THE BUTTER AND CHEESE MARKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 22

THE BUTTER AND CHEESE MARKET.

The Turakina, which sailed for London from Wellington on April 4, took away from the Dominion 24,585 boxes of butter and 35,937 crates of cheese. These figures show an advance in the export of .butter of 14,000 cases, and of cheese of 3000 cases over the corresponding shipment for last year. . Mr J. R. Scott, secretary of the South ' Island Dairy Association, is in receipt of the following London cablegram :—"Butter : Danish, 128 s; New Zealand, salted. 121 s; unsalted, 1235. Good demand best quali- I ties; no demand secondary qualities, i Cheese—White, 735; coloured, 73s 66*. Mar- ' ket steady. Mr J. R. Scott, secretary of the South i Island Dairy Association, lias received a | communication from a well-known London firm of butter and cheese buyers, under date February 29. After inferring to the j .vet-back which the trade was receiving as ; a result of the coal strike, tho letter con- I iinucs:—"Taking the whole situation out- i aide the strike business we ?>re in as strong J £ position and as s:ife a position as wo ''lave ever been —in fact, it would not bur-

prise u&, always assuming that these strikes are set aside, to see nearer 80s than 70s for cheese, and several shillings above 130 s for butter right up to the end of April Still there is this contingency —that we may yet liave trouble which we arc hoping will be averted, and the market in a very large measure rests on this." The report continues:—"Danish Buttor: It was generally expected that the quotation would have been reduced. According to the trade in this country prices should have gono down, but Continental buying was sufficient to steady the demand on he other side. "Siberian: This butter is meeting with a very poor sale, and prices are only nominal. " Australian : Owing to the conditions reported above, business ha* been very unsatisfactory. Prices generally are lower, and, in fact, it has been very difficult indeed to clear arrivals, with the exception of choicest quality, which is very scarce, and sells fairly well. A large proportion of this week's arrivals is of a verv secondary character, the butters showing unmistakable signs of hot weather, and this in rather helping buyers to accentuate the decline in values. " New Zealand : The demand for this butter is also on the quiet side, and prices are lower than last week. The butters ex the Ruahine are now on the market, but at the time "of writing they are not clearing very well. "Cheese: This article has held' its own fairly well, and prices remain firm. Some of the Ruahine's cheese has not arrived In the usual good condition. It appears to have Ivcen heated somewhere. However, a reduction of 6d to la per cwt easily cloais this cheese. The cheese position, to our mind, still looks very strong." Mr Scott points <-,ut that, despite the fact of the recent Home coal srike. finest cheese is now at 74s per cwt, and has not been lower during tho course of the strike period proper. He says that he is of opinion that the price for chte.se is likely to further advance, now that the strike is settled. Quotations at March 1 were as follows: — Finest Danish and Swedish butter, 136 s to 133; finest Finnish. 134 s to 1365; Siberian, 124 s to 12ds; finest Victo<-:^ n , 126 s to 128 s; finest, New South Wale, and Queensland, 125 s to 1275; finest New Zealand, 129 s to

j 131 s. Unsalted brings the same prices. Canadian white cheese, 74s to 755; fine Canadian white, 73s to 73s 6d; finest English, 87s 6d to 92s 6d; fine English, 80s to 85s; finest New Zealand white, 72s to 735; coloured. 6d' to lb less. COMMEBCIAJ, CABLEGBAXS. LONDON, April 9. The Australian Mercantile Companv, £IOO 10s; Melbourne Gas Company, £lOl. April 10. Wheat: Australian cargoes sold at 39s 4id and 39s respectively. Frozen meat: La Plata, shipments—Mutton, 233,500 carcases; lamb, 65,370 carcases; beef, &4-.500 quarters; chilled beef, 217,500 quarters. '1 ho American visible wheat supply is 109,210.000 bushels. April 12. The Bank of England returns show the stock of gold coin and bullion to be £35,031,000; reserve, £25,901,000; proportion of reserve to liabilities 42.85 per cent. The notes in circulation total £28,942,000; public deposits, £2,003,600 ; other deposits, £40,385,000; Government securities, £14,282,000; other securities, £38,009,000. The bank rate of discount is per cent. Short Joans are discounted at 3 per cent., and three months' bills as follows:—London, 3£ per cent.; Paris, 3 per cent. ; Berlin, 3| per cent. Consols are quoted at £77 17s 6d. Colonial Government stocks are unchanged. The English wheat markets are firm, though inactive, liberal shipments being counteracted by a good Continental demand and unfavourable reports regarding the American crop. An Australian cargo was sold at 38s 6d, and 15,000 quarters of Victorian and New South Wales early April shipment at 38s 7£d. Fourteen thousar.d five hundred quarters of New South Wales January shipment

realised 395, and two Australian cargoes were sold at 38s 9di and 38s 7£d respectively. Holders are asking 40s for South Australian off the coast, and 39s 3d for Victorian March shipment, while 39s 6d has been paid for near parcels and 38s 3d for April shipment. There is a quiet demand for Australian spot at 41s 6d to 425, but the supplies are small. New Zealand, 39e to 39s 6d. The flour market is firm, and there is a fair demand. The oats market is firm, and prices are unchanged. Peas: Quiet. New Zealand, average quality, 36s 6d to 38s 6d ; fine, 39s to 39s 6d. Bians (nominal), 37s 6d to 395. The butter market is very dull. There is a restricted demand for colonial owing to the prospect of European supplies shortly. It is estimated that 100,000 boxes have accumulated in London mainly owing to the reduced consumption through the strike. Choicest Australian, 116 s to 118 s; unsalted, 120 s. New Zealand, 120 s; unsalted, 1225. The cheese market is steady, and prices are unchanged. Sugar: German, 13s lOd; first marks, 17s. The Bradford wool market is quiet, but prices are firm. April 14Hemp: Dull, April and June shipment £2t 15s. Cotton, 6.28 id per ib. Rubber, 4s 10id per lb. Copra: Fair business. South Sea, bags. £25 2s 6d. At the kauri gum sales 22 cases were offered and 70 sold. Three-quarters scraped, 137 s6d to 140 s. The stock is 5i9 oases Tin plates. 14s 3d and 15s 3d. Fencing wire. £B. Iron bars, £7. Wire netting, 53s Oid and 2id to 5 per cent off tho list. ■Antimony, £7 Quicksilver, £8 12s 6d. Wheat: Two Australian cargoes sold at 39s and 403 respectively Rabbits are dull. Best Sydnevs (ckstoro), 15d; Melbourne, 14d. NEW YORK, April 15. There has been a sharp rise in the price of wheat in Chicago in consequence of reports that the Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky crops are extensively damaged. SYDNEY, April 10. Potatoes are scarce and dear. Best Tasrnanians are quoted at £lO. April 15. The Millers' Association has advanced the price of flour a«d pollard 10s per ton, and bran 5s per ton. Prices are now as follo'v: Plour—citv, £9 ss: country, £9 2s 6d. Pollard. £6 10s. Bran, £6.

THE FROZEN MEAT MARKET. LONDON, April 13. The following are the latest quotations for all classes of meat. In the case of those not quoted the price is unchanged:

THF. WOOL SALES. LONDON, April 11. The wool sales have opened firm, and prices are unchanged. April 12. At the sales 11,884 bales were offered, consisting of a very miscellaneous selection. There was a good attendance, and the market was firm. There is no quotable change from the prices realised at the first series. English buyers are operating freely in crossbreds, but the Continental buyers are more interested in merinosApril 14. Twenty-six thousand and forty-nine bales have been catalogued and 24,084 sold to date. Prices were firm, Continental buyers operating eagerly for merinos. Doonholm clip, top price lOd. average 9jd; Mangatore, top 9id, average 9d ; Whakaki, top 10|d, average 9|d ; Ngaturi, top lOd, average Gear, top 15id, average ll|d. WELLINGTON, April 12. The High Conimisioner cabled from London on April 11 : " The second seres of the wool sales has commenced. There is a large attendance of buyers, who show a dispositon to operate very freely. The American demand is chiefly for light-conditioned coarse crossbreds. The market ; s firm for all descriptions at the January rates, and prospects are favourable. One hundred a.tul twenty thousand three hundred bales of New Zealand wool are available. The estimated value of New Zealand wools at the close of the first series of colonial wool sales in London, held on the 3rd of January, was as follows : —Superior merino, Is to Is ljd per lb; medium inerino, 9f>d to lid; inferior merino, 7ijd to 9d ; fine crossbreds, all grades, bo

le l^d ; medium crossbreds, 8d to coarse crossbreds, all grades, 7d to lOd.

The Bank of New Zealand has received the following cable advices regarding the opening of the present series of Londoncolonial wool sales in London:—" The sales have opened with strong competition and large attendance of buvers. There is (rood demand for all kinds of crossbnfcd wool. Total net quantity New Zealand available. 120,000 bales. The market is strong for all kinds of crossbreds, and, compared with the average of last series, prices are higher par to 5 per cent." The National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand is in receipt of the following cablegram from its London office, dated 11th inst:—"The second series of wool sales opened to-day. Merinos an*! crossbreds generally opened firm on a par with closing rates. There was a large attendance of buyers. For coarse crossbreds there is a hardening tendency in the market. Americans ar e competing." The Otago Farmers' Co-operative Association of New Zealand (Ltd.) has received the following cablegram from its London agent:—"The wool sales opened to-day, and prices as compared with last series are: Merino, fine and medium crossbred, par; coarse crossbred, par to 5 per cent, higher. The market is very firm." Messrs Dalgety and Co. (Ltd.) report having- received the following cablegram from their head office, dated London, April 11, 1912: —"Wool sales opened; attendance of buyers is good; competition animated; selection fair. As compared with closing ratee of last series, fine crossbreds unchanged, medium crossbreds unchanged, coarse crossbreds par to 5 per cent, higher."

Apl. 6. A pi. 12. Canterbury mutton, light Canterbury mutton, median i • — Canterbury mutton, heavy Southland mutton — N.I. mutton, best brands S 15-1G N.I. mutton, ordinary ... 8 U-16 .— N.Z. ewes »i 3 3-16 Australian mutton, light .. — Australian mutton, heavy 3 n-16 n Australian ewes • H Biver Plate mutton, light — Biver plate mutton, heavy . — — Biver Plate ewes . n — Canterbury lamb, light ... . 5f — Canterbury lamb, medium • 6g — Canterbury lamb, heavy . 64 — North Island lamb, selected . si 64 North Island lamb, ordina ry . 5 1-16 6J Southland lamb, selected . — Australian lamb, best bra rids ... *l ft Australian lamb, fair quali ity ... ■ *% 4* Australian lamb, inferior ■ 44 H Biver Plate lamb, first quality — ft Biver Plate lamb, second ( juality — « New Zealand beef, fores . — H New Zealand beef, hinds — i* Australian beef, fores • — — Australian beef, hinds ... • ->l 31 B. Plate beef, chilled hind; . 2 1-16 31 B. Plate beef, frozen fores . 2 1-16 3* B. Plate beef, frozen hinds • H 3 15-16 Rabbits are dull. Best. Sydney s (ex store), 15d; Melbourne, 14<1.