ENGLISH WOOL MARKET.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16174, 10 July 1923, Page 8

ENGLISH WOOL MARKET.

CONFLICTING CONDITIONS BUT GENERAL OUTLOOK GOOD.

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

BRADFORD, -May 23.—The past, week having been a. holiday period in Bradford market! conditions have not shown any important change. Quotations for tops have remained on a steady basis, prices being inliueuecd more by the position of the raw material than by tho demand for the combed article. Tbo inability of spinners to command prices commensurate with cost is preventing them from being free buyers of tops, and the offering of second-hand lots at very reasonable prices lias exerted a slight disorganising influence. At the same time fine wool is l in an exceedingly strong position, and leading firms arc still wanting around 5s 4d for a good warp 64's, and 5s 2d for an average top. The aggregate amount of business passing is scarcely sufficient to provide an adequate test. The principal feature is the continued buying on American, account, decent quantities of matchings of 50’s quality having been taken. Even here, however, there is not quite ns much interest as has recently been seen, and the offering of 36’s to 40’s> preparing wools in this country on Boston account lias put a. slightly differe-• —!■ upon the situation, though undue emphasis lias been laid upon, this new development. Tbo quality named is not in demand and the prices asked arc excessive from a. Bradford standpoint. Consumption across the ; Atlantic is still large, and this does not point to any serious declension in wool values or to the position of Bradford top makers being made any more different than it is at present. The most serious' thing is the increased quietness among all sections of the West Hiding trade. Many mills have been closed for the whole of the week, and great difficulty is being experienced in keeping machinery running. Very reasonable prices nr® still being accepted for yarns in order to keep spindles occupied, and the fow of new business, both for home and export, leaves room for considerable improvement. Some decent orders have recently' been placed foil* low crossbred yarns, but botany spinners are in anything but an encouraging position. ' “ EXPORTS TO AMERICA.

Though the value of the exports of wool and its; products during April, 1923, to the, above destination- was greater than during the corresponding period of 1922, a decrease is shown compared with March, 1923, the improving tendency seen, particularly in raw materials, not being kept up. On the whole, however, the American trade has remained fairly good. / SUPPLIES OF MERINOS.

All information on the question of wool supplies points to <i shortage _of merinos. According to cable information received ini Bradford Sir John Higgins commented an the annual meeting of the shareholders of the Bawra on the remarkable consumption of the raw material. Previous to this expression of opinion being received the main farts were well-known in Bradford, as well as that the current Australian clip had been rapidly cleared. Sir John Higgins, like Sir Arthur Goldfinch, is evidenthin a somewhat “bullish” frame of mind and no doubt in the light of known facts and. the possibilities of consumption, there is a. great deal to he said in favor of a. shortage, but what happen? to crossbreds in the future will depend in a very large measure tipon the opening out of markets which are now more or less closed. Reference iq made above to the reported offering of crossbred wool in this country on Boston account, but the opinion is being expressed in Bradford that it will not be possible to re sell this wool at a profit, which shows, that the market is not very hungry for this class of raw material, particularly of the low type in question. On the other hand the scarcity of merino and the high prices which are consequently having to be paid suggests to the usinv end of the trade that there is scope for increased production. Growers wlm have any opportunities in this direction may well give the matter their earnest consideration. Wo have no desire to see values depressed below a profitable level, but as we survey the situation from the consuming standpoint, we arc convinced that there is ample room for a greater production of merino wool, particularly as fashion leans so presistently o'n to fine goods. Meanwhile a wave of pessimism has come over the entire wool manufacturing industry of Great Britain, and there is great difficulty in keeping machinery running anything like full time. Hundreds of weavers are playing, and the demand for piece goods is exceedingly limited. What is known as the spring trade in manufactured goods has been disappointing, a good deal of it having ben missed by West Riding manufacturers. t Orders ' have gone abroad, particularly in France. Continental competition has been experienced, not only in dress goods, but also in men’s wear. Standard blue serges are being offered to London merchants and clothiers at pence per yard loss than they* can bo produced by manufacturers in Bradford, and in the struggle to find work profits have been cut to the hone. Only spinners of. colored yarn appear to he doing anything decent. This unsatisfactory position is Largely, duo to the excessive c-osit of lino wool compared with what can be made for it in the manufactured state. Before the war there were often occasions when prices for merino wool in London and merino tops in Bradford could not at any rate hv casual observe tion bo made to tie up. Nowadays, however, it is not a question of an odd Id per lb. difference between the price of wool and tops and to the disadvhntacro of the latter, for it is now often found that in working out costs there is a difforenco of 4d per lb. iii merinos. A FALSE ALARM. Besides the offering of low crossbred woo] on Boston account in Bradford reports have been received of the cancellation of orders for piece goods a.cores the Atlantic. We regard the emphasis placed on this as an attempt to bring wool values to a lower level. '. There may have been some cancellations, and in a boom market, particularly after the experience of 1920, this. is not surprising,. but in the aggregate thev amount to little or nothing. It has been a very cold spring across the Atlantic, and in consequence retailers have no f sold as freely as they expected, and wholesale clothiers have been requested to delay deliveries. The offering of wool in’ Bradford on Bostom account can be explained by the fact that one or two firms of dealers who having bought large quantities of low crossbreds in Buenos Aires, and finding little demand for them in the United'.States because fashion is running on finer qualities, are seeking an outlet. Bradford js considered the likeliest market, but the wool has been offered at prohibitive prices. One titan is returning a small consignment (less than 100 bales) of short clothing wool, the demand to-day being for combing types. Consumption of row material across tho Atlantic is still at the maximum, and this is the most important consideration of any.