COMMERCIAL NEWS.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17221, 3 October 1927, Page 4

COMMERCIAL NEWS.

LONDON WOOL SALES. Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd., report having received the following cablegram from their London house dated SepLembcr 29: — Wool Sales. —The sales closed active with brisk competition except for scoured merinos, short and faulty, and carbonising. As compared with closing rates of last scries, greasy merinos were id to Id higher, scoured merinos ■unchanged, greasy halfbred id higher. scoured halfbred unchanged, greasy crossbred fine id to Id higher, greasy crossbred medium and coarse par to Ad higher, scoured crossbred unchanged, fine slipe -Id to Id higher, coarse medium slipe par to Id higher, lambs unchanged. Offered, 144,500 bales. Continent have bought 60,000, Home trade 56,000, American 3000; carried forward, 16,000 bales, of which 3500 were not offered.

Merino, good to super 24Jd to 27d, low to medium 19d to 24c1; halfbred 56/58, good to super 24d to 26£d, lowto medium 19Jd to 23id; halfbred 50/56, good to super 21id to '23d, low to medium 17*d to 20id; fine crossbred 48/50, good to super 17*d to 21d, low to medium 15id to 17d; fine 46/48, good to super 16£d to ISAd, low to medium 14id to 16d; crossbred 44/46, good to super 15 id to 17d, low to medium 13kt to 15d; crossbred 40/44, good to super 14 Jd to 15Jd, low to medium 13d to i'id; coarse crossbred 36/40, good to super 13sd to 14d, medium to good 12d to 13d.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., Hamilton, have received the following cablegram from their London house, under date 29th ultimo:—

Wool Sales. —The sales closed with a fairly firm tone to-day. As compared ; with last sale's closing rates, prices are about 5 to 7 i per cent higher for greasy merino, medium, and medium greasy crossbred; about 5 per cent higher for greasy merino super, scoured merino medium, and coarse and fine greasy crossbred; about par to 5 per cent higher for inferior merino, scoured merino super, crossbred slipe, lambs, and scoured crossbred. The prices realised for average to super grades of descriptions as below were as follows: —Merino super 25d to 27d, merino average 21 d to 24d, crossbred 56/58 23Ad to 26d, 50/56 21d to 23d. 48/50 17*d to 20d, 46/48 lOd to 17M, 44/46 14£d to lGid, 40/44 13Jd to 15Jd, 36/40 13d to 15d.

DUNEDIN RABBITSKIN SALE. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., report:—We offered a medium sized catalogue to the usual bench of buyers. In sympathy with the recent decline in London, prices were a little easier. Prime sorts and winter does were in good demand. These grades were firm at last sale's rates. The following is the range of prices realised for good clean lines: Prime winter bucks 123|d, Ist do. 106 d, early do. 90d, 2nd do. 83fd, winter bucks 66£d; spotted do. 541 d, spring do. 41 id: prime winter does 126Jd, Ist do. 118|d, early do. 90d, 2nd do. IOOd, furrier do. 90Jd, winter do. 85£d, spotted do. 69d, spring do. 44d, incomings 2nd do. G5Jd, late autumns Cljd, early autumns 52£d, racks 38d, runners and suckers i 6'2-d.' summers 27|d, Ist milky does 42-id, 2nd milky does 31£d, Ist winter broken 56jd, 2nd do; 43d, 3rd 22d, prime winter blacks IIGJd, Ist do. 1153 d, 2nd do. 99Ad, outgoing do 63d, spring do. 36d, -Ist winter fawns 1173 d, 2nd do. 79d, Ist hareskins C2d, 2nd do. 42d; horsehair 2'oid.

FROZEN MEAT. Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd., report having received the following cablegram from their" London House dated Sept. 29:—Frozen Meat: The market nominally unchanged; tendency upwards.

LESS BEER DRINKING.

TOO DEAR. Owing to the continued high price i ! ' "■•-•■ its consumption is falling off in England. ai, me annual general meeting of Arthur Guinness, Son, and Company, Lord Iveagh, the chairman, declared that though they reduced the wholesale price last year there had been a falling off in the sales. Other breweries are -reporting decreases in their sales. During the financial year of the brewing companies, recently ended, the consumption of beer fell by 1,000,000 barrels, and it is estimated in the British Home Office licensing statistics that the decrease in the number of licensed premises this year will be 530. Since the war the number of licensed premises in England has decreased by 4278.

A publican said to a reporter: "Many working men are giving up beer altogether, simply because they cannot afford it."

"Any thought, oi' a reduction is impossible," said the managing director of a London firm of brewers. "If we look a farthing off a pint we should be losing our profit, and as the least we could take off would he a halfpenny it is obvious that we cannot make* a reduction without losing heavily." The licensing statistics show that there were 67,120 convictions for drunkenness in England and Wales last year or 7951 fewer than in 1925. The total-was lower than in any year since 1919.