LONDON WOOL SALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 12

LONDON WOOL SALES.

(From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, April 30. SERIES OPEN WITH BOTH MERINOS AND CROSSBREDS ON A LOWER LEVEL.

Once more the interests of the trade have become centred in Coleman Street Wool Exchange, where the fourth series began last Tuesday. There was the usual largo attendance, the home trade section being particularly strong; also a few were over from France! but America was less conspicuous than at any series so far this year. No one need wonder at this, because all accounts agree that the textile industry in the United States is far from being brilliant —in fact, Bradford firms intimately connected with America candidly assert that trade is very bad, and that hardly anything is to-day wanted. One prominent firm remarked this week that, instead of shipping big weights of fine botany npils, which they have bought for the States, they were asked to resell same in Yorkshire —not a very satisfactory state of affairs. Still, there was no diminution of interest in the opening, and that vitality which is requisite for any series of sales is in evidence to-day. I have seen a brisker time. There has often been a more pronounced display of keenness in the bidding, but when full cognisance is taken of the large quantities of wools which are at present facing users I am certain that things might have been a good deal worse. It is a well-known fact that many firms arc suffering to-day on account of financial stringency, it being their wish to buy, but in face of big stocks of wool which they cannot get ccmbed, they are feeling their position somewhat acutely. These things are helping to somewhat blunt the keenness of buyers, which has been so pronounced at previous scries this year, the current auctions finding a big weight of wool to lift, with 'hot everyone in the best frame of mind for the ordeal. A BIG DISPLAY OF WOOL. If the weight of wool -which has arrived for the current auctions is catalogued, then there is going to be a good display every day—at least the catalogues will bo well filled with both merinos and crossbreds. The reader will see from the under-men-tioned particulars that about 146,000 bales of merinos are available and 75,000 bales of crossbreds—quite sufficient to satisfy the wants of the trade. Some have already gone the length of saying that the last fourdays of the auctions will be knocked off; but that remains to be seen. Looking down thesjist of arrivals one can see that New South Wales, Queensland, West Australia, and Now Zealand are going to bo very well represented, and there is more wool to hand from Victoria, Ada'aide, and Tasmania than we see as a rule This emphasises the good selection to which I have called attention, and if anything like that quantity of wool is lifted" there will bo reason for thankfulness. The following is a detailed list of the quantities which haye arrived from the colonics for the current series of sales :

approximate quantities to be OFFERED.

About 10,000 bales Punta Arenas, 1500 bales Falkland Islands, and 200 bales River Plate will be offered this series. A DECENT START. I must admit that the. opening results were not on the same scale that we have seen at the previous series Lliio year, tuere being more reserve manifest than wo havo seen recently. This certainly is the result of the majority of buyers not being hungry for the raw material, it being a confession of many that they can do very well without buying anything further for at least two months; but force of custom compelled them to turn up and see how things shaped. Every little competition helps, no matter whether the market is strong or weak, and one of two firms operated on the opening day which havo not been prominent buyers for a series or two previous, particularly m crossbreds. .Fine wools proved to be a somewhat miscellaneous show on the opening day, there being both good and indifferent wools catalogued, the latter predominating. It is a lon° - time since we saw 12,500 balers catalogued at an initial sale, those panning out to something like 1700 lots. For the very best wools very little chang'e could be seen ivi+.li the elese the pr0r.0.19 scries and I call the best scour and! preasics on the whole firm. When we leave these. I have to tell a story of decline, and call all medium wools 5 per cent, cheaper, with faulty parcels often 7J. to 10 per cent, down. Some want to belittle the fall, but 1 believe in giving an honest statement of fact. Buyers purchasing the Continental stylo of wools know distinctly what lies ahead of them, and say that they might

have to put these wools into stock anywhere from three to six months; and, _il that is the case, they do not believe in being called upon to pay interest upon the capital laid out in them. Fine crossbreds mostly lost ground to the extent of id, while medium and coarse qualities declined Id. .Slipe and scoured crossbreds were steady and unchanged. The sales have continued to make progress at about rates unchanged compared with the opening day, except that crossbreds are now lid to 2d cheaper.

AR ERIOAN COMPETITION MISSING.

Anyone sitting in Coleman Street Wool Exchange this week cannot but have noticed how American competition has been missed, and this is to bo regretted. That is needed to-day just to give a little “ spice ” to the whole proceedings; but' evidently there are very few orders on the market, and, after what one has witnessed in the colonies during recent months, it is not to be wondered at. It would bo most interesting if one could gather with any degree of accuracy the amount of wool bought by America in Australasia, South Africa, and London. Last series one American buyer put Tt down at 200,C0G bales, and I should say that it is fully that. The Australian mails which have come to hand this last two or three weeks have all emphasised the value _ of" American competition, it being explicitly stated time and again that the high prices paid in Geelong, Melbourne, and Sydney have all been given by United States representatives. In other words, they made the market during the months of January and February in particular, and to-dav there are signs that the- majority are filled. This is no doubt due. to a very poor prospect of obtaining any further orders for khaki for either the British War Office or the Allies, and it can be taken for granted that America is going to have to depend more upon her own resources in the near future to k'-op running her m’lls. I certainly would like to- see greater activity throughout the whole of the States; but evidently the effects of the European war are being felt across the Atlantic fully as much as here in England—in fact, the mills of Great Britain never boomed as much as they are doing to-day. So far America has done no great amount of buying, and there is plenty of room for her to lift 20,000 to 25,000 bales, but so far no indication of a buying disposition has been in evidence whatever. THE OUTLOOK.

Messrs H. Dawson and Co. writing with reference to the outlook, say: “There is at present a lull in the activities of the market so far as new business is concerned, and it is not unwelcome. The congestion of stocks at combing mills, railways, and docks is still most acutely Telt, and is, of course, attended with its natural sequence of a financial congestion. The present difficulties of transit and delivery of wool have become almost intolerable, and involve not only additional expense, but a most serious lock-up of capital. Consequently the sales do not open with the same buoyant confidence and strength of demand. Purchases from previous sales and imports (the bills of which have long since matured are yet undelivered, and would-be buyers are neither able nor disposed, to continue their operations. The absence for some weeks of new orders for the army from the various Governments also tends to quieten the market, and consequently a nervous feeling prevails. “ Under these conditions, the consumer and dealer alike find it difficult to determine their policy with regard to the supplies now available, and the possible effects of an early peace on the one hand and a winter campaign on the other are being seriously discussed. In the former case the wool market should probably find a keen demand from the Continental centres that would absorb the merinos with ease, while in crossbreds many of the neutrals w r ould be greatly relieved if they were able again to secure crossbred wools, the need of which has been severely felt since the prohibition of exports. In the event of prolonged hostilities the home trade should, of course, still be the recipient of enlarged orders from the Allies, and these might even be on a larger scale than before owing to the enormous number of men now on active service.

“The general outlook for the home market for the year is therefore not such as to cause undue pessimism whichever direction events may take. Meanwhile we have entered into a period of indecision and uncertainty which may affect the present series, especially as regards merino sorts, which are in plentiful supply. In crossbreds the year’s production has been expedited to the consuming centres at an unprecedented rate, and the end of the New Zealand supplies is already in sight. "“The news from America is not very cheerful; but there has recently been improvement in United States commercial and financial circles which may soon extend to the woollen industry, especially if a reasonable basis for values is established for the new domestic clip.” FIELD CROPS. AVERAGE YIELD PER ACRE. WELLINGTON. June 17. The following table published in the Gazette to-night has been compiled from returns furnished to the Government statistician through the post, and gives the average actual yields of field crops for the dominion for the season 1914-15:

Bushels per acre. Wheat 28.94 Oats 39.77 Barley 32.53 Maize 1 60.26 Peas 26.76 Pounds per acre. Ryegrass 420.64 Cocksfoot 135.50 Red clover 140.69 White clover 153.43 Tons per acre. Potatoes 6.06 Turnips 11.75 Mangolds 23.69

GOVERNMENT STATISTICIAN’S FIGURES QUESTIONED. CHRISTCHURCH, June 18. The Government Statistician returns the Actual average wheat yield for the dominion at 28.94 bushels per acre. If this is worked put on an estimate of 189,567 acres in crop, it gives a total yield of only 5,486,068 bushels, as against 6,169,760 shown by thrashing returns up to the middle of May. Unless the complete thrashing returns have shown a larger area in wheat than that Estimated at, it is difficult to see how the Average of 28.84 bushels per acre has been

arrived at. Mpre complete information is required to show the actual position. The estimated average of 39.77 bushels of oats per acre gives a total yield of well on to 10,250,000 bushels, which is 2,500,000 bushels short of the estimated requirement.

IQ •T? h O . New arriva Gross S _ o c 5 O o W) tj fe.FM-j Old stock ci £ > o r-1 Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Sydney .. •• Queensland .. 63 500 13,500 8,400 58 450 33,100 7,000 6.300 •32,400 Port Phillip 60,500 48,500 1,600 ' 13,600 19.400 12,500 500 6,900 Swan River.. 22,000 — 22.500 17,700 14,500 100 3,300 New Zealand 139,500 64 500 600 75.500 Cape 58,750 50,000 600 9,350 414.500 210,000 18,000 222,000