COMMERCIAL CABLEGRAMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3487, 11 January 1921, Page 13

COMMERCIAL CABLEGRAMS.

LONDON MARKETS. LONDON, January 5. The metal exchange statistics show the stock of tin to be 5546 tons; copper, 11,616 tons; lead, 19,045 tons; spelter, 17,536 tons. At Bradford the wool business is still small but top makers are less inclined to make concessions. Quotations: —Sixty-fours, 51d; 60’s 44d; 56's, 35ci; 50’s, 28d. “Wheat: There is fair business doing in Australian parcels afloat at 106 e 6d per quarter Flour: The market is quiet. Oats: The market is slightly easier. La Plata, spot, 39s to 40s. Barley: The market is quiet. —-Sindian 80s to 935. Peas and beans: The market is quiet and unchanged. Butter: The market is very quiet. Retailers are not taking full allotments of Government butter, the price of which is likely to be reduced. The Government is buying Danish at 2765, f.o.b. Cheese: The market is firmer. Canadian white, spot, 152 sto 1545; coloured, 15Gs to 1605.January 6. Cotton : February shipment, 10.07 d per lb. Jute: January-Febru ary shipment, £39 10s. Hemp: January-March shipment, £52 Para, 13d per lb; plantation, Hid; smoked, 12gd. Copra, j anuary-March shipment, £37 5s Lmseed oil, £39. Turpentine, 10s. Hides: Very depressed. Practicallv no business is doing, and values are steadily declining. The stocks of miscellaneous hides are enormous Dry, .sailed Queensland or „ j ales are quoted nominally at 10d to lid. J BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. 'Fi.o -n i . _, LONDON, January 6. The Bank ol England returns /or the ' week narfe 6 ilfford tho lollowlnl Tx>m paribon with thOi«Q of the previous week : ]) €c> 29 Jq ri 6 Gein and bullion £126,484,000 £126,485 000 PropoTtion ol reserve to i ’ S67 ’°°° 18 * 166 > 000 bilities, per cent 7.30 a q.> rr^rn C m C 'V la i ifln • 132,851,000 131,569,000 ™!T t -, t< ' l>oiltS ••• 14,305,000 16,719,000 n .her deposits 175,555,000 154:988,000 iruernment securities ... 107,835,000 89,761,000 Short S 86 ’ 028 >°0° 84,729,000 6 p 'cent ’ - P " Cent ' ; th ’' Pe n ‘ ontlls ’ biU «. Consols, £36 10s. War loans, £B3 12s 6d, £B3 10s. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. Vh f u • ~ LONDON, January 6. The following are the latest quotations for' Govru?j^g n iast eC week Wlth 3 oom P arisOD wi th those

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES. . ' LONDON. January 6. Tl>e foreign exchange rates on London afford the following comparison :

LONDON" SHAKE MARKET. LONDON, January 4. Mount Lyell shares —15s Gd, 103. Dalgcfcy find Co.Tan miry 5. The Stock Exchange hna much, improved in tone, especially with regard to gilt-edged securities.. Consols are quoted at 46g.

January 7. Mount Lyell—Buyers 15s Id, sellers 16s lOd. TALLOW SALES. LONDON, January 6. At the tallow sales 1929 casks were offered and 101 sold at an average decline of 3s. Mutt-on: Fine, 665; medium, 495. Beef: Fine, 70s; medium, 465. Messrs Dalgety and Co. report having received the following cable from London, dated January 5:—“1900 casks tallowoffered ; 100 casks tallow sold. Fine mutton, 56s per cwt; good mixed, 60s per cwt; looks like going lower because South America pressing. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Ltd.) has received the following cablegram from it 3 London house, under date January s:—Tallow: We quote present spot values for the following descriptions : Fine mutton, £2 15s 6d per cwt; good beef, £2 11s 6d per cwt; mixed beef, £2 2s 6d per cwt. Market dull, with downward tendency. Weddell and Co.’s London cable message states: The tallow market declined 3s. Business is quiet. Mutton tallow, first grade, 565; mixed tallow, good colour, 50s; inferior, 38s to 455. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. MELBOURNE, January 7. Bailey: English, 4s and 4s 6d; Cape, 3a 4d and 3s 6d. Oats, 2s 3d to 2s 4d. Potatoes, £5 to £6. Onions, £8 to £8 10s. SYDNEY, January 6. Oats: Algerian feed, 2s 9d to 3s; milling, 3s 3d; white feed, 4s; milling, 4s 3d. Maize: White, 2s 9d; yellow, 73 3d. Potatoes: New. South Wales, £3 to £5 ; Tasmanian, £lO. Onions: Local and Victorian, £lO to £l2. Adelaide oats are not quoted. ANTWERP WOOL SALES. ANTWERP, January 8. At the wool sales 11,160 bales were offered and 1160 sold. Prices were irregular, but about 10 to 15 per cent, below the last sale. NAPIER WOOL SALES. NAPIER, January 3. The first wool sale of the season was held in Napier to-day. There was a representative attendance of buyers. Competition was keener than at previous dominion sales, and prices advanced, particularly for superior wool suitable for America. Lo-w grades and coarse wools lacked competition. Over 50 per cent of the offering was sold at auction. Following is the range of prices:—Halfbred, 12d to 25 Id; medium halfbred, lOd to 12d; fine crossbred, to 12)d; medium crossbred, 9Jd to 10Jd; crossbred, 8d to 10|d; low crossbred, 4Jd to 6d; halfbred pieces, Td to lOJd; pieces, 3Jd to 7Jd; bellies, 2|d to lid; locks, ljd to 3d. Dalgety and Co. (Limited) report having ..received the following telegram from Napier: “Wool sale held January 3. Bidding spirited. Advances: Medium wools, Jd to Id; good American sorts, Id to 2d; bellies and pieces, id to Jd.“ The increased competition is understood to be due to American demand orders haying come from there for definite fulfilment this month, in view of the projected duty which it seems practically certain will he levied by the U.S.A. on wool importations. Lines shipped this month to America are expected to come in before the tariff is levied.” WANGANUI WOOL SALES. WANGANUI, January 7. There was a good attendance at the wool .sales, buyers being present from Bradford houses (England) and the United States. Three or four operated -on account of American wool spinners. Dominion wool scourers and fellmcngers were also present. A good price was offering generally, but the wool was not of a very high standard, not being too well grown and being inclined to be thin, tender, and seedy. Apparently much good wool in the district is being held for future disposal. Only a small portion is fit for American demand, prices ranging from 9d to 104 d. The bulk of the wool was Braoiorcl top-making sorts, and this elicited more general competition than at the earlier sales in the dominion, which caused medium and low crossbreds to advance about |d on the last Wellington sales. Lambs’ wool was freely sought at 9d to lid for best. Second and inferior were not in demand. Bellies and pieces sold at soma advance on the previous ruling rates. The range of prices was: Southdown, lOd to ll'Jd; crossbred, fine, SJct to 10id; medium, 6d to 8d; coarse, 4d to 5Jd; inferior and seedy, 3d to 4di; pieces and bellies, 3d to 4Jd; locks, ljd to 2j-d; crutchings, 2d to 2Jd; lambs, good, 9d to lid; medium, 6dl to 7d; inferior and seedy, 3d to 4d. CANTERBURY CRASH AND PRODUCE MARKET. (Lyttelton Times, January 7.) The following are the nominal prices paid to farmers at country stations, free of commission, sacks extra, except where otherwise stated: Milling Wheat.—According to Government prices; Tuscan, 7s 6d, f.0.b.; Hunters, 7s 9d; Pearl, Bs. Oats.—G a rton s (not, quot able). Italian Ryegrass.— 6s to 6s 3d. Cocksfoot.—6d to Bd. White Clover.—is lid to 2s 9dl. Perennial Ryegrass.—6s to 6s 9d Cowgrass.—is 2d to is 4d. Flour.—According to Government prices, £l6 10s per ten, f.0.b., Lyttelton, Timaru, and Oamaru. Bran.—According to Government price, £7 15s per ton, f.0.b., main ports. Pollard.—According to Government price, £7 15s per ton, f.0.b., main ports. Local prices: Bran, £8 ss ; pollard, £lO ss. THE ALLEGED CURE FOR FIRE BLIGHT. A DISTINCTION AND A DIFFERENCE. Last week we published a formula for a spray sent to us by Messrs T. Boss-Walker. Ltd., Tasmania, which had proved successful in the island State in combating powdery mildew, commonly called fire-blight. The American fire-blight reported in the North Island and powdery mildew, tho “fire-blight’’ of Tasmania, are totally different diseases, the former being of a bacterial nature, and tho latter a fungus. This erroneously socalled “fire-blight” of Tasmania is probably in every orchard district, and the source of annual worry to the growers and departmental experts of New Zealand. The American fire-blight is so far confined to portion of tho North Island.

in Australian flour at prices quoted ie impossible (says the Australasian). The rate is based on 10a 6d per bushel wheat, as recently announced by the Victorian WTieat Commission. It is intimated to the shippers concerned that first-grade American flour is offered at a price approximately £8 per ton below that asked here. Although the position may be different in other Eastern porta, an adjustment in the price of wheat for private export to the ports comcemed would appear to be necessary if Australia is to get business. The opinion held is that in any case prospects of dealing in flour with the East as a whole on the basis of 10s 6d for wheat are not promising. A comparison of current prices ruling in Victoria for ordinary good quality produce with those ruling a year ago is as follows:—< 1919. 1920. Wheat, 601 b 6s 6d 7s 8d Flour, 20001 b £l2 £l7 Bran, 20001 b £7 10s #9 Pollard, 20001 b £7 £9 Oatmeal, ton £35 10s £25 Oats, 401 b ... 5s 8d to 6s 2s to 2s 3d Maize, 581 b ... 8s 3d 4s Gd to 4s 9d Chaff, ton ... £9 7s 6d to.£9 15s £5 10s to £5 17s ®d Potatoes, ton £l4 to £l6 10s £5 5s to £7 Onions, ton ... £9 to £9 10s £9 to £9 10s Butter, lb ... Is 7d 2s bo 2s 6d Eggs, dozen Is 3d to Is 4£d Is 6d to Is lOd Cheese, large new, lb ... lid to ll£d Is Id to Is 2(-d Bacon, sides, lb Is 4d Is 8d to Is 9d LOCAL MARKETS. The position as regards supplies of millin* wheat continues unsatisfactory. One local' mill, for instance, is anxiously awaiting supplies of velvet or Australian wheat for mixing purposes, and other mills could do with increased supplies. Millers’ prices are as follow:—Flour, £l7 per ton; 100’s, £lB 10s; 50’s, £l9; 25’s, £2O, Bran, £8 15s per ton. Pollard, £lO 15s. Pearl barley, £35. ’Oatmeal, £25 per ton. The oat market is stagnant. Merchants ara awaiting more definite information regarding th© prospects of the new crops before operating. Oats for forward delivery ara being offered to-day from the North Island and Canterbury at 3s 2d and 3s 2Jd, f.o.b.s.L, but even at these prices there is no response. PRODUCE REPORT. The chaff market is easy. Supplies from the country are not plentiful, but fair quantities are held in stores. Medium qualfiv is almost unsaleable. Supplies of old potatoes are now finished for the season. Plentiful supplies of eggs are reaching the market, and prices are inclined to ease. Pigs are in good supply. Current whol< sale prices Bie a 3 follow: Chaff: Sound eaten sheaf, £7 5a to £7 10s} medium, £O. Eggs, Is 9d per dozen. Dairy butter, Is 9d per lb. Margarine, Is per lb. Pigs: Prioe3 irregular. Bacon: Rolls, up to Is 9d per lb; sides, Is Bd. Hams, Is lOd. FRUIT REPORT. About 500 cases of bananas reached ths market during the week. Despite the fact that a considerable quantity of the fruit was not in the best condition prices ruled high, the market being short of supplies. Fair-sized parcels of cherries have coma forward from Otago Central and Canterbury. These have met a ready market. Only medium-sized lots of peaches and apricots have reached the market. Choice quality fruit brings prices which must be considered very satisfactory to the growers. The few lots of raspberries which have come to hand have realised high prices—up to lljd per lb. Supplies of tomatoes have been irregqilar. On Wednesday prices ruled about Is per lb, but t-o-day prices for choice Canterbury-grown had advanced to Is 9d per lb. The strawberry season is drawing to a close. The few lots available bring high prices. New potatoes meet a ready demand. Supplies of locally-grown are hardly equal to the demand. Auckland-grown are neglected. Green peas are in full supply, and prices have eased a little. Th© prices for cabbages have eased, and there is also a poor demand for cauliflowers. Current wholesale prices are as follow: Dessert apples: Stunners, to 20s; American, 22s to 25s ; French Crabs, 8s to 10s. Lemons: Californian, 255. Oranges: Californian, 52s 6d, very scarce. Cherries, 7d to Is per lb; choice ,to Is 6d. Tomatoes: Christchurch, lljd to 13 9d; local, Is 4d to Is lOd. Gooseberries, green, 2Jd to 3d. Strawberries, 2s to 2s 9d. Radishes, 6d per dozen bunches. Plums: Deseert, to 6Jd; cooking, 4d to sd. Apricots, 6d to lOd. Peaches: Choice dessert, lOd to Is; cooking, 3Jd to 54d. New potatoes: Auckland, 5s to 9s per cwt; Peninsula, 2Jd to 3d; Forbury, 2d to 21d. Green peas, ljd to 3d. Cucumbers: Local hothouse, 9s to 15s per dozen. Table carrots: New season's, Is 6d to 2s per dozen. Turnips, 6d to 9d per dozen buuches. Parsnips, Is 3d to la 9d per dozen bunches. Cabbages: Best, to 3s per dozen; medium, to 2s per sack; prime, .3s to 5s per sack. Cauliflowers: Medium, 2s to 4s per dozen; sacks —prime 6s to 7s, medium 3s to 4s. Rhubarb, 2s 6d per dozen bunches; ljd to 2d per lb. Lettuce, Is to 2s 6d per case. Spring onions, 2d to 3d per bundle of six bunches. MERCHANDISE MARKET. Daily Times Office, Saturday Morning. New season’s bulk and packet dates are now on the market. A cablegram announces a rise of £2 per ton in the price of cornfloilr. Local prices, however, remain unchanged in the meantime. There are various alterations in the prices of Eastern spices, white and black pepper, mace, and ground nutmeg all being slightly reduced in price. Ground rice also shows a slight decrease in price. Fresh supplies of Danish rennet, tablets, have just arrived, and! are being quoted at 6a 9d per dozen. Whiz lines of metal polish and black lead show a reduction in x^rice. The manufacturers of Cl'emonne have increased their x>rice by 2s Gd per case. Stocks of pearl tapioca are becoming limited, but further supplies are expected in about two or three weeks’ time. Bell’s 250 matches are again in short sufiply. Cablegrams reoeived from Ceylon this week announce that the price for beat quality tea* is firm, and that the market shows a slight advance. Full supplies of motor spirits, benzine, and distillate of all brands are now available, and the Board of Trade has removed the restrictions regarding the limitation of supplies. The Orari, now discharging, is bringing supplies of Morton’s herrings in tomato sauce, Morton’s fresh herrings, and Morton's curry powder. Quotations have been received for Australian and Tasmanian new season's tinned fruits. Those are still quoted considerably under th«

Californian article. TLoir quality give 3 every satisfaction. Cai tic soda shows an increased cost. The current quotation is now 10s to 10s Gd per dozen, according to quantity. Gerstena is quoted at 18s per dozen. The wholesale market is now hare of old seeded raisins, but a parcel of new season’s fruit has just oorno to hand. Clement’s tonic has been advanced to 336d per dozen bottles. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S CABLE. WELLfNOT -N. January 4. Tha Department of Agriculture- has received the following cablegram, date 1 December 1. from the High Commissioner, London: “ The meat trade is very quiet for tonic killed. Continental supplies are heavy. Thr- unusually warm weather is affecting the conditions and reducing values, especially pork, which is selling down to Is 2d per lb. The average prices are: Beef, Is 6d : mutton, Is 6|a to Is 9d per lb. Imported is slow of sale.

The baiter market i - quiet, and buyer operating' from hand to Mouth. The Govern ment ration is not being, frilly taken up The retail prieo is still 3s 4d per lb. Sup plus are good, and all prospects are favour able. Irish creamery is quoted nt £l6 t£l7 per cwt (i 10R1 to 3s OJd per 11>). Che j«e. —The demand is better for froCanadian in preference to Government stock* The ration price remains at Is i 1 per It retail. Canadian white, £7 10s to £7 Ins pe cwt (Is Id to 1= 43<1 per lb); coloured £7 10 to £S per cwt (la 4JI lo Is 5d per 1'). Hemp.—The Manila market is quiet am steady. October - December shipment i quoted at £SO per ton ; Dccember-Februar; and Jnun.ry-Mm eh *'!iip:in ills, £55 per toll . February-April shipment sold nt £5 Km par ton. N< v Zealand is ncmimd. Hi 1 points, spat, £sl per ton; Divemb r-Febru ary shipment, £72 per ton; fair, £52 and £3 per ton respe '.lively. RABBITSKTXS MARKET DEPRESSED. A loco.i firm reports having received tb

rzzxssL- lag.*F-ascgagyan*-hw following cable message from Messrs Aiming' and Cobb, dated X.oudon, January 4: —The rabbitskius market continues depressed, and . a decline of fully 20 per cent, is expected at the auctions of January 12. Cutters say they are unable to sell fur. OAMARU MARKETS. (FKOX! Ouit Own crmrrsi’QXUEXT.) O AMARU, January 7. Not within the recollection of the oldest of those concerned has there been a time when the Oamaru markets were eo deadly dull as nt the present time. Of course, something may be said about holidays interrupting the course of business, but that ia insufficient to account for the impossibility to discover a single transaction in either the grain and produce market or the stock market, for there- have been opportunities for doing business if any could be done. So far as the grain market is concerned, the fact is that the district ha* been cleaned

out of everything but oats, which no on© appears to want. Brokers are now looking forward to the incoming of the new grain, and interest centres in the harvest, which, on present appearances, will bo earlier than m the two last seasons. Some oats have already be<n cut, these consisting of Algerians sown for green feed, eaten down, and then allowed to come on for grain. But unless a change in the climatic conditions intervenes to arrest ripening a good area of this cereal, including Gartens, will be ready for reaping in a week or ten days, with indifferent results so far as yields and quality are both concerned. Wheat is not so forward It has not Buffered so much from heat and absence of rain, for the soil still contains moisture well below the surface, ar.d the deep-rooted wheat is being sustained by this. But the worth of the harvest depends upon whether or not rain comes soon to fill the corn ears. If rain doee come £toon. :i the yields of wheat will be up to the average, but if there is no rain, and we get a recurrence of the heat which marked the three opening days of the year, the harvest will be somewhere between poor and fair. SOUTHLAND MARKETS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, January 8. The oat market is quiet, being almost dead except for local demands. The advices from the north are to the effect that owing to the dry season crops will probably be light, but almost invariably in Southland there is a promise of excellent crops. North Island buyers are already endeavouring to make for-wai-d contracts, but prices offered are so low that merchants are unwilling to sell, as in most instarces our farmers are in a strong position, and will not accept what is the equivalent of decidedly low values. Owing to the usual stoppage of supplies of chaff at holiday time this market has in the meantime slightly improved, £6 10s on trucks being paid for prim© quality. Even so, chaff from the north can b© landed by rail at less money The recent spell of fine weather is bringing on the grass seed, and harvesting operations for ryegrass should soon b© general, a air acreage ha* been shut up for grass, and in most instances it has been looking well, but it remains to be proved what effect the light frost just before Christmas wiLl have had on the seed. In some cases paddocks shut up are rather short, andl probably can be saved only with the stripper. Tile market for Manila fibre is easier, and naturally this has affected New Zealand hemp, low fair now being worth only abont £27; high fair, £3l to £32; but for spinning purposes locally and in Australia good fair oommands from £36 to £37 on trucks, but unfortunately little of this grade is turned out in Southland.

oi „. . . „ Last week. This ■ r- P ei oent - Imp. Con. ...£44 12 6 £44 week. 19 ft o per cent. Imp. War Loan ... 82 10 0 82 10 0 81 per cent. imp. War Loan 83 7 6 83 (3 »i Per cent. C’wealth Loan . 90 5 0 95 10 0 ">4 per cent. C’wealth Loan ... D4 0 0 94 10 0 6 N.S.W. 4’s, 1938. Jan.-Jnlv 73 >..S,W. 3J’s, 1.935-50, April 0 0 *73 Jan.-July ... G2 A-Pril-Oct. ... 59 U-*, ::: ::: ::: ::: m 4 ic. 4 a, 1921-8, Jan.-July go 0 0 15 • 7 5 0 0 0 •6 0 G2 58 94 99 82 12 0 0 5 6 6 0 0 0 0 Vic. SJ’s, 1929-40, .Tan. -, July 55 0 0 55 0 Vic. 3’s, 1929-49, Jan.-July ... 02 0 0 62 0 0 Q land 4 a, 1924, Tail.-July 84 0 0 85 0 0 Q’lancl 31’S, 1921-24, Jan.-Juiy 81 0 0 81 0 0 Q’land 34’s, 1921-24, Jan.-July 97 0 0 97 0 ‘0 Q land 3 a. 1922-47, Jan.-duly 48 0 0 49 0 0 N.Z. 4’s, 1929, May-Noy. ' ... 82 5 0 82 G8 0 0 N.Z. 34V, 1940, Jan.-July ... 08 0 0 5 0 6 N.Z. 3’s, 1945, April-October 57 0 0 5? 17 S.A. 34's, 1916 or after 06 0 0 G9 0 0 S. A. 3’s. 1930, .Tan.-July 4,8 10 0 49 10 0 Tas. 34’s, 1920-40, .Ian.-July... 65 0 0 05 12 6 Tas. 3’s, 1920-40, Jan.-July 60 0 0 60 0 0 W.A. 34’s, 1920-35. May-Noy.. G8 17 G 68 15 0 W.A. 3’s, 1915-35, May-Noy. ... 07 0 0 67 0 0

Paris (Fr.) 23.22^ 18.169 Deo. 30. 59.63 Jan. 0. 60.78 Christiania (kr.) 22.07 22.03 Stockholm (kr.) 18.109 17.73 17.65 Calcutta (run.) Montreal (,lol.) ... 10 to gold gov. 17*; 17ft 4.86 4.07 4.30 New York (ilol.) 4.86 3.53 8.00 Yokohama (yen) 24* 82& m