LONDON WOOL SALES. (From Our Special Correspondent. )

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 6

LONDON WOOL SALES. (From Our Special Correspondent. )

London, April 2. CURRENT "VALUES MAINTAINED. Whatever other markets may mean by their reported quietness, London seems to practically » turn a deaf ear, and is for ever onward. The ' sales have been continued this week with nearly ' as much spirit as in any previous week of this series, and the call for good, thafcy, clean , combing wools has remained as solid and sound |as ever. The daily catalogues submitted have | perhaps hardly baen up to as good a level as during tae past two weeks, tha best wools apparently having been cleared oub. However, when anything showing gcod growth has been i shown there has been lacking nothing, and these wools continue to sell freely. As usual, the American secbion has monopolised everything that was really of first-olass order, and anything of real merit has been readily 1 wrested from the hands of both Yorkshire and continental buyers. This has I meant that in many cases 10 per cent, above | last series' rates has been paid, and in some | instances even surpassed. But in striking coni trait to this is the position of medium, inferior, j and heavy faulty wools iuitable for the home ! trade and the Continent. These sections, owing j to the fact that trade in the consuming centres is really bad, and that th* American buying is destined soon to fitrsh (at lessb for a while), have caused both buyers to < assume an expectant attitude, and been the j i teems of their confining themselves only to j j the buying of such quantities *s will see them on ! jto the May series. This has resulted in values ; 1 for these descriptions becoming weaker still and I irregular. All round, crossbre&s have continued i to take much the same course as merinos, except j that here inferior or coarse grades, if well grown, have fully shared in the partial advance, I whereas the finer sorts and the poor qualities 1 have remained more difficult of sa'e. South ' African descriptions still continue an indifferent , selection, much rinderpest wool from the Orange ■ Free State — in the grease, poor, and short — being on offer. Besti combing greasies and i scourads fetch full rates, but wasty wools sell badly. Sold by Messrs Willans and Overbury, March 26 : — N Z. and A. Land Company over Totava : Greasy— S bales combins halfbred 7Jd, 50 do crossbred Bd, 12 do 72-d. 12 combing Lincoln 73d, 4 broken crossbred 6d. Good quality, but rather short and heavy. JH between Vtount Vernon : 15 fit-3t combing halfbred lljd, 107 do crossbred A Hid, 6 do B lid, 11 do lid, 11 second combing crossbred ll&d, 50 first do three-quarterbrei A lUd, 49 do lid, 31 do lOJd, 14 do B lOJd, 26 first 1 pieces crossbred Bd. 8 second do 7d, 20 belHes cross1 bred withdrawn, 29 first crossbred lambs 9d, 7 second do 7d. Lacked nothing, except quantity. Sold by Messrs Dv Croz, Doxat, and (Jo., same day. — Kaputoae : Scoured — 12 baled extra super i combing 13id, 4do pieces 13d, I3G halfbred super . combing 14d, 75 do I3&d, 21 do 13d, 41 halfbred second combing 13d, 32 crossbred super combing s 13Jd. 17 do 12Jd, 33 halfbred pieces 12d, 23 do lid, i 4do lOd, 21 crossbred pieces Jlid, 10 do 9£d, 13 halfbred locks 9d. This was a very largo line of • scoureds. Showed great attention and care in • sorting and getting up, and gold readily. Thoroughly good. Omarama : Grease — 5 first 1 combing H 6Jd, 57 do 6Jd, 56 do 6Jd, 39 second i da fild. 68 first clothing 6d. 27 second do sid, 7DE

Gld, 23 broken 63<3. Very nice quality, nics I length, but rather heavy and wasty. Sold by Messrs Jacomb,Sou,audOo.,March29:— Otairi : Grease— 44 bales Romney Sd, 72 firsTi Lincoln 73d, 16 do 7Jd, 62 crossbred 7Jd, 94 do 7id, 47 do 7d, 6do belly pieces sd, 13 do lambs CJd. Good quality, but lat her heavy and slcirty. Keep up condition. Bell over Waimate : Grease— :B hnlfbicd B}d, 5 do 7}d, 10 do daniaced 6{d, 52 threequarterbved 9id, 52 do 9d. 79 do Bd, 33 do damaged fijd, 20 Leicester Bd, 13 three-quarterbred pieces 5J(.1, 10 do 4^d. These three-quarterbred wools were the best ; more lustre and cleaver than the half bred. WN : Grease— 7 quarterbred 7>}d. 37 halfbred 71d, 36 three-quarterbred withdrawn. C 4 cro'sbred withdrawn, 41 do L 7Jd, 6 do G 6?d, 23 do D b"2d, 2 do pieces 53d, 12 do bellies 6R 16 do lambs 7id, 6 do Gd. Fair good average quality, but not that lustre and condition to make it rauk first class. JO : Grease— 23 crossbred Bd, 61 do 73d, 25 do 7sd, Bdp pieces Gid, 22 do Gi, 2 crossbred bellies 4Jd. Criticism as above. Sold by Messrs Chas. Balrne and Co , March 30 : Merrivale : Grease— B bales first crossbred combing SJcl, 6 doSd, (ido H 7Jd, 9 crossbred combing Bd, Gdo R 7iJ, 25 three-quarterbred combing 9d, 14 do H Sid, 9 do Bd, 7 do 7R 9 Romney Sd, IS Leicester 9d, 15 do 7£d, 7 Lincoln 7id, 7 crossbred pieces Sid, 9do 7Jd. These were fair good quality, but condition in some of the lots was wanting. Too slcirty and heavy. All (hit can be said concerning wool in the home market is that things are no worse. The principal teaturo of the Bradford trade etill conlinues to be the activity displayed in the shipments of both raw materials and manufactured textiles to the United States, but apart from that the wool market is desperately slow. This American demand has just given a stimulus to matters, but it has done no more thnn prevented wool from getting worse. Throughout the past month this has been the only bright apot, and where prices would have drifted to no one can tell. Business all round is still very quite, and with no visible indications of improvement in the near iuture Buying of colonial wools and tops is strictly limited to the moderate day to day requirements, aud English sorts are very flat. No change in rnobair or alpaca. There is decidedly »n improvement in pieces for home consumption, and this may help matters considerably later. Tha following table shown the course of prices during the past month, and the general asking figures of today :—: —

Lincoln hoggs Lincoln wethers Deep-giown hoggs Deep-grown wethers ... White super hoggs ... White super wethers... [rish hoggs Frish wethers Pick Shropshire hoggs Pick Shropshire wethers Ordinary halfbred hoggs Wiltshire Down tegs.., Wiltshire Down ewes Ordinary 60's, Buenos Ay res tops Ordinary 60's, colonial tops Super 60's, colonial tops Ordinary 36's, colonial tops Ordinary 40's colonial tops Furkey aver ag c mohair Dapa firsts mohair ... description of Staple. O5 & S d. 101 01 Qi 91 10 91 101 84 10 a a 14 V IT 10 91 9i 9i 10 91 10 9} 10 * S d. 10 9i 91 91 10 91 10 91 10 3 1 d 10 91 »1 8* 10 9i 10 91 10 [ C 5 a. 10 91 91 91 10 91 10 91 10 CO 3 d. 10 »i 91 91 10 91 10 91 10 9J 93 m 92 ! 91 95 1)5 Hi 9J 95 113 95 115 Hi 9? us Hi 9J 11* Hi 17i 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 is 18i ISJ 181 18} 18J 181 13 13 12? 12? 12J 12J 13J 131 13J 131 131 131 17 16 10 15 15 14 15 14 15 14 15 14