It rose by 0.82¢ on Thursday, to close at 83.32¢, up 0.10¢ (+0.1%) since the last sale. The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 0.18 Euro cents (-0.3%) to close at 61.04 Euro cents on Thursday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI increased by 3¢ (+0.4%) in US terms and was unchanged in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.
The changes in the EMI in US and Euro currencies since mid October are now 227¢ US (+41.0%) and 130 Euro cents (29.4%).
In a two day sale, separated by Anzac Day, the AWEX EMI rose by 7¢ on Tuesday and fell by 4¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator rose by 4¢ on Tuesday and was unchanged on Thursday.
In another solid week, all average Merino Micron Price Guides, other than for 18.5 and 19.0 microns, were up by 4 to 14¢. The only dampening factor being a softening in the Southern market towards the end of the day on Thursday. With a general deterioration in the offering, the better wools continued to attract strong support.
Skirtings continued to be in demand with price increases during the week and a pass-in rate of 6.1%. Oddments were generally firm, or up. Crossbreds were sought after with increases in their average Micron Price Guides of around 16¢ at the fine end and less for the broader types.
Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 54,851 bales are currently rostered for sale. Current estimates for the following three sales vary from 45,900 to 52,600, a fall of 1.5% when compared with last year. This week's AWEX Five Week Forecast indicated a slight easing in expected quantities compared with last week's forecast. There were no sales in South Africa this week.
Australian Wool Innovation Limited