The Australian wool market finished 0.9% higher, on average, at sales in Newcastle, Melbourne and Fremantle this week.
The AWEX EMI rose by 6¢ (+0.6%), ending the week at 959¢/kg. This reflected increases of 5¢ (+0.5%) in the North and 8¢ (+0.9%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 996¢ and 928¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator rose by 13¢ (+1.4%), finishing the week at 970¢.
In a three day sale in Newcastle and a two day sale in Melbourne, the AWEX EMI was unchanged on Tuesday, rose by 2¢ on Wednesday and by 4¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator rose by 8¢ on Wednesday and by 5¢ on Thursday in a two day sale in Fremantle.
52,753 bales were on offer, compared with 60,012 bales last week, of which 10.3% were passed in, comprised of 7.4% in Newcastle, 10.3% in Melbourne and 14.8% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 10.6% and 6.6%, respectively. 1,697 bales (3.1%) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 8.5% of this week's offering.
The season progressive total of 795,659 bales is 14.4% less than in the same period last year.
In a week of wide fluctuation, the US exchange rate (source RBA) was 1.01¢ lower on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week. It was up by 0.20¢ on Tuesday, by 1.52¢ on Wednesday and down by 1.32¢ on Thursday to close at 92.44¢, down 0.61¢ (-0.7%) since the last sale.
The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 1.18 Euro cents (-1.8%) to close at 63.17 Euro cents on Thursday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI decreased by 1¢ (-0.1%) in US terms and by 7¢ (-1.1%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.
The market carried on from its strong finish last week, with price rises across most Merino micron categories. The better spinners types attracted very good prices in Newcastle, with a top price of 64,000¢ greasy paid for one lot. The under 15 micron wools came under some pressure yesterday when a relatively large volume was on offer. Medium micron wools were the best performers in the South and the West.
Average AWEX Micron Price Guides (MPGs) eased by 10¢ for 16.5 microns and by 5¢ for 17.0 micron, but were up by around 9¢ for 17.5 to 19.5 microns, by 12¢ for 20.0, by 16¢ for 21.0, by 17¢ for 22.0, by 25¢ for 23.0 and by 10¢ for 24.0 microns. Skirtings were again in very strong demand after a slight easing last week. Oddments were generally unchanged, while crossbred average MPGs increased by around 6¢.
There was another good spread of buyer activity this week, with the traditional support from buyers for Italy in Newcastle. Buyers for China were dominant in Melbourne and Fremantle.
Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 61,489 bales are currently rostered for sale. Present estimates for the following three sales vary from 54,200 to 55,700 bales, a decrease of 14.3% over the four sale period when compared with last year.
In South African sales, the Cape Wools Indicator was down by 0.6% since last week against a 1.3% appreciation of the Rand against the US Dollar and a 0.1% depreciation against the Euro.
