ENGLISH WOOL MARKET.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15466, 10 March 1921, Page 9

ENGLISH WOOL MARKET.

EXCESSIVE LIMITS HINDERS SALE OF GOVERNMENT WOOL BRADFORD, Jan. 13.—As will be seen from statements made in succeeding paragraphs business, is. not entirely { dormant in the Bradford market, but - ! unfortunately the position is not as enl | eouraging as traders would . like it to I be. The opinion is entertained that l the worst is almost over, but machinery \ is a very long way from being fully | occupied, and .it will take some, time Jl before tilings get back to libi'nidh Cue (member of the industry lias likened the present- state of -affairs to a man who has had double pneumonia with complications and who lias now taken a turn for the better. His medical adviser has given him permission .to sit up in bed, but very great care will have to be, exercised and months will elapse before a complete recovery can ho effected, the probability of some relapses being very great-. This exactly hits off the position of the trade td- » day, for though -it may be said that the crisis has been passed, there arc O st-ill some dangers to be faced. Serious 1 minded persons are exercised about, the question of wages and profits, the opinion being expressed that- Loth these will have to be modified in order to ensure a safe anti free flow of business. /The quality of goods will also Imve to be watched, and if is quite certain a linn in the wool textile manufacturing industry who' can turn out a realy good article at- reasonable prices (whether partly or fully manufactured) will stand .by far the best chance. TIIE wool realisation; scheme ! . Considerable private buying of comb- : ing merino wools lias been done, and some nice sales of tops have been effected; Trices have .not. been extremely low,- all the cheap lots having been cleared out. of the market, Even importing topmakei's will not- ncr.v sell forward on a basis of: 3s. 6<J-. It is never the right time to attempt to de- 1 strov confidence,' and the time for that » could never lie more Inopportune than / now. Everything possible should be

dune to create a better feeling, and to g encourage the placing of new business. In spite of tlje mistakes wliich have been made with regard to the disposal • of Government owned wool in London, there is a feeling in some circles that ii the realisation scheme can be carried out properly it will ultimately exert a beneficial effect upon the industry us a whole. The fuel is not overlooked that l’or tt long time conditions have been largely urtiticlal, and no ono is disposed to look with real fa vor . upon utly measures w hich are likely to contribute to the 'continuance' of an artificial state of affairs; The i Heed for a remedy of some sort, however, is so urgent, and the artificial conditions referred to have exercised , such a’far reaching effect, that-it need be no cause lor surprise if some members of the trude are looking for some means to bo adopted uvhereby trade can bo placed' on u sounder footing. . One of the arguments brought against the realisation scheme has been that if the wool now held by the Government is put on one side ifnd fhe buying power of the trade compelled to be concentrated upon the Australian new . clip, the said old wool will have to come forward some time. Until it is cleared off*the market there will always be the possibility of it exerting an adverse influence upon values. f,

PROSPECn VES CON SUM PTIVE v V SNEEDS. Though there-mny be a, large quantity of wool which is not immediately going into consumption, the general public • cannot cease to wear dotting. - The 'purchase ot clothing materials may bo delayed, but- it cannot cease entirely,’arid in view; of the- present, tremendous -world needs and those which will eventually arise, there is certainly some justification for a belief in the possibility of all the wool now in sight ultimately being cleared without any special efforts being made to induce •- users tq buy. t During recent months the output from combing machinery lias been greatly, reduced, and it would be no cause for surprise., if spinners, in anticipation of their needs, begin to put in larger stocks of tops. As. indicated above, there are indications of a firmer tendency in top values, due to the lact that spinners are not so optimistic about being able to buy, on .a still lower basis. This would seem to indicate the direction in which events are moving in the wool consuming industry, and though the tendency is not yet very pronounced, and though there,, may be some slight relapses . before business really gets moving, there is good reason for saying' tlfat apart from what lias 'happened recently with regard, to. the sale of tile raw material in London, I lie worst is past. After the success attending the clearance .sales in retail stores throughout the country, shopkeepers should m/w have loose cash, which will -enable .them to buy again. -. ' THEw SOURCE OF THE OPPOSITION. Very little change has taken place in the Bradford top market, though there is still a fair demand for fine merino qualities. Most .interest is being shown in anything ' above 60s, mudorato weights of 60’s-70"s colonial having been disposed of. ThereTius also been some inquiry foi‘ Capes, but, little actual business lias been done in this dereription. Crossbreds are quiet. > Decent quantities of Down and half-bred English wool, considerable, quantities of noils and wastes-.and moderate weights of tops have all, been sold, the destination being understood to be the United States. This business is regarded as being an anticipation of a revision in the United States .tariff, and so far as the noils and wastes are concerned, is believed to be speculative. Pl'iceft tor - d-liese commodities in this country have certainly come down to, a very, reason-! able level, but it is understood here that there is not -yets any extensive demand I for them in the United States on actual | manufacturing account. Tile altitude of the Government .department responsible for fixing reserve prices on wool offered in London is still the object of adverse criticism in the circles most directly concerned. Great dissatisiaction is expressed with the fact that after The w 00l lias been valued by the brokers, the department puts’ Oil severalpence per lb, thereby placing it entirely 1 beyond the buying capacity of tlvo trade, j Tlie opinion is held'that tin attempt is being made to boycott, the London mar-j ket, and tliero is every probability that; it' the policy recently pursued is con- j tiuued, definite action .will be..taken by ' the Colonial Wool Buyers’ Association. The executive of the British Wool Fed- j oration have appointed.'a .deputation to waif, upon the Loudon Board of the British - Australian wool realisation scheme to .protest, against -I jie maintenance of high limits in-London. No improvement lias taken place in yarns, and considerable, irregularity, is observable in quotations. -Some'inquiry bus been forthcoming for .merinos and fine crossbreds, but- prices are: being marked down as much as possible in order to .find business to keep machinery running. course of London, auctions. With regard to the actual course of the London'auctions, Die position' during. the past week lias been, practically the same as when the sales opened, On Tuesday about 8030 bales of Government wool wore offered,, including 1078 bales New lioutb Wales, 826 'Queensland, 2072 Victorian, 7-10 West Australian, 753 ■South' Australia, 379 /Tasmanian, and 2318 bales New Zealand. There were two or three good lots of fine combing merinos, but - the limits Were far., too high for buyers, and most of these, wools liwero withdrawn. Carbonising pieces, and bellies sold fairly readily. 'Lbe

I scoureds, of which (her" whs jin average ' selection, but these sold irrcg'ultsi'ly,- A fairly large proportion of the crossbred i E offerings were sold, reserve prices having | e apparently .been somewhat reduced. The'! I- descriptions were chiefly medium and ! v low qualities. Large weights of slipes t were withdrawn, • . :-1 Generally speaking, the limits on the o merinos have shown little change, and t during the-Week a sale of “free’’ Purttav ; wools. Tins been held, on which occasion y about 3003 bales wore offered.' Though e these wt'fe of inferior character, a large e quiltitity wrU; sold, prices ruling on about ea, parity with rte'erit rates. The ready a movement- of these W'dbß was no doubt - due to the fact that limits IGh'e-ino#e i in harmony with the ideas of buyers. - j Since the current series opened, two t sales of Australian “free” wool have been | i held, and the way iti which the offer- j 1 ings have been cleared has given un-1 i mistakuble evidence of the real attitude - of buyers. r, Chi both occasions no less than £0 per - cent, of the offerings were sold. Buyers . avert) present in large numbers for these > sides, anil the growers oil behalf of whom i the clips were offered..very wisely let them go at tHe prices .bid. The buyers : who were present at these sales made no secret, of their intentions with regard - to Government wool, find unless the authorities adopt a diffWifflt method their own wool will he left, in the lurch. , Certainly buyers have no iiiteiflion uf going to Australia for wool simply because they cannot get it in London. With regard to limits on merinos, these have been around 36d for good Adelaides. At this price 64’s-70’s fops will cost about 6s. .Spinners 10-dav are not prepared to pay much more t han ss, and inipcVi'ting topmakei's are prepared to offer -good 64 : s at .4s per lb. The reserves, oil .New Zealand crossbreds are also very high) the",result being that the price of tops combed out of these wools would be considerably above a parity • with Bradford fates. —Special Correspohdeub