OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 18

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

CONFIDENCE SHOWN TN RAW MATERIAL VALUES. (From Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD, July 24. The fourth series of London sales closed yesterday. They have exercised considerable influence upon the trade in this country, and will no doubt have left their impress upon conditions on the Continent. Besides the steadiness of values in Coleman Street there has admittedly been a slight improvement in the demand for tops in Bradford, but in view of the fact that the adequacy of raw material supplies is fully recognised full credit must be given to the stability maintained. The next series of London sales will not commence until September 16, so that there are about eight weeks for home and Continental stocks to be •absorbed, and during that time there should be such developments as will have an important bearing upon trade during the winter months.

It must be recognised that the current Australian clip may prove to be the largest ever grown. Whatever weight of wool comes forward it will not be more than can be dealt with providing there is anything like a reasonable expansion of business. It has frequently been stated that there is too much wool manufacturing machinery in the world; but this is not the real trouble, or at any rate there are other possible remedies than destroying spindles and looms. It is ’entirely a question of ultimate consumptive requirements, and if these could

develop on lines corresponding with the world’s needs in the way of clothing there would not be enough machinery or raw material. CONTINUED DEMAND FOR MERINOS.

The outstanding feature of the current London sales is the steady buying of merinos on the part of the Continent. It was stated in May last that the home trade did not purchase anything like a thousand bales of this description, but this seems incredible. However, there has been a repetition of what happened in May during the July series, France, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland taking by far the greater part of the fine wools catalogued. Although the decline generally is 7J per cent, on average wools, some classes have been sold at no more than 5 per cent, decline, and where Continental competition has been keen there has been very little difference between July and May values. Combing wools have fared very well, the biggest fall being seen in scoured clothing. The demand for scoured clothing, pieces, bellies, and locks is not at all satisfactory. When decent wool of this description is selling at 12d to 16d per lb it is no wonder that values for merino noils are falling. Anyone who _ can use scoured merino clothing can obtain plenty of it at a very reasonable price. The following indicates how leading merino clips have sold during the auctions:— Maneroo (Queensland Wool).

SCOURED FAULTY WOOLS. The fact that good Queensland scoured combing merino has sold up to 27d and that the Corella brand from New South Wales realised the same price shows what good figures are still forthcoming for wools of first-class characteristics. Quite_ a number of Queensland scoured combing wools have sold at 24d-26d, a very different price from 15d-16d, at which hundreds of lots of clothing descriptions have been disposed of. Big quantities of scoured skin wools regularly come to Coleman Street from Geelong and Melbourne, such familiar marks as Clyde, Gibb, and O’Beirne/Geelong being known to every frequenter of the sales. Some very good work is put into these wools, the sorting is carefully done, and the scouring is perfect. We get a good deal fewer lots of scoured skin wool from Sydney than formerly. Still, London continues to be a very good market for these scoureds, including the wellknown Adelaide marks GU/H and Waverley/JM & Sons. These appear in the London catalogues every series, and are largely taken by the Continent. The home trade still uses fair quantities of scoured locks, and these can be bought very cheaply. They can be readily used, and to-day are costing very little more than good mungo and shoddy. It is quite possible that the use of virgin wool will increase to the, disadvantage of substitutes, owing to the former being obtainable at reasonable cost. If wholesale fabric buyers can purchase good cloths made from woo] at only a fewpence per yard more than the cheap woollens made from mungo and shoddy, it is reasonable to expect that they will do so. This should all tel] in the favour of the fleece of the sheep. CROSSBREDS MEETING A GOOD

MARKET. It is not necessary to say a great deal about crossbreds, but readers will be glad to know that this description of raw material has continued to sell without any further decline. There has been some very good home trade competition, and it is very creditable indeed that the offerings have been cleared so well, seeing that supplies have been so large Bradford topmakere are in anything but an optimistic frame of mind, though paradoxical as it may seem, they are not favouring lower values. They recognise the position as it is affected bv prospective supplies. The financial standing of many firms is none too good, and there are rumours about failures and the necessity being enforced upon some for drastic retrenchment. It is also contended that the business done recently in Bradford in tops has not been profitable, and this goes against any enhancement of values for the raw material. All Bradford buyers are admitting that prices in themselves are reasonable, but when New Zealand greasy crossbred is selling at .9d to lOd it is obviously a cheap article—too much so from the point of view of growers. .

Greasy Wool. Description & Quality. m* © O ecu cd 2 ♦_> © O co ~ o o ocoo Per lb. Per lb. d. d. AAA combing, very good 70’s 16 28-285 AAA combing, very good 70's 15J 27 AAA combing, good 70's 16 285 AAA combing, good 70-74’s 15 272 AAA combing, good 70’s 14£ 263 AA combing, good 70-74’s . . 14i 26 Al combing, very good 66's 135 bid 24 Al combing, very good 66's 13 H 25 A combing, good 70’s . . 133 253 AA, good 70-74’s 133 25 AA, good and very good 7066’s 14J 26 Broken, good 70's 143 263 Boolardy/Murchison (W.A. Wool). AAA combing, warp 66-70’s 15 283 AA combing H., very good 70’s 14 263 AA combing, very good 7066’s 13J 26 AAA H., super warp 64-62’s 132 24 AAA super warp 64’s. . 13:J 25 AA, H., good 64’s to 62’s 123 23 AA, good 64’s to 62’s . . 123 233 BBB, very good 60's . . 123 223 AA fleece, very good 64-66’s 123 24 A lambs, lin 64’s 7 15 Langrldgb (N.Z. Wool). A merino H., very good 7066’s 123 26 A merino W. and E., very good 70-66’s 12 25 B merino W. and E., very good 64-66’s ... 10 bid 20 Omarama (N.Z. Wool). Super combing H., good 6470’s 13J 263 1st combing H., good 64-70’s 123 235 1st combing, good 64-70’s . . 113 23