Commercial.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 5400, 10 April 1909, Page 4

Commercial.

Wellington Produce Market. Laory and 00., Ltd., Wellington, report wholesale prioes ruling on the market:—Wheat, fowl 4s 7d to 4s lOd; oats 2s Id to 2s 4d, Dun oats 2s Id to 2s lid, seed oats 2s 9d to 2s lOd, imported Algerian seed oats 2s Gd; N.Z. maize 2s lid, Island 5s ; crushed malt, 8s 9d ; fowls' barley Its ; horse beans 4s Bd,all at per bushel. Rioemeal, £5 to £5 ss; flour, Now Zealand, £ll 10s, Australian, £ll 10s; bran, £4 10s to £4 15s; pearl barley £l7 ; peas, partridge, 4s 9d, Prussian blue (is, fowl peas, 4s Bd, split, £lB lOs ; bonodust £G ; superphosphates, £5 to £5 5s ; guano, £4 10s; chaff (oaten-sheaf) £ll 5s to £9 16s; oatmoal £lO to £lO 10s ; new potatoes, £1! to £4 10s; molassos fodder £5 lOd ; bacon factory, sides 7Jd harns 74d, rolls 8d ; butter, bulk 8d to 84d. Poultry : hens lls to Ha Gd, ducks 4s to ss; turkoys, gobblers lls to 12s, hens 98 to 10s; fresh eggs Is Gd to Is 7d; cheese Gd to (Ud, loaf 7d per lb. Akarna machine, dressed cocksfoot 8d to 84d, farmers' dresßed Gd to 7d per lb; ryegrass lls 8d to 4s Gd per bushel; Italian ryegrass 8s Gd to 4s per bushel; Australian onions £G to £G ; white clover, 70s to 75s owt, red clovor 06s, cow grass GGs, alsiko 82s Gd, mustard 10s, trefoil 87s Gd owt, rape seed 2Gs cwt, timothy 82s Gd cwt; swede and turnip soed, GOs owt; danthouiu, Is 4d lb.

Stock Sales,

At Wanganui.—4, G, and fu brooding ewes, 9s, empty store owes (is to (is Id, medium lambs 2s 9d to 8s 9d, cull storo ewes Is Gd to lls 4d, 2-tooth and f.m. ewes (small) Gs Bd, 2-tooth wethers 8s Id to 8s 4d, medium ditto 7s lid, fat wethers 10s lid to lls, Lincoln rams 15b, Romney rams ligns., fat oows £4 to £4 Bs, light ditto £8 4s to £3 10s, forward cows £2 10s to £2 Ills, storo oows 119 s Gd to £2 2s Gd, 2 to 2 4-year steers L2 lGs to L 8 2s, 18-month to 2-year steers L2 Is to L2 5s Gd, mixed licrofords 15-month L2 7s, 16-month hoifors 27s Gd, fat and forward ompty cows L 8 2s Gd to Lll 9s, mixed weaners 10s to 15s, bulls L2 IGs to L 3, springing cows L2 17s Gd to Lll ss, vealers (good ) 22s to L2 15s, small ditto IGs.

Tho Hawke's Bay Farmers’ Co operative Association, Limited, report: We held our fortnightly sale at tho Waipukurau yards on Tuesday. There was a BUiall yarding of sheep and cattle, whioh mot with a ready sale at prices in advanco of thoso ruling of late. Included in our entry was a very nico lot of two-tooth wethers sold on account of Mr John Kirk, Hatuma, which topped tho market at lls Bd. We quote the following prices -Three and four year old bullocks L 6 ss, 8-yoar bullocks LI 7s and L 4, fat cows L 4 2s Gd, fat heifers LB. Fat ewes 9s, fat and forward wethers lls 8d to 9s Gd, 2-tooth ewes 10s, 1 and 5-year ewes 10s 3d to 10b, f.m. owes 10s 6d, low condition 6s Gd to Gs, shorn lambs 8s Gd to 7s, woolly lambs 7s (53 to Gs Gd.

Ueneral Prospects,

Thoro is but little to add to last week’s story of the continued tightness of the money market, and tho maintenance by tho banks of their policy of extreme caution in regard to advances, particularly upon real estate. For business undertakings, money in reasonable amounts in tho circumstances is still available ; but it is generally felt that there must be a material improvement in tho state of trado at Home before much ebango cun be expected in tho state of tho local money market. That there is sufficient money available at Ilomo for gilt-edged propositions is shown by tho successful underwriting of tho Queensland 24 million loan at 34 per cent., and issued at 97, tho issuo being quoted next day at from par to 14 P or cont. premium. Tho issue shows that in this caso, at any rate, it was not alone the terms that proved the attraction. Queensland has certainly done much bettor than Now Houth Wales, which, les* than a month agp, issued her £1,500,000 loan at t»4, with a minimum of 974, an d met with a rebuff, whilo the comparatively trifling £200,000 for Westport harbour was over-subscribed, and quoted next day at 4 pef cunt, premium. Money on first-class mortgages is still very hard to obtain. A transaction was concluded yestorday, whioh will show how tho wind blows. A first-olass proporty,

valued at £20,000, was mortgaged as seourity for£sooo at 6 percent., while it is estimated that no difficulty would have been experienced eighteen months or even a year ago in getting the money at 4 per oent. on a property of the kind in question. Business, as reflected in the builders’ hardware trado, is still dull, nevertheless it is of a sounder, better character when money circulated muoh more freely. The small under capitalised, or noncapitalised, man has felt, and still is feeling, the pinob, but bona fide building oontraotors are still in business, and returns from them show that they are not feeling the pressure so acutely as their brethren in a smaller way. The hardware business done, olthough neoessarily restricted, is of a sounder oommcroial character. The prospeots of trade are more hopeful than they were a few weeks ago, and especially so in the country. At tho samo time it is clear that the building trade is likely to experience a dull winter. Something has been mado out of the payment in Wellington of the Manawatu railway purchase-money, but there has been nothing put forward up to the present to show that all or even any largo part of this money will go at once into circulation, and set the ball rolling once again. As a matter of fact, muoh of it has boen forestalled. Soon through the medium of the soft goods trade, business is much out down, sufficient unto the day being tho sound country storekeepers' policy in so far as supplying orders is concerned. Wholesale and the larger retail houses are working off stooks, orders now going Home being greatly out down. Tho reoent rise in tho price of wool may mako woollens dearer evon if no further advance is made, and ootton goods may increase in sympathy, but the cotton market is at any time a most baffling one to watch. New Zealand woollen mills are working full time, and are running out excellent materials. There has beon a great slump in tweeds, and a heavy run on worsteds. In fact, tweed maohinery is standing idle. Labour for tho mills is roportod to be not so scaroo as it was this time last twelve months.

Meat.

The frozen meat market is, if anything, more unsatisfactory to-day than it has beon for some years past, and for this several reasons are given. First, tho export of mutton from the Netherlands to tho London market, instead of finishing in November, as is usually done, was continued until well into January, and, moreover, the quantities sent in were abnormal. Hootch mutton was held back in consequence, coming to the market at a time when Australian, River Plato, and North Island of Now Zealand supplies were ooraing to hand in heavy shipments, and on to a market whioh was suffering acutely from the greatly restricted spending power of tho public. There was last week a million carcases of lamb in storo in London, while, acoording to Weddel, the whole of the principal London refrigerating stores, at 81st Decembor last, had a total capacity of 2,780,500 ourcases. There seems to bo a growing impression at Home, and also In New Zealand, that tho Americans are doing all they oan to oapture the London mrrket. Their recent extensive operations in the Rivor Plate, and rumoured endeavours to acquire most of the freezing works there gives oolour to this visw. The quantities of South Island mutton and lamb exported from 80th June to 31st December last year were 1,220,000 oarcases of lamb and 300,000 carcases of mutton, and this year there will be about the same quantity. Coming to prices and qualities as compared with this time last year, it will be found that 384,892 lambs and 157,611 caroases of mutton arrived in London from Now Zealand Prices then wore, at 18th Maroh, for lamb G|d, and for mutton 4|d. Tho quotations as cabled for 14th March this year show: For North Island lambs 4 9-lGd, and Canterbury heavy to light 4fd to 64d. For mutton the quotations were 8d to flfld. The figures speak for themselves. Enquiries have beon recoivcd for North Island beef for April, May, June. Instructions were rccoived only on Monday by a firm from London to tho effect that lamb was not to be bought on any account for the present. It is hold in some quarters that priees must improve—that they have touched bottom, Weddel’s interesting graph of the history of meat prices shows that both Australian and Now Zealand lamb ruled at an averago of 5d to 4|d respectively in 1903, and dropped to •ljd and s|d in 1897, then rose to 5Jd and 5d in 1901, dropped again in 1906 to 5d and and improved to 5J and 5d in 1908, although both suffered a relapse in May and June of last year. New Zealand declining to 54d in August. Whilo Australian went down to 4|d in October, New Zealand again rose from 5Jd to 5Jd in the Barno month.