LONDON WOOL SALES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13287, 16 May 1907, Page 6

LONDON WOOL SALES.

•The special correspondent of a North Island paper, writing flom London, March 15th of the opening of the wool sales, says : , Three sellers put forth catalogues, and out of 12,681 bates submitted there were over 9000 bales of crossbreds.. This was not a bad move. ; To have put up a huge lob of fine merinos and Americans abr.ent would hardly have been the thing, for on opening day not many Yankee buyers had arrived. Fine crossbred.*? were not very plentiful notwithstanding big offerings, the bulk consisting of 36's to 46':;. Neither was t-hsre-much American wool. Most of the lots were on the " soft" side, and lacked deep grown qualities. The New Zealand clip this season is most of a demi character than last year, besides being rather short grown. Still there wrre some nice parcels, and.buyers did full justice to them. Competition at the start was keen and well sustained, all sections bidding with pronounced readiness. The merinos offered could not be called more than average, and for these both th-a Home and Continental trades shared very well. It wsip plain to be- seen that both France and Germany were in a buying mood, though essentially the few merinos were/ best fitted for Yorkshire. The kcene.it competition was for the bssfc straight combing greasy, and these were found very frequently more b.°ing paid. Throughout- the first sitting the' Home trade was -strongly in evidence,- and let nothing slip under full market values. Plenty of buyers were disposed not to exceed their January valuations, preferring to wait development?. When compare:! with the cU-e of the previous saks. ih following changes can b? seen : Good merino.;, par to 5 p v cent, advance. Faulty merinos, no change. Fine c.rossbrecls, in Kellers' favor. Medium crossbreds ,no change.

Coarse crossbreds, par to 5 per c<.-rit advance.

Grease Capes, par to 5 per cent, ad vance .

Scoured Capes, par to 5 per cent, advance.

'lhe opening results generally gave satisfaction, although some were - a little disappointed that crossbreds were not up, a full 5 per. cent. I believe if they iiad risen 10 per cent, some would have grumbled, and wanted 15 per cent. Practically everything was cleared .the. only few lots taken in being fine and medium crossbreds, of somewhat short staple.

At the succeeding .sales merinos have certainly improved, and jd rise is now general. Some excellent- wools have been catalogued, and greasy lambs have sold up to Is B£d'per lb. Crossbreds are about where they were at the opening. London has revealed a sound situation, and' everything is moving freely. America is .buying, but not so freely as in January. Good deep staples, lustrous crossbreds are the wools which are selling the. bast, but in view Of the -large weights, available, if to-day's rates are maintained it will be something to be thankful for.

Messrs H. Dawson and Co. in speaking about the outlook say:—'"The industry as a whole is enjoying a period of remarkable prosperity. . Ihe colonial purchases have been arriving in increasing volume during.the. past- two months, but the absorption of- them has been extremely rapid, so much so that consumers come to the present series hungry for raw material. Many English and French buyers require stock for . immediate" consumption, while there are others who are not fully covered on contracts, and will have to augment their colonial purchases. Fashion has now inclined more decidedly towards fine qualities, with the result that merinos are in growing demand 'at hardening rates."

LOSSES IN SKIMMING.