LONDON WOOL SALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2410, 10 May 1900, Page 14

LONDON WOOL SALES.

SECOND SERIES.

A .SENSITIVE START.

BOTH MERINOS AND CROSSBREDS

AGAIN PALL. (From Otjb Special Cokhesfondekt.) ' LONDON, March 9. Bather glum and sad, a good many Yorkshire v.-oolmen set; out earlier in the week y with the object of being present at the opening of the second series of London sales, though many of us felt that -\\e had very little encouragement to visit the metropolis in que«-t of wool. The course of the home markets sine© the close of the previous series hr.d beer, such as to make it impossible to sell our • purchases unless we liked to make a serious loss, hence it came about that as vg hurried on. sitting smoking and) chatting to each other, one and all felt that wool would be cheaper if the competition depended upon the Yorkshire lection entirely. However, to do or.r best under the circumstances wa& the molto of us all, and we took encouragome'it from the fact that Ladysmith was relieved, and the Boerf, in a fair way to be-lii.-C vanquished, this relieving the pressure upon the inarlreii

The opening day of the series brought oft many buyers, and as one. went round valuing, it was to be peen that a good, number of the trade had put in an appearance. The catalogue submitted left much to be desired, and only a -\ery average lot or wool iv as brought forward, the quancity also being much les-& than usual. However, men. set to work with a will, and many a little group could bo Feert in the -warehouses; discussing the pros and cons of the situation. Punctually a r 4 the Lidding began, and soon, men were t>\, work. At fiv&L a good deal of cautiousness was manifest, but. on the whole the bidding proceeded with fully »? much spirit as many looked for, all sections of. the trade being anxious to seizure desirable parcels. Some puiprise v»a-s expres-od at the way the Continental section competed, as rumours were current that some firms were nearly "winded" owing to the deafness of their heavy Australian purchases, and which to-day they cannot realise at anything near Ihcir cosl. However, their competition was welcome for more re: 1 sons than one. Very soon it wa> to be s?en thai prices -were hardly up to list series, and generally speaking wools sold irom to Id. or 7J* per cent., decline for .nerinos, and 7^ to" 10 per cent, for crossbred?. No South African wools were offer?'! on t\e opening day. The T&:vAb of the r-ale, considering the nasty fall wool and topi have bed ia all consuming centres both (-ere and on the Candaent, is somewhat reassuring, aud the verdict must be considered favourable by colonial reader?. , Solct by Messrs Jaeomb, Son, and Co., March 6.— Cioss over heart over J"\7J: Grea&c — 3 bales fust com'omg crossbred "Lincoln and. meiind lid, 2i -do 9d, G second do 9d, 15 do willulraw.il, 40 firat do J-/iacoin 73d, 28 tecoiia do 7d, 30 do 7d, 2 do 7d, 2 do 6W, 3 Lincoln &\a, 11 bellies crossbred o\&. This was a good-grown clip,, full of character and sound growth, plenty" of staple, bu> keep yip condition. Heart. Grease — 2 A cros&bred with-ilis-wn, 17 B do 9d, 14 BC do BJd, 16 C <?o; 7.\d, 15 O do 62d, 4 do piece» b\&, 4 do bellies 4.3d. Ngapuke: Grease— lo A crossbved withdrawn, 27 JJ do withdra -.Yn, 25 C do withdrar/n, 13 first do pieces sJct, 6 do bsihes 55d, 1 do locks l) 2&. This clip lackecJ inosi in quality md condition. The bioker wanted Jd more than what was bid. BEE over Win triangle . Grease— 3C crossbred A Sd, 21 do B 7.7 d, 32 do C 7d, 3 do Bd, 4 do piece? 6">d, 6 do B do 6Jd, 5 secured ciossbred pieces 6Jd. Sold by Messrs Charies Balme and Co., sainc day. — Cioss over DG-: Greate — 17 bales A crossbred combing lOd, 115 B do Bjd, 58 do Sd, 33 B do 7kl, 71 C do 7^, 36 F do 6jd, 22 first do lambs 3d, 16 second do 7-jci, 35 first do pieces 6|d, 10 second do 6£d, 19 B first do SM. This was a very Jaig clip, and for its quality was very good. It was better classed than some, and every lot fetched full -market rates.

Sold by Messrs H. Schwartze and Co., March 7. — A over Akitio: Gieasy — 5 bales halfbred first withdrawn, 13 do ' second Sid, 7 thicequarteibred first BJd, 42 do Bd, 11 do second, withdrawn, 32 do 7£d, 7 cros?b:-ed 7Jd, 22 do 7d, 24 Lincoln first 7*d, 32 do 7d, 2 do 6Jd, 19 do 62d, 4 crossbred first pieces Sd, 7 do second do 7d, 9 do third do sd, 16 do bellies ofd. Neither quality nor condition was here veiy creditable. Look to these, especially the former chaiacteiistic.

Sold by Messrs Dv Croz, Doxat, and Co., March 7. — Diamond over cross : Grease — 12 bales XX first fine lOcl, IS do H" lOJd, 14 do second do 9Jd, 23 do first H 9id, 73 do Od, 24 do second BJd, 38 threequarter-bred first H SJd, 54 do Sd, 2& do BJd 14 do second H Bd, 60 Lincoln first B|d, 19 do second 7£d, 48 crossbred 7^d, 20 XX first pieces Bd, 40 crossbred do 7d, 89 do 6i:l, 4 XX second do 6Jd, 15 crossbred do 6d, 11 X%. first lambs 9£d, 24 threequarter-bred do 9d,' 6 Lincoln do 7£d, 7 threequarter-bred second do 6Jd, 7 crossbred lambs, bellies and locks 6|d. This was an' excellent line of wool, well classed, in good condition pud much better than most clips. There was something to compete for. TH over Kaweka : 36 bales grease halfbred B lljd, 16 do crossbred B lOd, 4 do pieces Bid, 11 scoured halfbred 17d, 7 do crossbred B 14d. Up to the mark, especially the grease. Tiikurongo : Grease — 26 bales crossbred Sd, 02 do 7Jd, 76 do 7d, 15 do necks 7id, 32 do skirtings G£d, 9 do belly pieces s£d, 16 do britch do 51d. This wool was well grown, sound, but was coa.rse, rought and rather wasty ; otherwise good. BH : G-rease — 9 bales crossbrecNLrst combings BJd, 55 do second do Bd, 53 long second do 7id, 52 do 7Jd, 32 do third do H 7^d, 55 c\o 7Jd, 55 do 7Jd, 51 ciossbred long third combings 6fd, 37 do 6J>d, 17 defskirfc do 6|cl, 33 do bellies ojd, 29 do cut pieces sd, 9 do locks 3fd, 2 crossbred first lambs 9d, sdo second do 6d. The greatest deficiency here was that the wool lacked a finer quality.

Since the opening night the sales have made good progress by gaining strength owing to mci eased competition 'coming from all sections of the trade. There is not that evidence of extreme cautiousness and temerity, which was so apparent on the opening night, a,ttd bi^g are given with both freedom aadi

ze3t: The way German spinners are buying, has come as quite a revelation to many after all the talk we heard about their being in difficulties, but there is no doubt that the many firms who have not operated in Australia are to-day very bare of stock, and along with those who have wool that is considerably dearer than what they can buy to-day, are buying with the object of cheapening the rest. Whether that be so or no does not maticr one jot, all I care aboub is that they continue to buy, for to-day the feeling is becoming settled and crystallised that present values are about where reason and sound judgment suggests they should ,be. In Bradford 1 noticed yesterday — it was market day— a vastly improved feeling prevailed, and everything points to the iact that if London can keep up it will be the beginning of better days. Last night for the better of grease merinos there was a distinct hardening tendency, with values very little below "last sales, owing to America buying freely ; but in erossbieds the opening decline is still apparent. The home wool market this past week has almost been a dead letter, and little business will be done unti] London pronounces the verdict. In faet,_ Bradford continues under a cloud, and the last market day showed distinctly a very nervous feeling on all sides, every section of the trade realising the truth that things were coming to a head. So far as this centre is concerned the woolmen of Worstedopoiis are to-day feeling acutely the inability to sell tops at anything near what they have cost, and material higher prices seem now farther off than they recently did. A good deal of interest centres around London sales, and much as to the future well-be-ing of wool depends on how the article shapes during the next few days. All markets —both at home and abroad I—need1 — need stimulating, and London is being looked to for an impetus. Some easing of the pressure of the tension has been accomplished by the better complexion of South African matters, and more hope of a reaction is now entertained by the entire Irade. Many people think that prices are now nearing a working basis, and shortly new business will now more readily at present prices. But is the fall which -wool has made a reasonable one, and does the known E'tatistica l strength of the article wairant prices slumping r.s thej- have done? The answer can only be given in the negative, and all men seem ag-reed that values have been materially influenced by the acute stringency of the money market, bankers dealing very firmly indeed with their clients, especially on the Continent, the strained situation in South Africa and the lacln of confidence in the permanency of the high values for merinos being responsible for thi". But as a set - off against all these drawbacks the consumption of wool continues, as bis- as ever, and throughout all textile Yorkshire'great briskness prevails. Work is plentiful — in fact, hands are distinctly scarce, and so far as the manufacturing situation goes, it was never better. This is the case both in England, on the Continent, and America, and is looked upon as the future ''safety valve" for the article. Values can only be described as nomina.ry firm, suiiicientbusinecs _ not passing to really test prices. In other ( respects the market shows no change, all in- ; terest being centred in London. j