Merino Cardings MPG up by 1¢

02 Nov '09

4 min read

The Australian wool market finished 1.8% lower, on average, at sales in Newcastle, Melbourne and Fremantle this week, when the US exchange rate fell by 2.9%.

The AWEX EMI fell by 16¢ (-1.8%), ending the week at 857¢/kg. This reflected falls of 13¢ (-1.5%) in the North and 19¢ (2.2%)in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 882¢ and 836¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 16¢ (-1.8%), finishing the week at 852¢.

In a three day sale in Newcastle and Melbourne, the AWEX EMI fell by 12¢ on Tuesday, by 5¢ on Wednesday and rose by 1¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator fell by 15¢ on Wednesday and by 1¢ on Thursday.

50,045 bales were on offer, compared with 42,105 bales last week, of which 14.1% were passed in, comprised of 11.6% in Newcastle, 14.4% in Melbourne and 17.4% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 17.6% and 9.0%, respectively. 1,304 bales (2.5%) from the expected offering of 51,349 bales were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 7.1% of the final offering. 42,976 bales were cleared to the trade.

The New Zealand Merino Company also offered 1,854 bales in Melbourne on Wednesday of which 25.7% were passed in. The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 0.07¢ lower on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week. It was then down by a further 0.55¢ on Tuesday, by 0.97¢ on Wednesday and by 1.07¢ on Thursday to close at 89.85¢, down 2.66¢ ( 2.9%) since the last sale. The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 0.67 Euro cents (-1.1%) to close at 61.02 Euro cents on Thursday night.When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI moved down by 38¢ (-4.7%) in US terms and by 16¢ (-3.0%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.

The downward correction this week was not surprising, given the rise in the market since the start of season, particularly in US currency. The EMI in US currency had risen from 623¢ at the start of the season to 808¢ last week, before coming back to 770¢ this week. The change in Australian currency is from 777¢ in Week 1 to 857¢ this week, down from a season peak of 876¢, but still above the EMI of only two weeks ago.

The market in Newcastle was affected by large quantities of some types and by the weaker presence of buyers for Italy. However, there was still some keen, but restricted, competition from buyers for Italy.

Changes in the Average AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for Merino wools varied from -3.2% (17.0 and 18.5 microns) to -1.4% (22.0 microns).Average MPGs were down by 28¢ clean for 16.5 microns, by 39¢ for 17.0 microns, by 34¢ for 17.5 microns, by 33¢ for 18.0 microns, by 34¢ for 18.5 microns and by 26¢ for 19.0 and 20.0 microns. The 20.0 micron wool average MPG was down by 26¢ clean, 21.0 microns by 18¢, 22.0 microns by 12¢, 23.0 microns by 16¢, and 24.0 microns by 21¢.

Merino skirtings, although down in price, werestill in good demand and fared better than fleece types. Crossbred types were also down, but generally by less than the Merino types with falls in their average MPGs of 1.8% at the fine end and 0.6% for medium types. Coarse crossbreds were only quoted in the South where they were reported as well down on last week. Oddments were the least affected type for the week, being down on Tuesday and then recovering. The Merino Cardings average MPG was up by 1¢ (0.2%)

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