but though prices are at least apparently in buyers’ favour, no transactions by private treaty are reported. At this week’s regular sale there was a fair yarding of sheep, but i many of the . lines offered were withdrawn. Several lines of two-tooth breeding ewes were quitted at 16s, but a mixed line of four, six, and ©igbt-toota ewes failed to elicit a bid. Good fat wethers were sold at 23s 9d, while lighter sorts went at from 12s 6d to 17s 3d. The best «f the fat ewes brought up to 20s 9d, but others touched as low as 10s. The pick of the fat lambs realised 245, the range of prices for others being 19a down to 16s 3d. There has been nothing doing privately in cattle, and at the weekly sale even fat bullocks were found hard to quit at from £lO downwards. Hairy cows are, however, in fair request, and under the hanmier cows coming) to profit have realised up to £l6 15s.

SOUTHLAND MARKET REPORT. (From Our Own Correspondent.! . INVERCARGILL, March 19. Oats.—Tins market, in common with others, is in an exceedingly depressed state. Farmers are beginning to offer more freely, but are naturally very slow sellers, as the price they are being offered is very substantially below cost of production. The quality of the samples which have so far been submitted is very satisfactory, and given a continuance of the same satisfactory climatic conditions as we have been experiencing for some weeks past, there is no doubt that the bulk of the crop will be saved in prime condition. Unfortunately there appears, at the present time, to be no outlet outside the dominion for our surplus crop. The London market is in a state of stagnation, and unless there is a very great improvement in the tone of' that market, and also a large reduction in the prevailing rate of freight, the prospects of making sales to the United Kingdom are anything but bright. Buyers in the north are exceedingly shy, and appear to have committed themselves to business of the hand-to-mouth order, a policy which in very many oases is no doubt dictated by the financial stringency we are experiencing. A grade Cartons to-day on trucks are worth somewhere in the vicinity of Is 9d, while B grade are worth about la Bdt Chaff.—ln sympathy with oats, this is also very dull. There is very little offering as yet, and it is very probable that w© shall have to depend on our own local market for quitting what surplus farmers have. There is a good supply of chaff further north and in the North Island, whore the opportunities of shpiping to Auckland and other markets are much greater. The nominal value of prime quality to-day is about £i on trucks. Ryegrass.—This is also very quiet, and buyers are showing little disposition to operate. A number of sales have lately been made to Victoria, but it is understood that the demand from that quarter has practically ceased. Northern buyers are very reluctant to enter into commitments of any consequence, and local merchants are also disinclined to lay in stocks. The majority of the stores are filled with wool, and they have little accommodation for storing grass seeds at the present time. Clean heavy-weight seed is worth from -2s 6d to 8a per bushel on trucks. ,

Hemp.—Those millers who made sales some time ago are still operating, but it is expected that ..the industry will shortly come to a standstill, not only because these contracts will soon be completed, but also owing to the approach of winter. Prices ruling to-day are well below cost of production. The usual stock sale at Wallaoetown was not held last week, but at the few country sales conducted prices did not show any increase; in fact, there was a tendency in store stock to ease up _ a little. The fat stock .market ie also quiet; freezing buyers are practically stopped, end very little business is being done. The holders of stock are waiting anxiously for a rise, but those with plenty of feed who could buy are waiting until the market goes to bedrock. We do not expect prices to come any lower, but w© miay not have an improvement or rise in the market for some little time. The following prices may be quoted: Pat Cattle. —Ehctra prime bullocks, £l6 to £18; prime, £l4 to £l6; unfinished, down to £10; extra prim© cows, £8 to £10; prime, £3 to £6; unfinished, down to £3 10s; extra prime heifers, £9 to £11; prime, £6 to £7 10s; unfinished, down to £5. Store Cattle.—Three and four-year-old uteers, £5 10s to £6 10s; two and 2i-year-old, £3 10s to £4; yearlings, to 18 months, £1 IBs to £2 10s.

Pat Sheep.—Extra prime wethers, 22s to 245; prime,. 20s to 21s 6dl; unfinished, down to 16s; extra prim© ewes, 8s to 10s; prime, 6s to 7s 6d; unfinished, down to 4s. Store Sheep.—Extra good mixed-sex lambs, 11s to 12s; average, 9s to 10s; two and fourtooth wethers, good sorts, 9s to 10s; .average, 8s; two-tooth ewes, 10s to 12s; four and sixtooth, 12s to 14s; sound-mouthed, 8s to 9s; full and failing-mouthed, 2s to ss.

THE FRUIT AND PRODUCE WORLD. Reilly’s Central Produce Mart report: Buyers of fruit are operating freely in anticipation of the Easter demand. Stone fruits command very high prices. Eggs realised 2s 6d to 2s 8d per dozen. Tomatoes: Supplies exceed the demand. Onions; Find steady sale. Dessert apples are in strong demand. We advise consignors to send now choice mellow varieties of dqssert, ©specially Jonathans and Delicious. Poultry: Very heavy yarding, with good all-round values ruling. Honey: Sections wanted. Bulk very slow sale. Flowers: Irregular demand. Sweet peas and dahlias, to Is 6d dozen. Tomatoes; Locals, 4d to 6d; ’Otago Central and Christchurch, IJd to 2Jd. Grapes: la 4Jd to Is 7d. Blackberries: To 9Jd. Peas: lid to 3d. Potatoes: Canterbury, to 7s; locals, to 10s 6d. French beans: lid to 3d. Peached: Desserts, to Bid, cooking, to 4d. Nectarines: Desserts, to 8d; cooking, to sd. Plums; Desserts, to 6d; cooking, to 4d. Pears: W.B.C. choice, to 3id; Beurro Bose, 3d; Beurre Clairgeau, 2Jd; Cancel's Bergamot, 3d; Beurre Oapimont, choice 3Jd, others IJd to 3d. Apples: Delicious, choice, to 14s; Jonathans, prime, to 12s; Ribstons, 8s 6d; Worcester Pearmain, to 9s; Cox’s Orange, to 10s; Pearmain’s, 9s 6d; cookers, to 8s 6d. Lemons; Chqice American, to 45a. Pines:. Wanted. Passions: Wanted. Peanuts: 6Jd to Bd. Garlic: 7d to Bid. Eschallbts: 2Jd to 3d. Vegetable marrows: 6s 6d to 9s ,6d. Cauliflowers: Choice, to .63 6d. Cabbage: To 3s 6d dozen. Cucumbers; Poor demand. To 7s 6d dozen for choice hothouse; small, to 4s dozen; outside grown, 3s 6d to 4s 68 half-case. Table carrots: To 4s. Swede turnips: To 4a cental bags. Onions: Christchurch, to £6 10s per ton. Bacon pigs: To 9d; market irregular. Beeswax; 2s lb. Honey: Slow sale. Sections, ' 10s to 14s; damaged, 63 to 8a dozen; bulk, -7id to Bd. Eggs: Stamped, to 2s 8d per dozen. Butter Is lOd per lb. ' Tea: Choice Ceylon, 3s 3d per lb. in 101 b tins. Pollard: 11s lOd per lOOlb bag; 14s lOd per 1251 b bag. Oats: 3s 3d, 3a 6d. Bran; 9s lOd per bag. Oyster shell grit: 9s. Oat sheaf chafi: Best, to £7, ex store. Oat straw chaff; To £5, ex store. C.M.W. spray pumps; 32s 6d. . “ Mysto ” knapsack sprayers; £5. ■ Nicotox: 7 9d. M'Dougall’s fruit tree wash: 7s 6d gallon. Black leaf 40 ”: 10lb tins, 83s 6d; 2lb tins, 18s 9d; §lb tins, 5s 9d. Katakilla; 3s per bag of' about 2|lb. Fat: 19s to 20s cwt. Poultry: Hens—22 at Bs, 33 at 6s 6d, 68 at 5s 6d, 135 at 4s 6d. Pullets—3 at 16s, 4 at 9s; cockerels—l 9at 12s, 28 at 7a 6d, 26 at 6s, 23 at 4s 6d, 45 at Ss 6d; geese—2 at 12s, 5 at 11s; ducks—34 at 12s, 48 at 9s 6A, 45 at 8s (all at per pair). E. OSWALD REILLY, Managing Director, Moray place, Dunedin.

2J per cent. Imp. Con. 5 per cent. Imp. War loan £46 2 6 £48 0 0 (ex div.) 85 2 6 85 0 0 3i per cent. Imp. Wft Loan 84 7 6 87 2 6 BJ per cent. C’wealth T.rnn ... 97 0 0 97 5 0 6J per cent. O’wealth Iittm ... 94 15 0 95 17 6 N.S.W. 4’s, 1938, Jan.-July ’N.S.W. 3J’s, 1935-60, April73 12 6 74 12 0 Jan.-Jnly 60 0 0 60 0 0 N.S.W. 3’s, 1935, April-Oct.... 64 0 0 64 10 0 N.S.W. BJ’s N.S.W. 6i’s 93 10 0 93 6 0 99 12 6 99 17 6 Vlo. 4’s, 1921-2G, Jan.-July ... 83 17 6 84 0 0 Tic. 3§’s, 1929-40, Jam-July 61 6 0 61 7 8 Vie. 3'b, 1929-49, Jan.-July ... 64 IB 0 66 2 6 Q’land 4’e, 1924, Jan.-Jnly ... 88 0 0 88 7 6 Q'land “i’s, 1921-24, Jan.-July Q’land 3’s, 1922-47, Jan.-July 86 12 6 87" 15 0 54 10 0 54 17 6 N.Z. 4’e, 1929, May-Nov. 85 O 0 85 0 0 N.Z. Si’s, 1940, Jan.-July ... 69 0 0 69 0 0 N.Z. 3’s, 1945, April-Ootober 57 12 6 67 12 6 S.A. 3J’a, 1916 or alter S.A. S’s, 1930, Jan.-July 67 0 0 66 17 6 49 6 0 49 0 0 Taa. 3i’s, 1920-40, Jan.-July... Taa. 3’s, 1920-40, Jan.-Jnly... 68 0 0 68 0 0 60 0 0 60 0 0 W.A. Si’s, 1920-35, May-Jnly 69 0 O 69 0 0 W.A. S’s, 1915-35, May-Nov. —A. and N.Z. Cable. 67 5 0 67 0 0