AWEX EMI drops by 26¢ last week

03 Nov '08

4 min read

The Australian wool market finished 2.8% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week.

The AWEX EMI fell by 26¢ (-3.4%), ending the week at 738¢/kg. This reflected falls of 37¢ (-4.6%) in the North and 15¢ (-2.0%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 760¢ and 721¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 14¢ (-1.9%), finishing the week at 715¢.

In a three day sale in Melbourne and a two day sale in Sydney, the AWEX EMI fell by 5¢ on Tuesday, by 13¢ on Wednesday and by 8¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator fell by 12¢ on Wednesday and by 2¢ on Thursday in a two day sale in Fremantle.

40,485 bales were on offer, compared with 57,149 bales last week, of which 21.1% were passed in, comprised of 19.6% in Sydney, 19.3% in Melbourne and 28.7% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 26.0% and 11.4%, respectively. 8,189 bales (16.8%) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 12.1% of this week's offering.

The New Zealand Merino Company also offered 2,223 bales in Melbourne on Wednesday of which 26.1% were passed in. 249 bales (11.2%) were withdrawn prior to sale and 9.3% of the bales were re-offers.

The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 4.69¢ lower on Monday (when the A$ reached a five year low against the US $) when compared with Thursday of last week. It was then down by a further 0.72¢ on Tuesday, up by 2.54¢ on Wednesday and by 4.73¢ on Thursday to close at 68.49¢, up 1.86¢ (+2.8%) since the last sale. The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 0.19 Euro cents (-0.4%) to close at 51.86 Euro cents on Thursday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI moved down by 4¢ (-0.8%) in US terms and by 15¢ (-3.8%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.

The week finished on a better note with signs of better more interest from Europe and prices going up in US currency by 29¢ on Thursday to close the sale only 4¢ less than last week. It is not clear why this rise occurred. It may have been associated with the rate cuts in China and the United States during the week and the knock on effects they had on share markets and confidence. Unfortunately, the lift in the US exchange rate on Thursday meant that the rise did not flow to growers.

Falls in the AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for Merino wools varied from -0.9 to -7.2%; with the greatest falls occurring at the fine end. Average AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs) were down by 92¢ for 17.0 microns, by 68¢ for 17.5 microns, by 57¢ for 18.0 microns, by 47¢ for 18.5 microns, by 17¢ for 19.0 microns and by 18¢ for 19.5 microns. The 20.0 micron wool average MPG was down by 16¢ clean, 21.0 microns by 18¢, 22.0 microns by 16¢, 23.0 microns by 25¢, and 24.0 microns by 6¢.

Prices for Merino skirtings held up for the better types, but eased for other types. All crossbred types were down during the week. As was the case last week, oddments were relatively less affected with the AWEX average Merino Cardings MPG being down by 8¢ (-1.8%).

More Australian Wool Innovation Limited News... More Textiles News - Australia...