COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 17922, 13 January 1917, Page 4

COMMERCIAL

SOUTHLAND STOCK AND PRODUCE MARKETS. TIMES OFFICE. Friday. OATS. —The market continues quiet and there la not a great deal of enquiry. At the present time merchants are not 'prepared to pay more than 2s fid o.t. at'country sidings, as the market is in an uncertain position owing to the close approach of harvest. The position for next season will be largely dominated by Canterbury as the area in crop in Southland is much less than last year and the quality will probably be below the average owing to the dry weather. CHAFF. —There, is a fairly good local demand and merchants report good sales, ex store, owing to the fact that farmers are busy with their grass harvest and other work and so have not time to attend to chaff-cutting. The current price offering to farmers is about £3 5s o.£. for prime quality. POTATOES. —There Is some enquiry from the North Island for forward delivery but local merchants are not quoting in the meantime. The market is more plentifully supplied with new potatoes and prices will probably ease from now onwards. Sales at present are mainly confined to small distributing lots. RYEGRASS.—There Is still a fair demand for dressed seed for sowing down on bush areas which have been burned during the recent fine weather. The cutting of the new crop has now commenced In some districts and the seed promises to be fairly heavy and shotty. If anticipations in this respect are realised, the majority of the North Island orders should come to this market, as reports to hand from Canterbury state that in that district the seed Is very light. At present It is difficult to forecast opening prices. HEMP. —The market is fairly strong, notwithstanding the fact that shipments are still difficult to effect. The price ruling in London is higher than it has ever been before and appears likely to continue so, as hemp Is being used in the manufacture of some fabrics and also of munitions. At the present time it is rather difficult to quote, but hlghfalr is worth £34 10s 0.t., at country sidings, while for good-fair £36 or even higher could be obtained. There is not a great demand for tow and sales are difficult to effect. WHEAT .AND FLOUR.—The price of flour remains the same as last week at £ls 10s wholesale. Fowl wheat is worth up to 5s 9d f.0.b., s.i., which is equal to from 5a to 5s 3d 0.t., but there is none offering. FAT CATTLE. —The market still continues buoyant although prices at Wallacetown on Tuesday exhibited a slight falling off from those ruling before the holidays. However, satisfactory prices were in most cases obtained and there seems every prospect that the opening of the freezing works next week will have a firming tendency on the market. Values may be quoted this week at: Ox beef, 44s to 455; heifer, 42s to 435; cow, 40s to 41s. FAT SHEEP. —This market, too, is suffering since the holidays and prices ruling to-day are easily from Is to 2s lower than those offering in the middle of December. A few pens were passed at Wallacetown on Tuesday, so graziers evidently consider the slackness only temporary and the probability is that freezing competition will bump prices up again within the next week or two. In the meantime extra prime wethers are worth from "is to 355; prime from 32s to 335, and medium from 29s to 30s. Extra prim© ewes range in value from 29s to 32s and medium ewes are worth between 24s and 255. STORE CATTLE.—The market is especially well supplied and the demand Is most certainly not up to the supply. A feature of the especially large yarding at thq .Metropolitan market on Tuesday was the large proportion of 18 month and under stuff which the dry weather probably helped forward. There ore not many bullocks offering, but three and four-year-olds are fetching up to £l4. Two and a-half-year-old steers are going at between £lO and £l2 and IS-month stuff is selling at from £6 to £B. Yearlings arc worth anything from £3 10s to £5 10s. STORK SHEEP.—Although there is not a great deal doing the market continues good. Yardings at auction have been small and the bulk of the business reported has been transacted privately. Deals are mentioned of a line, of good 2-tooth ewes at 275, of nice lots of m.a. 2-toqths at from 24/6 to 25/0, and of 4 and 6-tooth wethers at 28s. A line of 900 full and f.m. ewes, with 100 per cent, lambs, changed ownership in the Western district during the week at the satisfactory price of 21s ail counted. Store lamb circles are beginning to show life now that the rape la about ready and deals are reported, at figures ranging from 17/fi up to £l. Old ewes, suitable for fattening, have been selling round about 15s. CHRIST CHURCH MARKETS. (Per United Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, January 12.

Several sampler of new season's wheat have been submitted on the market, but merchants and millers are in doubt as to what to offer or growers to accept In view of the uncertainty of the position, pending a decision as to how the crop is to be dealt with. Offers of 5s Ud at country stations have been made, and in one case accepted, and in another the grower stated that he got a little more money. Oats are beginning to come in a little more freely, and the chief demand i> for good Algerians for sowing. For feed the ruling quotation for heavy Algerians is 2s 8d to 2s 9d; Cartons, 2s 7d to 2s 3a; and Duns, 2s 6d to 2s 7<L

The grass-seed market is somewhat easier owing to large offerings, and the fact of some orders in hand having been filled. The range of prices is about as follows:—Perennial, 231b to 341b seed, 3s 3d to 3s 4d; light weight, 2s fid to 2s 3d; Italian, 3s to 3s fid; Westernwolths and giant Italian, 3s 4d to 3s 8d at country stations. There is practically no demand for light seed. MONEY AND MARKETS. (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, January 11. Received January 12, 5.5 p.m. The Bank of England returns show that the stock of coin and bullion amounts to £54,045,000; reserve, £34,898,000; proportion of reserve to liabilities, 19.41; notes :a circulation, £39,017,000; public deposits, £49,629,000; other deposits, £130,248,000; Government securities, £120,274.000: other securities, £42,584,000. The discount on short loans is 4% per cent. ; three months’ bills, 5 per cent. The 4% per cent, war loan Is very active, and there have been 131 markings at between 98% and 99 9-16, and closing strong at 99%. Consols arc weak at £54, and the 3% per cent, war loan Is at 86. Following are the quotations for colonial stocks as compared with those for the previous week;— Jan. 4. Jan. 11. Victorian 4’s 92% 93 Victqrian 3%’s 82% 82 Victorian 3%’s* 70% 70% Victorian 3’s 62 62 New South Wales 4’s .... 83 82% New South Wales 3%’s .. 96 96% New South Wales 3%’st .. 70% 70 New South Wades 3’s .. ~ 70% 70% Queensland 4’s 87% 87% Queensland 3%’s 84% 84% Queensland 3’a 63% 63 South Australian 3%’a.. .. 71% 71% South Australian S’s .... 57% 66% New Zealand 4’s 85 84% New Zealand 3%’s 72% 72% New Zealand 3’s 63% 63% Tasmanian 3%’s 71 71 ’ Tasmanian 3’s 65 65 West Australian 3%’e., ~ 75% 75 West Australian 3’s 70% 69% t 1920-30 cuirency. • 1929-40 currency. —Metals— Copper, on spot, £l3O 6s; three months £127 ss. Electrolytic, £139 10s. Tin, on spot, £lB2 17s fid; three months, £lB4 12s fid. Lead, on spot, £3O 10s; three months, £B9 10«. Spelter, on spot, £49 ss; three months. £44 15s. Silver, 36 %d. —Flour— Flour Is firm. Australian patents ex store, 58s fid to 595. —Oats— Oats are firm. La Plata, ex ship, 47s fid. —Beans and Peas— Beans and peas are steady at full prices. —Sugar— Sugar is steady and unchanged; —Butter and Cheese— Butter—Danish, firm, 216s to 218s. Heavy arrivals cf colonial have depressed the market. Choicest Australian, salted 200s, unsalted 202s to 2045; secondary, 190 a to 198s; New Zealand, salted, 202s to 2045. Cheese is in strong demand. Canadian, 134s to 140s; United States, 134s to 1365. The Government has agreed to pay 9%d for first-grade Australian and 9.% d for second-grade. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. MELBOURNE January 12. Oats, milling Algerians, 2s l%d to 2s 2%d; feeding, Is lOd to Is lid. Maize, 3s 8d to 3s 9d. Potatoes, £4 to £6. Onions, £9 to £9 10s. ADELAIDE, January 12. Oats, Is .9d.