Last sales before Christmas witness dip in wool prices

Exchange rates continued to move up this week.  This week’s upward movement appeared to be largely influenced by events in the United States, where Ben Bernanke announced an increase in “quantitative easing” (printing money).  Many financial analysts now expect further increases in the US exchange rate.

Skirtings prices eased early in the week, but finished on a firm note in the East.  Crossbred types eased on Tuesday (but were less affected than Merino types), eased again on Wednesday and moved up by small amounts on Thursday. 

The increases on Thursday were not enough to cancel out the falls earlier in the week.  It was a mixed week for oddments.  The average AWEX Merino Cardings Price Guide was down by 1.9% following rises of 3.2% and 5.7% in the two previous weeks.

Buyers for China were very strong this week, followed by strong support from buyers for Europe and India.

Highlights from the Australian Bureau of Statistics export data for October, and for the July to October period for the top five export destinations and for three other key destinations follow.

Australian Wool Industries Secretariat