THE BREAK IN WOOL.

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXI, Issue 2440, 11 May 1925, Page 2

THE BREAK IN WOOL.

FAR-SEEING men in the industry could scarcely have been surprised at the failure of the London AVool sales. Few of them, perhaps, anticipated the collapse which actually occurred; nevertheless, it was predicted in wellinfonned circles that prices would show a decline. The prediction was not mere guesswork. Months ago wool had gone to what was generally r- garded as an abnormal late. The buy Mg was occasionally feverish as well as erratic. On'o iconehision drawn jt'rom Dominion sales when prices touched the peak was the speculators were' operating, When the market tn Australia broke in March, it w'as apparent that something was happening, er due to happen. The wise men were not disappointed, as the cables from London have told us. If the sharp rebound was no surprise, .t is none the less unpleasant and a trifle bewildering. So much ■ s certain, though tiro immediate cause is not qu.te so clear. However, those behind the scenes arc agreed on this point: that the bottom has fallen out of the London market, because (1) the growers were asking too much, and (2) Bradford refused to be exploited; th'' word is not used in its harshest sense. But the British textile magnates know that there arei ample' supplies of wool to be got, and they are staying their hands until sellers come down to earth, again. Thus, so far as a iayman is able to judge, the position amounts to this: Bradford, harr.cd and hunted, has turned in its tracks and is hitting back. To vary the metaphor, we can say that thei British manufacturer has decided that the wool producers shall, for a change “carry the baby.” And it is an infant which is inclined to be rather troublesome. “Booms” arc invariably succeeded by reactions, am! the wool industry is no exception to the rule. Trade balloons explode when too highly inflated, and those in flic cinity participate in the r'csultant shock. These lessons ara beneficial lor the best, as for the worst, of us; oilier wise; our armour plated complacency would bocoim l an offence. In ihe circumstances, moralising will not greatly help, though we may be forgiven if

wc remind our farmer readers of what we wrote a few days ago in reference to the rainy day. There will be wool producers to-day looking round far smypathy. Whether those of them who have been caught deserve sympathy is another matter. But if the incident teaches them to remember when times

are good that times can be bad also, it wfll not be wholly evil in its consequences.- Disagreeable though this market collapse may be, it is not necessarily alarming. British trade is re-

covering its momentum, and when the financial stringency relaxes, as it premises to do now that we arc returning to, the gold standard, stabilisation should commence in earnest. It has taken the Mother Country over-long to settle down, but she „s definitely the way to that desirable condition. M