LONDON WOOL SALES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4007, 13 August 1915, Page 3

LONDON WOOL SALES.

WOOL (STILL DEALER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 2. The interests of tlie trade are once more largely centred in Coleman Street Wool Exchange, where the fifth series began last Tuesday. The usual large contingent of buyers was present, although one missed many familiar laces both from France and the United States. Still the sale room was full, the home trade sending a large number of buyers who seemed in want of the raw material. .The two sellers did not put before the room-the best selection, it being anything but good. There was scarcely one good straight clip of either merino or crossbred, and the wools were hardly such as to call forth the host buying powers of the trade. Still valuing was carefully done, and interest of no mean order was manifest in the course of values. Everybody seemed anxious to know how things would go, and it was evident as the sale progressed that many were trying to arrive at a new buying"basis. The opening has often times been more vigorous, but. still a decent sale took place, competition being by far the keenest for the best classes of wools. It was very evident that limits had been raised a little on all good combing parcels both in merinos and crossbreds, and competition for these was good. When compared with the close of last series, shafty well-grown merinos appreciated 5 to 7.1 per cent, medium classes were generally 21 to o per cent higher, but inferior wools showed practically no change. A very satisfactory demand was experienced for really good . scoureds, and these were often l-*d to 2d above last sales. In crossbreds, fine half-breds were about Id and medium and coarse Id higher. There was little change in sliped wools except for the short, clothing parcels suitable for blanket purposes and these were Id to Id dearer. The opening results' just about came up to ge lie ra 1 ex pe eta ti o ns. The establishment of a new basis ot values directs serious attention to the standing of wool and its products. The AVar Ollice is..almost staggered at the recent sharp advance in values for tops and yarns out of which military cloths are made in Yorkshire, and although wool is sensibly below tlie standard for these semi-manufactured articles, there seems to be no signs of lower prices unless supplies of tops are sensibly increased by importation from America. The Board of Trade has been advised to encourage shipments of tops from Australia t-o England instead of to Japan, where they are at present all going, but for diplomatic reasons they do not- want to interfere. Still one million weight _ which Australia could have sent dui ing the next, three months would have done a good deal towards checking the rising tendency of tops and yarns. Japan is by no means hard up for supplies, and three months’ exports would have done something towards relieving the scarcity in Bradford and elsewhere. But that is not really the point we want to emphasise. Wo believe t-liat the ordinary commercial man, including the general public, has no real conception of how wool values have risen since the lowest point was touched last December, or of the big advance which has boon chronicled in tops. That is really the crux of the whole question. That merinos amt crossbreds would advance once more this week in Coleman Street was the inevitable outcome of what has taken place during the interval 111 Blttclfoiu. and while tops have advanced something like 38 per cent, the general average advance in wool is no moio than 71 per cent. , Lot us look at tlie actual stand in,-, of the raw material. Yv e. will take the wools of New (8011th Wales as a standard, representing as they do, the hulk of the merino produce of Australia. Besides, on an average there will not he more than a good o pur cent -difference in the price of the wools from the other States m y»o Commonwealth, and below tie gito quotations for good average greasj merinos at the lowest point touched last December, and what are prices to-day in Coleman Street: NEW SOUTH WALES WOOL.

I) pc. July Description {Ln*}*, i Light long bright ... Good staple and condition 114-12 154 lb Fair character, burry ... 10 -M . Faulty and wasty a y lUa - TxACIIDAN. ici Fine, bright free . 12 -124 154 I|l Fine, bright condition ... 11 -11| jS, Irreg. cond.. rather faulty 9- 91 12-141 Inferior - " UPPER LACHLAN. , Fine, fair staple and color 12-121 144-154 Reddish, fair condition ... 104-H 154 Irregular staple and cond. 9- 94 104 11* Lean and fault y •••••••" 8 * 8i EASTERN A- NOR. EASTERN Fine, bright, free light ... i’lsl Fine, bluish, fair cond 11„-12 Ml-15J Rather vastier and stained 9 -10 14 -1-. Fanltv and dingy ... ••• 8- 9 9*-ua CENTRAL AN I) NORTHERN Shafty, bright light ... 12 2 -13 Fair condition and color 11 -12 15; nji Irreg. quality and cond. 9 -9., 1- a Dingy faulty vasty 74- 8 9 -iu DARLING & UPP. DARLING Shatty, light At\tu Fair length, vastier ... ... 104-11 154 194 Rather earthy, seed, faulty 9-94 11=124 Short, red, heavy 7 f 8* 104-11* Inferior 5 S - / y 4‘ ly A very important change is to tie seen in the position of soon reel moi inos>, the demands of Russia making a gio*vt difference in the price of clean parcels. Last series they did splendidly, and wo expect that during the present series they will also give good stippoit. There are firms to-day who appreciate good seo'urods, and owing to their mill arrangements buy those rather tna greasy parcels. The fol ding table shows where, values stood in Deccmbei, and what are ruling prices this neck in Coleman Street: —

NEW SOUTH WALES AND QUEENSLAND. Dec. July-

We now come to deal with a. sec tion of the market where prices have advanced the most, and the position of tops is an astounding one. bm<A tlie close of the May sales very active markets have been experience* Bradford, prices having advanced . leaps and bounds. This us all due to the limited output of machinery, there being a perfect scramble on the pa of spinners to provide for future requirements. Below we show whet t values stood at the end of last December, when the lowest point was touch ed, an what aro current quotation, to-day for standard descriptions ot to P s: ~ Dec. July

All the above tables show what effect the war has had upon values, ana looking forward, we cannot help but entertain fairly optimistic views regarding the requirements or tho t-u . Crossbreds are higher to-day than since 1872, and the present staiMaid even of merinos is as high as nhe France, Belgium, and Germany ’were big buyers of wool in London and J •- tralia. It shows distinctly that tho textile manufacturing world of Europe and America can dispense the competition of Germany, andi y., h tain values at a level consistei good trade and paying prices for tho grower. ■

Description Fine, bright, bulky d. d. ... 25 -254 ... 22 -221 ... 174-18 ... 174-18 ... 134-14 ... 10 -11 d. d. Good body and color ... p(r’ 0 rt Bulky skin, some burr Pink, rather faulty Piecy, rather faulty Locky and inferior 11

1914 1915 Description. d. 30 28 d. 52 49 90’s Colonial tops 80 s »i ** *** 70’s .. super ... 70’s .. average 64’s .. super ... 26 25* 25 47 46 45 44 43 42 64’s .. average 60’h „ .. super ... 244 241 60's average 24 60's „ discolor. 23 41 64*b Gape tops long — — 64's . „ *„ medium 24 23 44 43