Prices up for 80% of wool on offer at Australian auctions

13 Aug '20

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) showed a market in retraction by dropping 2ac to 1004ac clean kg, but in reality, over 80 per cent of the wool on offer increased in value at the Australian auctions this week. Thus, a better wool market greeted grower sellers this week, with a more appropriate volume of wool put up for sale relative to current demand.

Around 92 per cent clearance rates were achieved this week during sale week 7 of the current Australian wool marketing season, the Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) said in its Weekly Wool Market Summary.

The EMI was heavily influenced by major falls in the cardings and oddments sectors as carbonised types are struggling to find a suitable level of trade post first stage manufacture, the AWI commentary said.

"The auction competition switched to traders dominating the Merino segment this week. Prices on offer attracted their stronger buying interest. Merino fleece wools sold 10 to 20ac above the levels of last week and comeback and crossbred wools were generally 5ac dearer.

"Off-shore top makers appeared to be slightly caught off guard on the first day as the current price levels were matched and pushed slightly upward by local exporters. This was rectified on the second day with the major Chinese buyers lifting their purchasing rates which helped consolidate and improve price levels across all Merino fleece types and descriptions," AWI said.

Chinese top making interest may have moved some quantity to the merino skirting area of the offering with more of their activity witnessed on those types. European interest continued ascendancy at the top of the crossbred sector once again. Over one third of the offering went into their inventory, according to the AWI.

Prices of Crossbreds and Merino skirtings are at the lowest levels they have been for at least 5 years so buying these wools may prove astute in the long term or even if mills just need to be run, a cheaper input is also a safer bet as machinery fodder, AWI said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)

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