THE PRICES OF WOOL AND WOOLLEN GOODS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13596, 16 May 1908, Page 6

THE PRICES OF WOOL AND WOOLLEN GOODS.

LOCAL OPINIONS.

A "H< mill " reporter yesterday made some inquiritts into the question which mav be thus stated : Woo! is down, that, it kid for Ihe wool grower, hod for the •listiiii. had for the country, is there, or will th.iv (»:■ any material s.-t.-off to this in a probable reduction in the price o(7 woollen goods? Cullini- on tli-- local manufacturers. Ihe report, i~ found tliein by n» m-'aiis jubilant over the drop in wool. i:..r aide to promi-se any inclinable adva:::ag ■ I:, the. coiisuiiier through Ihi- fall in ilv price oi wool, at all events not immediately. We bought woo) enough to keep Uo going till the «-iiil of the year before the price fell much, so that we can't afford to i - dlliv the rolling prices. Tlntse are how--v.r regulated by the. Woollen Millers' Association, and if the Knglirdi manufaccan afford, from the fall in wool, to send • ut- cheajK-r gooi!;->, th;; Association u,ll be driveii to adopt a lower scale—at th;- expense of legitimate profits. The great drop happem-d after we had bought mil- Mocks, at the London sain* of Match and April, and again this week, another drop of 10 per cent. One of our circulars junt to hand, savs of the March —Aptil «.:■!<* : "'There have been many dramatic moveiih'ius in the value of wool during the} history of the trade, but seldom perhaps has there been so totally unexpected a slump as that which has taken place during the present series. The hopes which had been entertained of a gradual amelioration in the conditions of the market had not been fulfilled. Trade has failed to r<b.pond to cheaper money, and it was felt, that tho after effects of the financial up.M.'L in the United States were proving much more serious than had beeu supposed. In Germany especially credit iseemed to Ik- greatly impaired, which was reflected in Uradford by a material curtailment- in the volume <>( business with the Continent. . . . Nearly all brandies of

commerce appeal" to he })assing through a crisis, both in this country and abroad, and until confidence is restored not only in the stability of trade, but in the feeling that the bottom has been reached in prices, it would lie unwise to sj>eak too confidently." That feeling would not have lieen justified at the moment, for this week's drop-of 10 per cent, has been added.

No special attention has been paid t« one asj>eet of the wool trade, in discussions about prices, and that is whether or not the wool has depreciated in value by an unusual amount of dirt, in it last season. "Jn my six years' experience of wool in Timaru," said the wool classer at the woollen mill, "the wool this year has been the dirtiest, and has lost most, in cleaning. Here aro some records of actual loss: Merino fleece, 50 to 63 per cent.: halfbred 53 to 42, threequarterbred, 24 to 55; very light halfbred, the cleanest I met with (some Dunedin wool) 20 per cent., merino pieces and bi-llfcs, up to 63 ]>er cent., locks as much as 72; halfbred pieces and bellies 42, and crossbred about the same." If the wool was dirtier than usual the buyer could not afford to give so jnuch for it, but the fall in wool was absolute ami irrespective of dirt in the raw material for values were down after the first stage of manufacture, " Bradford tops'' partaking of the slump. On the. question of .vet-off, a drapery firm who are large importers were seen. The princijials had no expectation of any immediate effect on the prices of imported woollens, because it takes some time to work up _a stock of wool; and when the effect does manifest itself, it can only be a fraction of the fall in the price of wool, this price being only a fraction of the final cost of. bay. a suit* of clothes. A suit of tweeds or worsteds contains only a few pounds of wool, and a ditferencil of 10 or even 20 per cent, in the cost of law wool becomes a very small percentage «.f the final ccst. At least 75 per cent, of this is ccst. of manufacture, transport and sale, so that a fall of 10 or 20 per cent, in wool meansat most 10 or 20 per cent, or 25 per cent, to the final consumer. The fall in wool cannot cause a fall in cotton goods also, because woollen; do not replace cottons, as thtse may replace woollens when the latter become dear.

.Regarding tin; future, the woollen manufacturers stated that there was a probability of a me in wools later on in the? year. Their correspondents told them that, and it was only reasonable to suppose that, the Americans must be getting short of supplies through holding off from the sales so far this year. The fall in the bank rat*- at Home, they continued, will be an inducement to buyers to lay in stocks of wool while prices are low. and that must tend to raise prices again. When both the bank rate and prices were high, manufacturers would buy only from hand to mouth, and therefore they could not haw had much wool in hand. What they had, which had been purchased at higher prices, they have to take into account, and putting the dearer and the cheaper together, taks* the average cost, of the whole, and work both off on *rl;at basis. No one Iniows how much dear wool they had in stock, to raise that average, but. for the reasons above utated. it probably was much hiss than usual.