ESTABLISHED 1875. The Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal Published Every Morning. WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1905. THE RISE IN WOOL.

Manawatu Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 425, 12 July 1905, Page 2

ESTABLISHED 1875. The Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal Published Every Morning. WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1905. THE RISE IN WOOL.

The marked recovery ir» the price of wool at the London sales will be noted with keen appreciation by all who are interested in this important industry. And, after all, the wool clip is the most valuable production in the colony, in spite of the fact that the flocks in New Zealand have not increased for over ten years, the last few years indeed showing a slight decrease. Our cable messages show that the July e&<es are being conducted ac a very high level, and that the chief increase is again in coarse crossbred, the description in ■which New Zealand is particularly interested. Coming on the top of the substantial advance that was registered at the May sales, the advance that has recently taken place makes the prices for New Zealand wool higher than they have been since 1895, the market having more I thaa recovered the drop in prices that took place at the March sales, j even eclipsing the phenomenal rise at the end of 1899. The present rise is much more satisfactory than the rise of that year, the latter being a sensational inflation which could not possibly last, and which, being based on a false position as regards both supply and demand, could not help ending disastrously to all who bought. For tho present advance we have to look to favourable features on both sides. On the one band we have a war in a cold climate, and this always brings a big demand for blankets and army cloths, -whereas it was noticeable during the Boer war that the operations in a warm climate did not make that difference in the wool market that had been expected. On the other side we see a greatly decreased supply in nearly all the great wool-producing countries; The fearful loss during the drought in Australia will keep the clip below the old level for a long time, although a steady increase, such as took place this season, may with confidence be expected if the seasons continue to be anything like favourable. Our own output is prac- ;

tically stationary. The Argentine is certainly making strenuous efforts to increase both wool and frozen mutton and beef; but it is to America that we have to look as the chief cause of the present move. The American clip has been steadily diminishing, whereas population has increased so rapidly that they are more and more compelled to go outside for their wool. For a long time they bought nothing outside but the finer descriptions, but lately they have been freely operating in both medium and coarse, besides taking the usual quantity of the finer wools, while American buyers, both in Australia and Now Zealand, have been pnrchasing for direct shipment to both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of America. They are even buying English, Scotch and Irish wool, and thi3 remarkable fact is sufficient to account for the great impression that tho American demand is making on the market. Besides the general shortage, the supplies on the Continent are also short and foreign buyers have been purchasing in London. Altogether, therefore, wo have no hesitation in describing the piospects of the wool market as exceedingly bright.