LONDON WOOL SALES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2446, 10 March 1909, Page 2

LONDON WOOL SALES.

ANOTHER UPWARD MOVE. ../Tom Our Special - Correspondent.) LONDON, Jvam 22.', 09. After another brief receors here wc re again toiling and moiling among he wool lofts of the Metropolis, and .hen sitting broiling in a hot sale ,oom till 8 p.m. at night. It is no >asy task' spending a full fortnight n London, and unless a man’s heart s in the job he had better stop at lome. After over twenty years' exiorience one begins to think that use s second nature, and when all is said and done anything connected with wool suits the -writer down to the ground. The beginning of any series of wool sales seems as it- were the opening of a new chapter, and this is all the more so 'when the present is the first series of the new year. The usual contingent of buyers left the various manufacturing centres last Monday afternoon to be in readiness for the pening, and on Tuesday morning one 'net with familiar faces from the Continent and America. A fairly con- ( ficlent note was expressed by one and all as we went round -valuing, and while nobody talked very big, still most people looked for another upward move. This no doubt was the direct outcome of what has taken place during the interval, and now London is being looked to to second die progress chronicled in manufacturing districts both at home -and abroad. Perhaps I cannot do better as showing how things have advanced since the close of the last series than by forth the course of top prices during the vacation: Dec. Dec. Jan. 12. 17. 19.

QUANTITIES AVAILABLE. j The quantities available show dis- J linctly the free movement of wool j supplies, and there -are unmistakable signs that the present clip from both ; Australia, and South Africa is moving j much more rapidly than last year, j this no doubt is due in a large mea.sure to the absence of any black com- j mercial cloud such as enveloped the wool -trade a year ago. all arrivals j being dealt with as they come to hand, j The quantity available is a trifle larger than last year, hut 14,000 bales is no great- weight when the entire trade is on the spot ready for buying. In the following table many -points c.f direct interest come out to both growers -and buyers. In the first instance there is shown the gross arrivals, also the quantity forwarded direct to manufacturing areas, then the j net wools remaining for sale, in the last column the quantity of New Zealand, which are practically -all crossbreds, and -which help to make up the net arrivals: — ! Gross Forward Net New

from the December series, 1900, to the January series, 1901. The point to observe in the above table is that direct imports have grown remarkably .fast during the last iew years, clearly showing that more woof is being bought -at the centres of production, the same going forward to consuming areas Avithout touching Coleman Street -as used to be - the case. A GOOD START. Last Tuesday the first series began, a very large number of buyers having turned up, both the home, Continental, and American' trades being fully represented. The catalogues for the opening day Avere much better than usual, and while there were no .superior clips included, the selection was above the average. From the very start competition was very keen, and the sale had not been long in operation before it Avas -plainly to- be seen that all sections Avere ready for buying. The home trade naturally led the van in crossbreds, but in merinos the Continent no doubt did the most. Splendid support came from -all sides, but anything sound, long in staple, and sliafty sold by far the best. The-me-rinos catalogued came from Ncav South Wales, West Australia, and Queensland, and America bought some nice lots. When compared Avitli the close of the last series the following changes Avere seen : Good greasy merinos par to 5 per cent dearer Ordny ~ ~ par Good scoured ~ Fully par Avge, , ~ ~ par Fine-greasy crossbred par to 5 per centdearer. Medium ~ ~ 5 per cent dearer. Coarse „ ~ sto 7\ per cent dearer. Sliped , „ par to 5 per cent, dearer Lambs’ wool 5 per cent dearer. Greasy Capes par Scoured „ par to 5 per cent dearer. The opening results were just about what Avere expected. Some professed disappointment at fine avools not making a more decided -upward move, but when all is said and done the initial results are good.

’ Since the opening the sales have made -first-class progress, and if anything competition lias broadened, -and prices are certainly in sellers favor. America, is fairly active, and all other sections of the trade are -operating freely. There is -a- good call for shafty combing wools, but.faulty sorts are hot- making any more than, they did last December. Scoured wools are selling well, but are hot making any -higher prices. Wliat undoubtedly- is the most satisfactory feature is th good all round competition, and all classes of wool are selling well. Bold by Messrs. Buxton, Ronald, and

Cb., Jan. 19. CGW:—Greasy: 8 ersbd h 9d; 20 'lst do Ski, 15 2nd do Bd, 4 do Bd. _4 do 7-Jd, 2 do DW 6hi, 3 do bellies olid, 5 do pcs olid, 4 do lambs 7-. id character, 36’s to 40’s, well ground, sound, and capital length. Ma’ko : —Grsy: 16 c ersbd li lid, 32 B do do 9kl, 8 do do lOd, 10 do do Ski, 17 E do- B|d, 15 A do 84 d, 5 do do 7£d, 5 F do 7£-d, 3 do necks Bsd, 10 Jst do pcs 6kl, 11 2nd do do s£d, 8 do hollies s£d, 3 do crutch mgs sd, 4 do •kicks' 4£. Very clean and creditable. Good quality, well classed and light. THE OUTLOOK. Messrs. H. Dawson and Co., in speaking about the oultook, say:— ‘ The reports from almost all centres T..ive indicated strong inquiry and h ardening values during recent weeks, in both tops and wool. This has been due more to the scarcity of raw material than to a corresponding improvement in yarns or cloths at the manuf icturing end of the industry. The home markets, as also those of U.S.A., have been well cleared of stocks in raw woo-l, and, in consequence, our material occupies a remarkably strong position. Continental consumers are comparatively better provided with olonial importations, blit U.S.A. and the home trade will need to operate freely.

Buyers will meet a better supply of merinos than had been expected, and the large available offerings at the present series serve- to steady values and to prevent undue inflation. Machinery is now better employed than has been the ease during the past ,:>x months, and altogether the prospects arc hopeful, although the actual s ate of trade hardly yet justifies a further advance. It needs to be remembered that Yorkshire has only just begun to respond to the current rates of the last London series. The s'eady maintenance of values to-day should give general satisfaction, and will do much, to assure confidence and security to the best interests of the industry. The values of crossbreds have again shown a decided appreciation. The scarcity of greasy wools in consuming centres has been almost unprecedentedly acute during the past few weeks. Home topmakers are hungry for all sorts, Avliile larger orders in medium sorts are reported to be on our market for U.S.A. -account, so that the advance made to-day will probably fully justify itself. The stocks of tops in German combing mills have not increased during December, and at the end of the year the quantities were as under:— Merinos 3,007,000 'kilos. Crossbreds 5,315,000 kilos.

d. d. d. r°\s 64 s Colonial tops } 3 3 3 2 oh 24 25 234 25 4 244 j J’s super 231 23 234 GO’s „ „ ordny 22| 02 224 Go’s 18* 184 184 GO’s lo| 154 161 AG’s 10’s 33. >9 134 H-4 131 Hi 131 12 >0’s ll W ioa 10i lii 32’s 3 3 3 3 10 n 10;V

arrivals. direct. qnty. Zealand Your. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. 1909 347,000 157.000 201,000 45,400 1908 353,300 181'.000 187,000 38,000 1907 275,000 125,000 155,000 37,000 1906 291,000 129,000 165,000 2S,000 1906 235,000 89^000 147,000 29,000 1904 190,000 58.000 137,000 39,000 1903 216,000 so;ooo 141,000 42,000 1902 211,000 62.500 193.000 59,700 1901 250,000 42,000 * '339,000 70,000 *133.000 bales 'were carried forward