The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-11-14
WOOL MARKET REMAINS ACTIVE
AND FIRM.
BETTER PRICES LOOKED FOR
Holders Not Inclined to Sell Out at
Prevailing REPRESENTATION
Concerning Territories.

The weeks sales of wool on the
Boston market aggregated $500 600
pounds.
The feature Of the market, says the
American Wool and Cotton Reporter,
for the last week has been the
strength and activity in woods Of quar-.
ter-blood grade.
1t is true that the demand is still
general, extending from the very fin
est to the very coarsest stock, but the
attention of the entire trade as we'll
as that of several manufacturers has
been concentrated on qu~arter-bloods
more than anything else.
These woods have been affected by
the pronounced strength and advance
shown in South America on quarter
bloods which are actually quoted I'D
opening. 1t is figured that these woods
rost fully 40 cents, clean, now to i'm
port, and with domestic woods selling
at 39@40c, clean, it a easily be
seen why the latter should have been
given increased preference by users
of that grade of wool, in view of the
fact that the domestic stock on its
merits is worth cents per pound more
on a clean basis than the South Amer
lean stock. For a long time the heavy
accumulations Of South American
woods had acted as ar incubus upon
the market for quarter-blood; but the
enormous advance in the price of fine
woods and the fact that the old South
Americans had been pretty well work
ed off the market, has at length been
reflected in materially higher prices
for the new woods, and the domestic
though not to the extent that many
consider warranted in the pronounc-
ed strength shown in the former.
South America is in fact the key to
the situation for the time being and
the course of affairs there will be
closely watched by the wool trade
throughout the world.
The American Wooden company
is reported to have taken on about
100000 pounds of domestic quarters
the past week; a Passaic concern
from 100000 to 300,O 900 pounds, and
other concerns smaller amounts,
bringing the aggregate transactions
in this class Of stock up close to a
million pounds. More of these woods
would have been taken if more had
been opened up. Philadelphia quar-
tiers are reported as entirely cleaned
up, and the same may be almost said
of desirable stock in St. Louis and
Chicago. in the state of Ohio also
there have beer free purchases of
medium woods in the past two weeks
for Boston account.
Fine Woods.
At the same time fine woods con-
tinue to harden and are much sought
for. They have been taken by both
large and small consumers, and includ-
Sa III C1lC lloAAooSllolo VI SAS paoC
week were some good-sized lines of
fine h~eeces, fine Oregon and Texas,
California and territories. Staple
woods have been well sought after
and prices all along the line have
ruled very firm. The demand is a
broad one, and although the individ-
ual transactions of great magnitude
are not so numerous as during some
former weeks when the American
Wooden company were very heavy
purchasers, a very good weeks bust
ness has been put through, and at
this writing some good-sized deals are
under consideration which, it is be-
lieved, will be reflected in another
active period.
No Weak Spots.
While there is as yet no speculative
tendency in this market worthy of
note, dealers are keenly alive to the
real nature of the situation and would
quickly pick up bargain lots of wool,
II Sucn were 10 be fOunu. Iney nave
tried-during the past week to discover
weak spots in the market, but with
out success. On the other hand, at
tempts to raise prices on certain lines
of territories have not met with sig
nal success, but at current quotations
there is no difficulty in selling wools-
in fact, one dealer remarked that he
could sell any quantity of wool at old
prices. A number of houses, how
ever, are not willing to sell out their
entire holdings, unless it can be made
an object for them to do so, and the
general belief is that prices will be
higher before clip time. The dealers
reason that higher prices for goods
will mechanically he realized when the