The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-07-07
OLD STOCKS
SELL LOWER
NEW WOOL HOLDS FIRM ON EOS
TON MARKET.
DEALERS ARE GOING SLOW
Leading Houses Buy sparins'y Of
This Seasons Clip-Manufac-
turers Hold OF.

Sales of wool on the Boston market
for the week amounted to 5,865,OOO
pounds. Included in this was 3,150, 900
pounds of territory at from Is to 10
cents a pound.
The market has been decidedly
more active the past week due large
ly to the free selling of old Montana
and Idaho woods, some sales of new
Wyoming woods and quite liberal tran
sactions in domestic f%leeces, notably
woods of medium and quarter-blOod
grades, says the American Wool and
Cotton Reporter. In the case of fleece
woods a substantial in prices
may be said to have been actually
established, but in the cas- Of terri
tories, the clean cost at which the
stock was moved certainly shows no
advance over the figures previously
ruling. @ ID "s
Y r. Firm in Tone. -.
The tone of the market, however,
on the whole is firm, although some
of the old woods, notably Montana
woods, were moved at somewhat lower
figures than holders were willing to
accept sometime ago.. But no con-
cessions are being made on new woods.
The woods have been taken by both
the large and the smaller consumers,
the worsted dress goods and mems
wear people figuring to some extent
in the purchasing. A Philadelphia
worsted concern is reported to have
purchased one good-sized line of new
Wyoming wool. The American Wool
en- company has also figured to some
extent in the purchasing of territorial
and secured woods and a number of
the moderate sized wooden mills in
New England have been among the
purchasers. They have taken the
woods because they have needed them,
there being no disposition to operate
Ill d speculative way. 1"" =..@
% Goods. ".
Buyers of goods are no reported as
being at all hungry for them, though
in some directions a fair amount of
orders is reported to have been taken.
On worsted lines in most cases mill
men report the buyer as quite unre.
%sponsive to his attitude. The latter is
evidently disposed to move carefully,
as the possibilities of the spring sea.
son are by no clearly defined,
and a number of manufacturers do moi
express themselves in an optimistic
way as to the volume Il business thai
will mark the initial buying of ligh'
weights. The wooden manufacturer:
are better situated as to orders thar
the worsted men, and they talk in {
more cheerful way than the worstet
men, when they come into the mar
ket.
A Peculiar Condition.
The market is in a peculiar condI
ton. No one doubts the strong sta
tistical position of wool. Supplies @
wool certainly do not bid fair to b
excessive. Stocks at the seaboard, c
course, are naturally increasing a
the new woods are coming forward
but they are less than they were
year Ago., and supplies from abroad
of both clothing and carpet stock, wi
be curtailed as compared with thos
of the past few years. With a norm;
demand, it would seem as if nothin
could prevent an advance in the prit
of wool. The new woods have bee
purchased at relatively higher price
than those which have been ruling
the seaboard markets and high'
than consumers will at present pa
and holders of such woods manifest
firm determination not to let them
except at a profit. But, as a matt
of fact, the leading houses in tt
trade have purchased sparingly of tt
new clip, considering that the stu
ton is a very critical one, and in on
two or three instances has there be,
what could be called large buyil
of the new woods by Boston house
These few houses of course are tai
ing high prices, and it is possible
course that the market will eventual
come up to their ideas, but consume
have not yet paid the extreme pric
which they have been asking, althoul
the manufacturer has in the case
delaine and medium and quarter-blo
heeces been willing to come up son
what nearer to the ideas of these hoi