Merino skirtings fares better than fleece types this week

27 Aug '09

4 min read

The Australian wool market finished 1.3% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week. The AWEX EMI fell by 11¢ (-1.3%), ending the week at 812¢/kg. This reflected falls of 11¢ (-1.3%) in the North and 14¢ ( 1.7%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 834¢ and 792¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 8¢ (-1.0%), finishing the week at 797¢.

In a two day sale in Sydney and Melbourne, the AWEX EMI fell by 6¢ on Tuesday and by 5¢ on Wednesday. The Western Indicator fell by 8¢ on Wednesday in a one day sale in Fremantle.

38,750 bales were on offer, compared with 33,208 bales last week, of which 13.3% were passed in, comprised of 7.7% in Sydney, 13.6% in Melbourne and 23.6% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 16.8% and 5.3%, respectively. 1,261 bales (3.2%) from the expected offering of 40,011 bales were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 12.9% of the final offering. 33,582 bales were cleared to the trade.

The New Zealand Merino Company also offered 1,477 bales in Melbourne on Wednesday of which 25.3% were passed in. 30 bales (2.0%) were withdrawn prior to sale and 3.9% of the bales were re-offers.

The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 0.83¢ higher on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week. It was then down by 0.41¢ on Tuesday and up by 0.18¢ on Wednesday to close at 83.69¢, up 0.60¢ (+0.7%) since the last sale. The exchange rate against the Euro rose by 0.09 Euro cents (+0.2%) to close at 58.46 Euro cents on Wednesday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI moved down by 4¢ (-0.6%) in US terms and by 5¢ (-1.0%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.

This week saw a slight correction in the market in Australian, US and Euro currencies after the EMI had gained 49¢ (Australian) and 31¢ (US) over the previous two weeks. Although the market was down, strong competition saw it finish on a strong note, with prices generally moving up after earlier falls. Growers were reluctant to sell their fleece wool on this market resulting in 16.8% pass-in rate.

Changes in the Average AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for Merino wools varied from -2.5% (19.0 and 20.0 microns) to +0.1% (16.5 microns) with the downward movements least among the wools from 18.5 microns down. Average MPGs were up by 2¢ clean for 16.5 microns, down by 1¢ for 17.0 microns, by 8¢ for 17.5 microns, by 10¢ for 18.0 microns, by 11¢ for 18.5 microns, by 24¢ for 19.0 microns and by 21¢ for 19.5 microns. The 20.0 micron wool average MPG was down by 21¢ clean, 21.0 microns by 13¢, 22.0 microns by 19¢, 23.0 microns by 12¢, and 24.0 microns by 15¢.

Merino skirtings fared better than fleece types, particularly in the South where AWEX quoted the market up to 10 to 15¢ greasy there on Thursday. The overall pass-in rate for skirtings was 5.3% compared with 16.8% for fleece types. Crossbreds also eased, with the average MPGs for fine and coarse types being slightly more affected than medium and broad Merinos. Medium crossbred types were more heavily affected with their average AWEX MPGs down by around 4%. Oddments were in strong demand on both days, with the average AWEX Merino Cardings MPG up by 9¢ (+1.7%). Buyers for China were dominant followed by those buying for India.

Sales will be held in Newcastle (first sale of the season), Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 44,604 bales are currently rostered for sale. Present estimates for the following two sales are 40,810 and 41,100 bales, respectively; a decrease of 3.2% over the three sale period when compared with last year.

The New Zealand Merino Company is rostered to offer 1,830 bales in Week 11. Sales are in recess in South Africa.

Australian Wool Industries Secretariat Inc.

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