Australia : Prices of all wool micron ranges fall

The Australian wool market finished 2.4% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week.
The AWEX EMI fell by 25¢ (-2.7%), ending the week at 910¢/kg. This reflected decreases of 27¢ (-2.8%) in the North and 23¢ (-2.5%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 932¢ and 892¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 19¢ (-2.0%), finishing the week at 921¢.
In a two day sale in Sydney and Melbourne, the AWEX EMI fell by 21¢ on Tuesday and by 4¢ on Wednesday. The Western Indicator fell by 22¢ on Tuesday and rose by 3¢ on Wednesday in a two day sale in Fremantle. Sales were confined to Tuesday and Wednesday to avoid a clash with Wool Week and the Annual General Meetings of post farm industry Associations in Melbourne.
47,257 bales were on offer, compared with 42,840 bales last week, of which 17.1% were passed in, comprised of 15.0% in Sydney, 15.0% in Melbourne and 24.8% in Fremantle. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 20.1% and 12.5%, respectively. 1,976 bales (4.0%) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered bales made up 15.5% of this week's offering.
In a further week of volatility on global financial and share markets, the US exchange rate (source RBA) was 1.75¢ higher on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week. It was down by 0.93¢ on Tuesday and by 1.55¢ on Wednesday to close at 80.77¢, down 0.73¢ (-0.9%) since the last sale.
The exchange rate against the Euro fell by 0.69 Euro cents (-1.1%) to close at 59.46 Euro cents on Wednesday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI dropped by 27¢ (-3.5%) in US terms and by 21¢ (-3.7%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.

The EMI in US terms (735¢) is 40¢ above the 2002/03 peak of 695¢.
With less evidence of overseas buying activity, this week saw an easing in the market after last week's gains. In a period of uncertainty due to the quota issues in China the market continues at levels which are still greater than they were in the first sale after the break.
Prices came off for all micron ranges and all wool types on Tuesday. Most Micron Price Guides fell by 20 to 30¢ clean, with falls of 40 to 50¢ in the fine wools in Sydney, where the comparison was with a Newcastle sale the week before. Week-on-week average MPGs last night were down by 66¢ for 16.5 micron wools, by 51¢ for 17.0 microns, by 35¢ at 17.5, by 30 to 40¢ for 18.0 to 21.0, by 20¢ for 22.0, by 16¢ for 23 and by 33¢ for 24 microns.
As usual, better and stronger wools attracted good support from buyers. Skirtings were down also, but were less affected than fleece type, as seen in their lower pass-in rate. Oddments had a mixed week, but were generally down and crossbred wools hung in reasonably well, with their average Micron Price Guides being down by around 10¢ on average.
Purchases were again widely spread, with a mixed presence by buyers for China. The Chinese wool quota issues remain unresolved. The Australian Trade Minister, Warren Truss met the Chinese Commerce Minister, Mr Bo Xilai, at a Regional trade meeting in the Manila last Sunday. But no news or outcome was available at the timeof writing.
Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 52,175 bales are currently rostered for sale. Present estimates for the following three sales vary from 55,400 to 57,400 bales, a decrease of 9.9% over the four sale period when compared with last year.
There was no sale in South Africa this week.