RETAIL PRICES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1031, 2 September 1871, Page 12

RETAIL PRICES.

Mhat. — Beef, roasting, od to 7d per lb. ; steaks 3d to 7d per lb. ; boiling, 2.U1 to ."id ; mutton, 2d to 4d ; pork and veal, 4d to 7d. To hotels, 4r\d to 5d all round.

Pori/i'RY. — Fowls, 4s to (3s per couple ; (Tucks, 0s to 8s per pair ; geese, 12s to lGs do ; turkeys, 10s to 20s each ; pigeons, 2s Gd to 3s do ; rabbits, 3s Gd to 4s per pair.

Dairy Produce. — Bacon, lOd to Is Id per lb ; butter, fresh, lOdto Is ; salt, 9d to lOd ; cheese, Colonial, 7dto Sd; do, English, Is6d; eggs, Is Od per dozen ; ham Is 3d to la 9d per lb ; milk, 3d to 4d per quart. Colonial butter, prime, lOd to lid ; Akaroiv cheese, 3VI to Gd : colonial hams, lOd ; do bacon, 9d,

Messrs Weight, Stephexsox, and Co. report :—: —

Fat Cattle. — The market continues well supplied, and we are unable to report any advance in prices. About 60 head were yarded, which we sold at from £5 10s to £10 10s per head, for bullocks ; and £4 10s to £7 10s, for cows ; equal to 22s Gil to 25s per 100 lbs., for prime quality, and 18s for middling ditto.

Fat Sheep.— 990 were penned. Prices suffered a considerable decline on late rates, as the number was much in excess of the requirements of the trade, owing to the Meat Preserving Company having discontinued killing, and the butchers having made contracts for supplies. We sold 320 ewes, fair quality, at 5s 9d to Gs, equal to 2d per lb ; 312 wethers, middling quality, at Gs lid to 7s 3d, equal to 2d per lb. ; lb'O cull ewes, at 2s 9d ; 70 half-breds, prime quality, at 17s each, equal to 3jd per 11). Other sales "were 130 half-breds, good quality, at 15s, equal to 3jd per lb.

Store Cattle and Sheep. — No transactions-

Horses. — There is a good demand for good draught mares and upstanding coach horses, with a very scanty supply. We quote firstclass draughts £45 to £50 ; middling ditto, £30 to £35 ; good hacks and light harness horses, £15 to £20; middlind ditto, £10 to £12 ; light and inferior, £3 to £7. Wool. — Our London advices, under date of 29th June, say : ' ' Sales opened on the 22nd instant, and up to the present date an advance of Id to 2d per lb over the rates ruling during the May sales has been established Greasy wools are commanding very full prices, there being large orders from America. It is fully expected the advance already established will be maintained until the close of the sales.

Grain. — There is no change to note since our last report. Transactions are almost nominal, except in feed oats, good samples of which have a slight enquiry.

Messrs Driver, Stewart, and Co., report :—: —

Fat Stock Market.— The usual weekly market was supplied with 34 head of cattle, of fair to good quality, which brought from £5 to £10 10s — the average rate for lOOlbs being about 22s Gd ; but for a few very prime considerably more was obtained. 890 sheep were yarded, and all sold at, say, for 310 merino wethers, Gs Gd to 7s 3d ; 4SO do ewes, 2s 9d to Us ; and 100 half-breds, from Messrs Gillies and Street's, very prime, at 15s. Most of the sheep were of inferior quality ; indeed, a portion of the ewes were Avhat might be termed crawlers. The exceptionally mild winter has enabled stock to come to market in better condition than we have ever known at this season. We quote merino wethers at about 3d, and half-breds at about 3.jd per lb. Future rates will depend greatly on the contiimance of fine weather. We have sold, for private delivery, 2700 sheep and Go head cattle. Store Sheep. — We note a brisk demand for all descriptions of store sheep, and for grown wethers and half-breds especially, but on account of the late great improvement in the position and prospect of the wool market, and the unusually mild winter experienced rendering feed plentiful, the number offering eonthraes extremely limited. We have placed one lot of 5000 G and 8-tooth merino wethers, deliverable early in September, at Gs Gd each. For other descriptions quotations are nominal, no sales having been effected. Store Cattle. — No transactions. Wool. — Our London Agents, under date 29th June, reports as follows : — The third series of sales for the year commenced on the 22nd inst., with a very large attendance of Home and foreign buyers, biddings were very animated, and our anticipations were more than realised in the improvement which took place in prices. Scoured and greasy were taken at an advance of Id per lb., and I some greasy New Zealand parcels even more ; but prime ileece showed little improvement. Medium washed New Zealand fleece rose from id to Id ; do do Port Phillip, id ; Sydney, Id to 1 Ail; Cape, Ad to Id. Our trade is healthy, the sales are progressing steadily, and there is a fair prospect of j>resent rates being maintained to the close. The arrivals for these sales comprised 220,797 bales, of which 45,912 were from

New Zealand. About 7000 bales have been forwarded to Yorkshire and the Continent.

Tallow and Hides. — The tallow market has been firm, with a fair amount of business* doing for the time of year. Russian has not fluctuated in value, but a further advance has been obtained for Australian, the pre» sent value of good to tine New Zealand mutton being 42s 9d to 43s Gd ; and fair to tine beef, 41s 9d to 42s 3d, being 3d for the former, and Gd to 9d per cwt for the latter, higher than on 15th hist. No change toi notice in the value of hides.

New Zealand Flax. — The market is firm, and the quantity in importers' hands but small, GOO bales having been disposed of privately during the mouth at piices equal to those obtained at previous public sales, About GOO bales, chiefly old imports, were offered at auction and nearly all withdrawn at high prices. Prices current '■ — Fine, £32 to £34 ; good, £2G to £30 ; medium, £21 to £25 ; common, £15 to £20.