COMMERCIAL CABLEGRAMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3455, 1 June 1920, Page 16

COMMERCIAL CABLEGRAMS.

(By Cable.)

LONDON MARKETS. LONDON, May 26. Copper: Spot, £B9 16s; forward, £O3 7s 6d. Electrolytic: Spot, £105; forward, £lO7. Lead: Spot, £3B ss; forward, £4O. Spelter: Spot, £43 10s; forward, £45 15s. Tin: Spot, £262 10s; forward, £269 10s. 'Silver, 5s ll|d per oz.The Bradford wool market is quiet, awaiting the opening of the London sales. The wheat market is fairly active, several Australian parcels sold at official rates. Flour is in good demand, but only a 'small quantity has been released. Oats: The market is firm. La Plata, on spot, 6s 6d. Beans: The market is quiet. Peas: The market is firm. Tasmanian blues, 25s to 27s per owt; New Zealand duns, 1253 per quarter. Sugar: The market is unchanged. May 27.

The Bank of England returns show the stock of gold coin and bullion to be £111,994,000; reserve, £191,441,000; proportion of reserve to liabilities, 16.5. The notes in circulation amount to £111,464,000; public deposits, £16,604,000; other deposits, £101,180,000; Government _ securities, £34,356,000; other securities, £81,716,000. Short loans are discounted at 5£ per cent.; three month bills, 6| per cent. P. and O. Shares: Buyers £446, sellers £465.

Consols are quoted at £4B. War Loans, £B3, £B6 6s; Commonwealth war loans, £96, £93 15s; Victorian 4's, £99 ss; 3J's, £B2 and £55 15s; 3's, £59 10s; New South Wales 4'e, £76 ss; Queensland 3s, £55; New Zealand 4's, £Bl ss; 3£'s, £66 2s 6d; 3'e, £57 2s 6d; South Australian 3&'s, £66 10s; 3's, £49 15s; West Australian 3|'s, £7l 3'e, £67 15s; Tasmanian &i'e, £64 10s; 3's, £62. May 29. Cotton: Jane shipment, 28c to 48c per lb. Linseed oil, £93. Turpentine, 185 s. Rubber: Para., 25Jd; plantation, 24|d; smoked, 24§d. ' Hemp : The market is neglected). Februaryshipment, £54. Jute: The market is quiet. May-June shipment. £SB. Copra: May-July shipment, £36 106, nominal AMERICAN WHEAT. • NEW YORK, May 26.. Chicago reports that the visible wheat supply is 40,369,000 bushels FLUCTUATING EXCHANGE RATES. LONDON, May 27n The extraordinary fluctuations in the European exchanges are attributed to anticipations arising from the coming financial conferences. To-day the rates quoted for the sovereign were: —On Paris, 49.10 fr; Berlin, 132 marks; Christiania and Stockholm, 15.6 kroner (compared with 16.9 kroner).AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. MELBOURNE, May 28. Barley: English, 7s Bd, 8s; Cape, 6s 3d, 7s. Oats: Algerian, 6s 3d, 6s 4d. Potatoes, £l2 10s, £l3 10s. Onions, £l3 10s, £l4. The hides market is very weak. The decline in prices is up to 3d per lb all round. SYDNEY, May 27. Oats: Algerians, 6s lOd, 7s; Tasmanian, 7s, 7s 3d. Maize, 10s 6d. Potatoes, £l4 to £l7. Onions: Victorian. £l7 to £lB. ADELAIDE, May 27. Oats, 6s Id, 6s sd. WOOL SALES. LONDON, May 25. The Australian Press Association learns from an authoritative source that the British Government will continue to hold wool auction sates in London till December 31. The Government will probably be willing to give squatters a reasonable portion of freight space from October 1 onwards.May 28. At the Bradford wool sales there was a moderate attendance. Average Bradford! combings were irregular and slightly above Liverpool. Faulty merinos and crossbreds were mostly withdrawn.

May 29. The Yorkshire Observer states that an effort is being- made in Manchester to start wool sales through the dock warehouses at Old Trafford, replacing the Liverpool auctions. It is pointed out that Manchester offers wool shipe numerous chances of profitable back loading. An experiment was also being made at present with the establishment of a selling and distributing centre at Hull. Whether it will be continued after the Government sales are completed depends on the attitude of th<t Bradford trade. LONDON TALLOW 'MARKET. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company has received the following cablegram from Londfcm under date May 19: —Wo quote present spot values for the following descriptions of tallow:—Fine mutton, £1 8s; good beef, £4 6s; mixed, £1 2s. There is a good demand for fine mutton; tallow and fine beef tallow. SOUTHLAND MAESETS. (Feom Ouh Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, May 28. The recent heavy weather has had a deterrent effect on the etor* market, and little business has been effected, but it is anticipated that when the weather improves the market will come away again. Wethers, four, six, and eight-tooth, axe still in fandemand, and sold well at recent country sales, although prices were slightly easier. Two-tooth wethers have found a ready market at prices ranging up to 30s 6d, as against 32a recently obtained. There has been a considerable decline in ewes. The fat stock market has been at a standstill owing to the lack of freezing space, but a boat is expected this week that will take a big cargo away and relieve the congestion. Witn m-ire space available freezing buyers will begin to operate and prices will harden. Hotscs still oontinu© to be in good demand, and find a ready market at prices ranging up to £SO for good working farm draughts, aged six to eigh year*. Oats. —The market otill remains firm, some 3ales having been mad© to Australia, but the prices obtained will only justify about ss, 0.t., u.c.s., s.e., for A grade Gartons. Chaff.—A firm market at the prices offered, which are from £7 to £7 5s for prime quality, ot., u.c.s., sack* ©upplied. Potatoep.—The market is easier. Merchants are only offering £5 10s to £5 15a, 0.t., ii.ee., s.i., but many growers seem inclined to risk the market. Hemp.—The market is very quiet, and the lower grades are hard to sell. Good fair is saleable, but little is being produced). Tow atocks have had a big cleaning out, about 40 tons being shipped by the Westralia this week, and further sales have been reported. Ryegrass.—There is little doing at present, but a small inquiry has been noticeable from the North Island * May 23. The oat market is decidedly firm, those few growers who still retain their "season's crop refusing to do business at anything! under ss, on trucks, while merchants are equally firm in their ideas of values, f.0.b.,. s.i. Some sales have been made to Australia at the equivalent of ss, on trucks, for ■ A grade, and this business must make the position of merchants more secure, but up to the present it has been impossible to do anything Bave at a loss. The chaff market is decidedly firm at prices up to £7 per ton for good and £7 5s for extra good, on trucks, at country stations. The demand is principally for local requirements. As can ,b° expected at this tiino of the year, very little business is passing in ryegrass, but there is still a small inquiry from northern ports. Southland seed this season is of very high quality, 30lb to 821 b seed from the dresser being by no means uncommon, and the germination is all that can be desired. The basis of shipping values is 9s 6d per bushel for -28 lb seed, heavier weights in proportion. '•- The hemp market is still quiet, excepting for & demand for good fair, of which very little is procurable, *bout the only business passing being with spinners. Forty ; tona of tow were shippsd by the Westralia this week, which has considerably depleted stocks, which wear* at one time well-nigh unsaleable, and other sales are reported.

OAMARU MARKETS. 0?!»SM Our Own Correspondent.) OAMARTJ, May 29, Though the season is drawing to an end, deliveries of -wheat continue to be made, but as a general rule they are of email dimensions. The week's business, however, included) lines of 800 sacks of Tuscan, 700 of mixed Velvet and Eedchaff, and 400 of Velvet. Notwithstanding that holdings of oats in the country are still fairly heavy, business ia etill very slack, lack of shipping and storage facilities putting an effectual restraint upon merchants. Sales during the week were therefore confined to a few market lines of A grade Gartens at se, and a line of Algerians at 4s lOd. all net at country stations. There is still no business passing in potatoes, holders declining to sell except at higher prices than thcee current in Canterbury. Many growers are putting their potatoes into pit in the hope that a profitable price may be obtainable later on. THE ROYAL ARCADE. SOLD FOR £15,000. The historic property in the centre of the city known as the Royal Arcade was offered for sale on Wednesday afternoon at the rooms of Messrs James Samson and Co. under conduct of the registrar of the Supreme Court ill a suit for the partition of the property. A great deal of interest was snown in the 6aJe, and this was revealed in the large attendance. An additional point of interest was contained in the fact that Some doubt appears to have been thrown on the right of the proprietors of the Arcade to deprive the public of the long-established right of way through it. The owners of the property when it was put up to auction were Mrs Sievwrigjit's trustees and Mr A. Palmer, each party owning a half share. The conditions of purchase wore read by Mr F. C. Calvert, representing the solicitors for the vendors. Mt James Samson then, opened the sale, remarking that it was very seldom that half an acre in the centre of the city was offered for sale by public auction. At the present time there were S 3 shops and a cafe on the property, and if these were removed the site would be eminently suitable for the erection of a theatre or an hotel. The first offer received was a bid of £12,000 by Mr -W. Quirk, late of the City Hotel. The price quickly rose to £15,000. and at thia figure the property was knocked down to Mr J. B. Nichol, of the firm of Messrs Sievwright, James, and Nichol. It is understood that Mr Nichol effected the purchase on behalf of a private syndicate. LARGE PROPERTY SALE. NAPIER, May 29. The Ohurakura Estate, SO miles from Napier, on the Tapuo road, the property of Mrs Perry, a daughter of the late Mr G. Pv Donnelly, was sold at auction to-day by Messrs Hoodley, Son, and Stewart. Th© total

area was 13,320 -acres, 12,230 being sold for £lO2 932 10s. The smallest section, which to subject to timber restrictions, was passed in. No. 1 block (3550 acres) was bought oy Mr 0 J. ParkeT, Hastings, at £lO 10s per acretotal, £37,275; No 2 block (3530 acres), C. J. Parker, Hastings, £7 10s—total, £27,357 10s; No. 3 block (8160 acres), P. Pattello, Napier, £7 10s—total, .£23,700; No. 4 block (2000 acres), M. F. Bourke, Napier, £7 53—total, £14,500. PROPERTY SALES. At their .auction rooms on Tuesday afternoon Messrs Alex. Harris and Co. offered for sale by auction a Mcsgiel property in the estate of Lillias Doull (deceased), consisting of eight and three-quarter acres of land, with dwelling, stabling, etc. There was a good attendance of buyers, and after spirited bidding the property was sold at £IOSO to Mr David M'Donald. • Messrs James Samson and Co. offered for sale by public, auction on Friday afternoon, under instructions from the executors of the late Mr Robert Forrest, a sis-roomed house (No. 60) in Queen street. There was a large attendance, and after starting at £6OO the price rose under keen competition io £BSO, at which figure the property was knocked down to Mr A. Gilchrist, as agent.