Clearance rates of wool again good

04 Jul '08

4 min read

The Australian wool market finished 0.5% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week in the first sale of the 2008/09 season.

The AWEX EMI was unchanged, ending the week at 874¢/kg. This reflected a rise of 2¢ (+0.2%) in the North and a decrease of 5¢ (-0.6%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 912¢ and 840¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 9¢ (-1.1%), finishing the week at 845¢.

In a two day sale in Sydney and Melbourne, the AWEX EMI rose by 2¢ on Wednesday and fell by 2¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator rose by 1¢ on Wednesday and fell by 10¢ on Thursday in a two day sale in Fremantle.

Looking at the situation over the last twelve months, it was one of two halves, with rising prices in the first half followed by a falling market in the second half, before steadying over the last three sales. The EMI was 929¢ in Week 01, rising to 1,045¢ in Week 30 compared with 874¢ this week.

45,544 bales were on offer, compared with 40,292 bales at the last sale, of which 7.9% were passed in, comprised of 5.4% in Sydney, 8.6% in Melbourne and 9.6% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 7.9% and 5.8%, respectively. 1,431 bales (3.0%) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 7.2% of this week's offering.

The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 0.59¢ higher on Monday when compared with Thursday of the last sale. It was then down by 0.73¢ on Tuesday, up by 0.46¢ on Wednesday and by 0.25¢ on Thursday to close at 96.24¢, up 0.57¢ (+0.6%) since the last sale.

The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 0.78 Euro cents (-1.3%) to close at 60.65 Euro cents on Thursday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI moved up by 5¢ (+0.6%) in US terms and was down by 7¢ (-1.3%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.

The market remained firm this week against a United States exchange rate which again broke the 96¢ barrier. Clearance rates were again good and competition continued to be strong for the better types of wool. Superfine average Micron Indicators (MPGs) all moved up, apart from 18.5 microns, whereas the medium and broad Merino MPGs all eased.

Average AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs) were up by 2¢ for 17.0 microns, by 5¢ for 17.5 microns, by 7¢ for 18.0 microns, down by 9¢ for 18.5 microns, up by 10¢ for 19.0 microns and by 5¢ for 19.5 microns. The 20.0 micron wool average MPG was down by 9¢ clean, 21.0 microns by 11¢, 22.0 microns by 9¢, 23.0 microns by 10¢, and 24.0 microns by 3¢.

Skirtings continued to be strong demand, finishing the week on a firm note. Oddments again eased slightly with a 6¢ fall in the average Merino Cardings MPG. Crossbreds were generally unchanged among the fine and medium types and up at the coarse end, where their average MPGs were up by around 3¢.

Buyers for China were dominant, with strong support from buyers for Europe and India.

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