Wool market finishes 0.1% higher

23 Aug '10

3 min read

The Australian wool market finished 0.1% higher, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week when the US exchange rate fell by 0.2%.

35,423 bales were on offer, compared with 47,187 bales last week. 12.7% were passed in, comprised of 8.9% in Sydney, 10.4% in Melbourne and 25.0% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 14.6% and 7.2%, respectively.

939 bales (2.6%) from the expected offering of 36,362 bales were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 6.4% of the final offering. 30,921 bales were cleared to the trade.

The US exchange rate has stayed steady at round 89 to just over 90¢ this week, after a more volatile period last week.

The market opened on a good note on Wednesday with the EMI up by 4¢ in US currency on Wednesday, but easing by the same amount on Thursday. It was a week in which the Superfine sellers had a better week, with gains of 3.0% plus in the average 17.0 and 17.5 AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs). The gains eased with the broader microns, with small falls in the Average MPGs from 20 to 23 microns.

Demand for skirting types was very keen on Wednesday, particularly in the North and the South. The gains were generally maintained on Thursday. It was a good week for crossbred types, with gains in their average MPGs on both days. Medium and coarse crossbred average MPGs were up by around 1.5%. Oddments were a bit mixed on Wednesday, but finished on a strong note on Thursday. The average AWEX Merino Cardings Price Guide was up by 6¢ (+1%).

Buyers for China were again dominant followed by buyers for Europe, India and Taiwan.

Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 39,605 bales are currently rostered for sale. Present estimates for the following two sales (Weeks 09 and 10) are 39,740 and 41,400 bales, respectively; an increase of 5.8% over the three sale period when compared with last year.

The New Zealand Merino Company is rostered to offer 850 bales in Melbourne next week and 1,350 bales in Week 10.

Sales resumed in South African this week. The Cape Wools Indicator was down by 1.6% since last sale on 9 June against a 6.1% appreciation of the Rand against the US Dollar and a 1.0% depreciation against the Euro. 12,474 bales were on offer.

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Australian Wool Industries Secretariat

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