WOOL PRICES MAINTAINED; IN SOME CASES EXCEEDED

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 77, 31 March 1931, Page 9

WOOL PRICES MAINTAINED; IN SOME CASES EXCEEDED

Fine Classes In Strong Demand And Half-Bred Sells At Up To Twelvepence.

SOME ANXIETY had been manifested whether the prices at the wool sale to-day would show that the recent rise was being maintained. All doubts about the master were, however, set on one side before the first catalogue was got through, though the bidding was not as keen as at the sale held on March 3 and buyers were keeping closer to their limits. Fine wools were in strong demand and in many eases showed an advance on the prices realised early in the month. The following were the highest priced lots sold early in the sale:—For N. S. and L. Murdoch (Mayfield), 7 bales half-bred at 12d; Waituna, 12 bales Corriedale at 12d; Mendip Hills, 5 bales Merino 11 Jd, 8 bales at llid.

Cross-breds, except the finer descriptions, were not as eagerly sought after. This may have been due to the facts that Japanese buyers were not prominent in the sale, as they have been at the recent sales at other centres, and some descriptions did not sell as well as at North Island sales. Bradford buyers were operating freely as were Continental representatives, and of the latter France probably secured more wool than Germany. Very little wool was obtained by local woollen mills, and local scourers were operating only to a limited extent, prices being on the whole too high for them, as scouring lots showed an advance of fully id, the Continent taking the bulk of this class. A feature of the sale was the offering of a large quantity of good wool from south and mid-Canterbury which had been held over from previous sales. ▲ Very Sound Sale. The sale may be considered a l*ery sound one as prices were on a more definite basis, and therefore were not as erratic as at recent sales. Early in the sale half-bred, in two cases, sold up to 12d and Merino to Hid and 113 d, and three-quarter-bred to lOd. The following were the total number of bales in the catalogues submitted:— National Mortgage 2,161 H. Matson and Co 1,659 Pyne, Gould, Guinness, Ltd. 5,529 N.Z. Farmers’ Co .-op 4,004 N.Z. Loan and M lcantile .. 1,450 Dalgety and Co., Ltd 2,520 Total 17,323