The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-03-31
They REMAIN
WIDE APART
BUYERS AND SELLERS DIFFER
ON PRICES.
CAUSES QUIET MARKET
Holders Make Small Concessions In
in Some Lines, Notably
Medium Grades.

Medium Grades.
Sales of wool on the Boston market
aggregated 2, 100000, for the week.
In this were $4,000 pounds of terri
tory at from IA to 10 cents.
A number Of Philadelphia onsum
ers and others have been in the mar
ket the past week, but they have not
bought very freely. One Of ther:, it
is reported, was here for the purpose
OF selling worsted yarns, another was
a seeker after camel's hair noils (of
which there are few in the market)
and another looked over some terri
tory wool and bought some; but their
takings, all told, we're only moderate,
and the demand for wool is still small,
that is to say, it is small at curren
quotations, says the American Wool
and Cotton Reporter. A few large con
sumers would have bought with some
liberality If their ideas as to values
had not been SO low set. In some
cases they were not willing to pay, by
two cents per grease pound, as much
as holders of wool asked, and for
woods which were held at SOC, clean,
in some cases they would not give
more than 45c.
Testing the Attitude Of Holders.
Much of this dickering was very
likely in the nature of a bluff" in
tended to test the attitude of holders.
The latter, however, are not so bur-
dened with stocks on hand as to war
rant them in making material con-
cessions. Especially is this the cas-
with reference to fine~~wools. Some
concessions have been made the past
week. notably on medium woods, and
it is generally possible to buy in this
market at slightly lower prices than
was possible a week or ten days ago,
but the extent of the concessions, ex-
cept in the grades referred to, is not
very marked, and speaks we'll for the
stability of the market in view of the
very quiet conditions which have pre-
vailed for the past two months.
Is a Waiting Game.
There is no mistaking the weakness
in medium woods although this easier
%1~loro1, i, ~ n0to11o -, thu 1oeo
of some. houses than of others. Taken
all in all, there is but little snap to |
the trade and the past week on the
whole has been a dull one The
course of the market hinges on the
goods situation. 1t is a waiting game.
Manufacturers have received the
bulk of their initial orders, and are
now waiting to see whether the size
of the duplicate business will or will
not make up in a large measure for
the lack of orders received on the
initial business. Woolens still con-
tinue to sell better than worsteds. al
though the inquiry for the former is
nv CoPOS1ouAy "A - W |
the mills, however, are SO we'll employ
ed On orders for woolens received at
the beginning of the season that they
are running pretty full. Manufacture
ers as a class have all the wool which
they need for the present, that is,
they have sufficient to cover the or
ders which they have taken, and when
they can form some definite idea as to
what is to be the size and character
of the duplicate demand, they will
very likely purchase more literally
Of wool. In the meantime the con-
sentative members of the wool trade
are inclined to bide their time and not
force wool upon unwilling consumers.
-. Fine Woods.
The situation with reference to fine
woods is rendered somewhat stronger
than it otherwise would be by the
course of the London sales, which
to harden for merino stock
and closed on Tuesday of this week
firm, with merinos k@1d per pound
than at the opening, and with
crossbreds suitable for this country
showing no further change. The with
drawals we're 10000 bales. as COM
pared with 1900 bales at the March
last year and purchases for
America we're 5000 bales as compar-
ed with 1000 bales last year. The
next sales will begin May 5, with
available offerings of about 10000
bales, which compare with 100000
bales for the May series of 1902.
Firmness of Some Holders.
While, as before stated, concessions