The Australian wool market finished 1.5% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week after a gain of 9.2% over the previous two weeks.
The AWEX EMI fell by 14¢ (-1.4%), ending the week at 974¢/kg. This reflected decreases of 13¢ (-1.3%) in the North and 16¢ (-1.7%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 1008¢ and 945¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 15¢ (-1.5%), finishing the week at 977¢.
In a three day sale in Sydney and a two day sale in Melbourne, the AWEX EMI fell by 1¢ on Tuesday, by 7¢ on Wednesday and by 6¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator fell by 9¢ on Wednesday and by 6¢ on Thursday in a two day sale in Fremantle.
63,017 bales were on offer, compared with 51,540 bales last week, of which 12.5% were passed in, comprised of 7.5% in Sydney, 13.6% in Melbourne and 17.8% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 16.1% and 5.7%, respectively. 2,076 bales (3.2%) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 8.0% of this week's offering.
The New Zealand Merino Company offered 3,796 bales in Melbourne on Tuesday of which 12.5% were passed in. 88 bales (0.7%) were withdrawn prior to sale and 3.6% of the bales were re-offers.
The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 0.52¢ lower on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week. It was up by 0.33¢ on Tuesday, by 0.59¢ on Wednesday and by 0.47¢ on Thursday to close at 90.21¢, up 0.87¢ (+1.0%) since the last sale. The upward movement over the last three days can be attributed to an expected increase in interest rates following the announcement of the September quarter inflation data.
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