The Australian wool market finished 2.1% higher, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week after the US exchange rate fluctuated over a 5¢ range.
The AWEX EMI rose by 20¢ (+2.1%), ending the week at 979¢/kg. This reflected increases of 23¢ (+2.3%) in the North and 18¢ (+1.9%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 1019¢ and 946¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator rose by 19¢ (+2.0%), finishing the week at 989¢.
In a three day sale three day sale in Sydney and Melbourne, the AWEX EMI rose by 41¢ on Tuesday, fell by 10¢ on Wednesday and by 11¢ on Thursday. The Western Indicator rose by 33¢ on Wednesday and fell by 14¢ on Thursday in a two day sale in Fremantle.
58,235 bales were on offer, compared with 52,753 bales last week, of which 6.2% were passed in, comprised of 4.8% in Sydney, 4.2% in Melbourne and 13.5% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 5.5% and 4.9%, respectively. 1,471 bales (2.5%) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 10.7% of this week's offering.
The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 3.20¢ lower on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week, down by a further 0.33¢ on Tuesday, up by 1.35¢ on Wednesday and down by 0.25¢ on Thursday to close at 90.01¢, down 2.43¢ ( 2.6%) since the last sale.
The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 1.83 Euro cents (-2.9%) to close at 61.34 Euro cents on Thursday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI rose by 3¢ in US terms on Tuesday, before finishing the week down by 5¢ (-0.6%) and down by 5¢ (-0.8%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.
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.
