The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-09-29
BOSTON WOOL MARKET coNTIN-
YES DECIDEDLY DULL.
LARGE DECREASE IN SALES
Holders Becoming Anxious to Sell and
Prices Are Shaded to Suit
Demand.

Sales Of wool on the Boston market
Tor last week aggregated 1861, 900
pounds. Included in this was 1,O5O,OOO
pounds of territory at 1916 cents
q pound.
The market is very slow, except on
woods one-quarter and three-eighths
and below, and prices, except for such
stock, are in favor of the buyer, says
the American Wool and Cotton Re-
porter.
There certainly has been more pres
sure to sell wool the past week, fine
and fine medium territory of average
quality. being offered with more or
less freedom at 4Sc, clean. In some
Instances they can be purchased at
47c, but these are exceptional.
The price depends, to a considerable
extent, on whether the onsumer really
wants the wool OF not. In cases where
fine and fine medium woods have been
wanted, sellers report transactions at
SOC, but where a merchant forces
wool on an unwilling consumer. a
material concession has to be made.
Some members of the trade are, how
ever, more or less anxious to do bust
ness. They wish to see the wool NOV
ing. They have waited for many weeks
FOR. trade to develop on those grades
and varieties Of wool with which
they are pretty well stocked: but it
has not developed to the extent which
they had anticipated. Some merchants
report that there are indications of
. little more interest being shown
in wool by some of the large buyers,
and n house reports that it has been
able to put through quite a good-sized
business the past week, but the large
trade expected has not materialized
as yet, and some of the deals previous
~ pending it has been impossible to
bring to ahead.
Small Purchases.
s The purchases Of the past week have
been largely of medium or small sized
lots, and in fact the demand may be
said to have slackened, except pos
sibly for woods of quarter-blood grade,
of which the supply in the market is
very small. OF low woods the mills
r very lightly stocked as a rule, but
of the higher grades some of the large
consumers have enough to last them
for some time yet. Some of the mills
have more or less old Montana yet on
hand, one oncer last week running
on Montanas which were two years
old, and of last years Montanas there
are still some on the market. In re-
gard to the low woods, prices are very
tirm-indeed they are firmer, if any
thing. than they were. This firmness
is reflected in the high prices which
were paid for quarter-blood tieeces in
the interior during the past week. But
consumers purchases of these woods
have been of small amounts during the
past week. 1t is difficult to sell any
large lines of wool.
Averse to Buying.
!. Consumers are averse to buying
them. ~preferring that the dealers shall
carry them until they get ready to
take them on. evidently not anticipat-
ing that prices will advance on them.
As just stated, the price depends to
some extent on whether the consumer
is really in need of the wool. AS one
manufacturer remarked, if wool should
advance, and he found that he needed
the particular wool now being offered
him, he would even rather pay a
higher price for it then than to take
It now at present prices, not knowing
whether he will need it or not.
Some of the large mills have been
represented in the market, and one
large concern has purchased of quar-
ter-broods, though only moderately, in
view of it's usual requirements. Con-
sumers are looking for cheap lots OF
low woods, gray pulled, reflections, off
sorts, etc, and such stock sells about
as fast as it is offered. The prevailing
motive with consumers seems to be
to get up something which is cheap.
Have Little Effect.
The strong opening of the London
sales and the subsequent strength dis
played apparently have exerted but lit
tie effect in stimulating an improved
demand for wool on this side of the
EJ