THE WOOL SALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2326, 29 September 1898, Page 14

THE WOOL SALES.

LONDON, September 20. The fifth series of colonial wool sales were opened to-day. Competition was brisk, and prices ranged from par to 5 per cent, advance compared with the closing sales of last series. September 21. At the opening wool sales the joint catalogue of Messrs Balme, Buston, and De Croz comprised 12,399 bales of irregular selection, including 6931 bales from New Zealand. There was a. large attendance, but no American buyers were present. There was keen competition, especially for Jhome requirements. Merinos were b ,jer cent, above July rates, crossbreds were unchanged, and fine occasionally resulted in sellers' favour. At tha wool sales there was keen competition, and prices have a hardening tendency. September 22. At the wool sales the Kaputome clip realised 16^d. At the wool sales there is keen competition, especially for scoured merinos. September 24. At the wool sales 54,410 bales have been catalogued, and 50,236 sold. The Waihua clip sold at 6|d; the Moeraki clip at Bd. September 25. At yesterday's wool sales only a, poor selection was offered, chiefly inferior crossbreds. There were large withdrawals. The Waitangi and Waipara clips brought 6^d ; Sir John Hall's merino 9j|d. Messrs Dalgety and Co. (Limited) have received the following cablegram from iheir head office, dated London, 20th September: — "Wool sales opened with a large attendance of buyers ; competition animated ; an indifferent selection. The prices for merino wools (in general) are 5 per cent, higher; for fine crossbred wools 5 per cent, higher; and any change in prices of the bulk of coarse crossbred wools is in favour of buyers. English and German buyers are the principal operatore." The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited) have received the following cable from their London office: "Wool: The sales opened at an average advance of about o per cent, on last sales' closing rates, except coarse crossbred, market ea&ier. Competition by both Home and foreign buyers is active, and attendance good. The total quantity available, including wool held over from last series, is 232,000 bales; 56,000 bales of which have been forwarded to manufacturing districts direct." The National Mortgage and Agency Company are in receipt of a cable from their London office as follows: — "Merino wool all descriptions, crossbred finest grades show advanco of 5 per cent, on last sales' closing rates. Crossbred, low grades weak and not likely to improve; show decline of 5 per cent, on last sales closing rates." Mr Bourke, a colonial wool buyer who has just returned from England, in tho course of an interview with a lepresentativo of tho New Zealand Times, said : " There is a great scarcity of merino, and the fashions are favouring merino and the finer qualities of wool. I can't fee how the coarser crosebreds are going to improve, because out of tho 230,000 bales on the market about 110,000 in rough crossbred of the kind that is hanging fire. A lot of tho New Zealand wool is of the middling and coarser stamp, and that accounts for the slow sale and unsatisfactory prices. Thoso particular classes were a drug in the July sales, especially that uneven fn quality and badly skirted. This applies to New Zealand wool in general, and Wellington district wool in particular. You cannot too strongly impress upon farmers the necessity there is for carefulness in skirting off their fleeces, because if buyers are shown wool which is ragged or dirty or otherwiso distasteful to the eye they won't look at it a second time. It is far better to pack up your skirtings into separate parcels and have done with it than have the whole lot condemned because of faulty samples. Scoured merinos were keenly competed for by Yorkshire buyers; indeed, all Naw Zealand scoured was well competed for from ail quarters, and I think in many cases sold well. The July sales, on the whole, wero very dispiriting to me though, and in marked contrast to the prices ruling in New Zealand last season ; indeed, a good many li'ies I saw sold in London were sold at a less price than I saw refused in "Wellington for thc-m."