The market opened very strongly carried after last week's good close and a 3.9% depreciation in the US Exchange rate. 19 to 22 micron wools in the North did particularly well with their AWEX Micron Price Guides rising by 68 to 78¢ clean on Tuesday and the pass-in rate for fleece wool falling to 2.8%.
Merino Prices eased the following day (when the exchange rate gained 1.5%) and again on Thursday, with the finer microns down for the week, and the medium and broader end up on last week. Better styled and stronger wools continued to attract good support throughout the week. A 1PP lot measuring 12.3 microns from the renowned Hillcreston/Pine Hill sold for 73,000¢ greasy in Sydney on Thursday.
Week-on-week changes in the average AWEX MPGs were -15¢ for 16.5 microns, -6¢ for 17.0, -10¢ for 17.5, +2¢ for 18 microns, +29 to +32¢ for 18.5 to 20, +37¢ for 21.0, +31¢ for 22.0, +19¢ for 23.0, +25¢ for 24.0 and +14¢ for 25.0 microns.
Skirtings also opened strongly on Tuesday and held up well when the fleece wools eased on Wednesday and Thursday. Similarly, oddments opened on an upward market and retained most of their gains, with the Merino Cardings average MPG up by 7¢ for the week. Crossbreds also finished up for the week, with their average MPGs up by around 25¢ at the fine end and easing to +10¢ at the coarse end.
Buyers for China were dominant together with strong support from buyers for Europe.
Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 54,605 bales are currently rostered for sale. Present estimates for the following three sales vary from 51,200 to 51,200 bales, a decrease of 11.6% over the four sale period when compared with last year.
The New Zealand Merino Company will also offer 3,700 bales in Melbourne next week. Progressive auction offerings of Australian wool are 15.1% less than in the same period last year.
In South African sales, the Cape Wools Indicator was up by 1.4% since last week against a 3.0% depreciation of the Rand against the US Dollar and a 3.0% depreciation against the Euro.
Australian Wool Innovation Limited
marketing@alchempro.com
