OUR COMMERCIAL LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2152, 23 May 1895, Page 16

OUR COMMERCIAL LETTER.

(From Ouu Own Cokiuspondent.) London, April b. WOOL. The second seri'B of wool sales closed on the 30th ult The total number of bales catalogued wa^ 206,733, of which 54,lti(i were Now Zealand. Tho number held over or withdrawn was 23,000 bales, of which 1100 wore from New Zealnnd. Messrs W. Wcdclel and Co. report :— Prices for meriuo grease, with the exception of superior descriptions, which rated steady, closed on average about 7J pel cent to 10 per cent, above Fel>m -ry quotations .Suoureds.genuially marked a vKc of id to Id per lb, very buny and faulty pieces alone showing weakness. About 63,000 bales of crossbred wool passed under the hammer, and fared relatively much >n the tame manner as merinos. The bright, superior parcels showed no Chang* from February Medium grades of goodcouditi^n depreciated about Jd, while the chief recovery was shown in the case of very d'ngy sorts, which moved up id to Id p-r lb. The better descriptions of be urcd cros*bred, if anything; were rather weaker, while coarse kinds of quod lustre were quite Jrt dearer. Slices were iv very inengre supply, and met with (strong demand at about Jd advance. GRAIN. Wheat. — The crop reports from America are not sitisfactory. The area of winter wheat crop is said to be 9 per cent, less than last year, and in some of the States the crop has been destroyed by the I'Vbiuary bliiward. A3 there are no fresh arrivals of New Zealand, prices are nominal at abuut — Hound long-berried, 24s 6d to 253 6i per 49(31b ; sound .short-berried, 23i Gd to 2-ls 6d. N«w Z 'aland Oats —There Las been more inquiry during the past fortnight and prices are hrni, especially for the better qualities. luferior descriptions are difficult to move. Quotations : Fine heavy samples, 243 to 25s ; inferior sorts, 193 to 21s per "3811b DAIRY mODUCE. Butter.— The demand for colonial U sluggish, but the fall in value has b^en Binall, and the price of choicc-st gra-les remains unchanged. When the Valetta's 32,000 boxes get on the market next week a fall may be expected. Cheet-e. — It is just possible that a rise in the price of colonial may t"*ke pi cc shortly, most of last season's Canadian having now reached the market. New Z^a'and choice coloured is quoted at 48s ; white, 46s to 47a. FIIOZBN MEAT. The arrivals of South American live sheep have averaged over 70C0 weekly. They hive met with an excellent demand owing to tbe shortage of EDgiiah mutt»n. About 35s per head has 1 been realised at Deptfurd, while carcases have mala from sid to Cd per lb at Smi'hfield. Messrs W. Weddel and Co., referring to this uew «ource of supply, «ays it to tome extent interferes with the demand for prime N<sw Zealand, but they point out that "as a matter of fact, however, tha value of frizen mutton lm steadily declined of late, while that of English and Scotch mutton has steadily advanced ; the divergence in p«nc"e now amounting to 4d and 5d per lb, as between Home* grown and frozen mutton. With so large a margin of profit to attract retailers of English mutton it is noteworthy that no special demand has arisen for the frozen article, thua emphasising once more the fact that the two diseiiplions of meal are ultimately retailed to tha public thiough channels which are quite <listincfc, and that froz.-u mutton cannot to any appreciable extent be substituted for fresh killed. Messrs Nelson Bros., giving the statistics! position, show that for the nine months ending March the number of carcases of sheep and lamba-ito* ported shows aa increase of 1,062,690 over the cob respDnding period of last year, towards which increase New Zealand contributes 376,331 carcase. The import 3of live sheep increased bj» 437,823 They say that no advance can be looked for New Zealandi while congc^fcd stocks aro being largely added to, and forced sales at ruinona ratea fail to appreciably reduce the existing

iSlethora. There is a want of condition in the" bulk of New Zealand lamb 3. Choice lnmbs of quality still command Gd to 5Jd per lb ; plainer, which constitute the bulk of those offered, sell at about 4d to 4id per lb; while poor, povertystricken wastrels, very many of which have been sent Home, sell from 3Jcl down to 2£d per lb, and are most detrimental to the trade. .Meaßrs Henry S. Fitter and Sons report:— Eeally prime New Zealand sheep are very Bcarce, and although the top price quoted for mutton this week is 2s 6'J, we were able to make £s lOd of the majority of a parcel of prime Downs, and there is no doubt that if a larger and regular supply of tbis description of mutton (properly matured at about 581b) were sent over, the result would be satisfactory. MISCELLANEOUS. New Zealand preserved rabbits are flat at 3Jd to ii per lb in 21b tins. Tallow has advanced b'd to Is per cwt for mutton, and Is to Is 3d per cwt for beef. A good demand is expected at the next rabbitsktn sales on the 11th inst. j