LONDON WOOL-SALES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume VI, Issue 5, 15 May 1913, Page 567

LONDON WOOL-SALES.

The High Commissioner, under date of London, 6th March, reports as follows on the second series of London wool-sales : . The second series of this year’s colonial wool-sales commenced on Tuesday afternoon when catalogues comprising 9,516 bales, of which 4,311 were from New Zealand, were submitted to auction. There was a very large attendance of buyers and others interested at the opening, and competition for all parcels submitted was exceedingly keen. This competition was, however, confined mainly to Home and Continental buyers. Representatives of American houses, although present at the sale, refrained from operating', the reason for this abstention being understood to be the uncertainty at present existing regarding tariffs in America. This consequently caused the advance in prices that had been anticipated by brokers and others closely connected with the woollen industry to be less than expected. • On the first day of the sales there were few lots of merino wool submitted, the offerings being almost entirely confined to crossbreds. For the few merinos, as also for fine crossbreds, bidding, while brisk, was not sufficiently keen to raise prices above , those ruling for these classes at the close of the last series of sales. For medium and coarse crossbreds, however, values were advanced on average about |d. per pound. This information was, as usual, cabled to Wellington on the evening of the opening day of

the sales. Since then, however, some attractive lines of merino wool have been submitted, and the value both of merinos of all grades and of fine crossbreds have participated in an advance of about |d.

Manufacturers everywhere are busy, and mills are fully employed with orders tokeep them occupied for some length of time to come. . Consumption of wool is naturally large, and the demand is reported to be in excess of the supply. The market, therefore, is very strong, and there is every prospect of the advance in price being continued. The quantity of wool available for the present series ,of sales is 155,073 bales. Of these, 76,400 are from the Dominion.