merino sheep close up

It was “steady-as-she-goes” in the wool market this week, however, the stronger Au$ made wool more expensive for buyers. While the market started slowly on Tuesday, with the market generally softer than its strong start to the calendar year; it was the stylish, well-prepared wools that provided some momentum on Wednesday.

Overall the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) fell just 3ȼ week on week to 1338ȼ/kg. With the Aussie dollar rising strongly to US$0.71, the EMI when expressed in US$ was 24ȼ/kg higher to 950ȼ/kg (US), a lift of 2.6%.

The absence of fine merino types in the west saw the Western Market Indicator ease back 12ȼ to finish the week at 1475ȼ/kg.

Generally, the market was carried by the merino section of the catalogue, (especially the fine types) which posted gains. The stronger currency proved to be too much for the crossbred section which fell away over the week.

It was a mixed week for Crossbreds; well-prepared lots were in abundance on Tuesday lifting the market, but a return to poorly presented lots saw the market lose ground on Wednesday. The 28 MPG  in Melbourne gave up 8 ȼ for the week to 598 ȼ /kg.

Cardings were slightly stronger again this week, improving by 4ȼ in Sydney, down 3ȼ in Fremantle, and holding steady in Melbourne posting no change.

Markets saw a lower offering this week of 44,306 bales, and a higher pass-in rate of 13.2%.

38,467 bales were sold, down 6,166 bales from the previous week.  Despite this decline, clearance figures are still consistently above the average weekly sales to date of 35,025. For comparison, last wool sale season the average weekly clearance across the year was 35,488.

This week on Mecardo, Andrew Woods takes a look at the gross value, volume, and price of fine merino wool sold in the first half of this season. The fall in price levels for fine merino since mid-2022 tends to cloud the view of the fine wool market unfairly.  Gross sale values for the first half of the season, when compared to the past decade show a more positive story, with the sales value of fine merino tracking at high levels.

The week ahead….

Next week all three selling centres will offer on Tuesday and Wednesday.  There are 42,500 bales currently rostered for sale.

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Data sources: AWEX, AWI, Mecardo

 

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