Highest point for the season

The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) added 23¢ this week to finish at 1,343¢. In US dollar terms with the Aussie dollar stable at US$0.774, the EMI in US¢ gained a further 18¢ to 1,040¢.

At Fremantle sales, the Western Market Indicator (WMI) also improved, gaining 25¢ for the week to settle at 1,385¢.

Again, the fine end of the clip performed well, with the 16.5 to 19 MPG gaining 24 to 39 cents, however medium types were not left out this week. The 19.5 to 22 MPG lifted 9 to 23 cents, although in Sydney the 20 & 21 MPG actually eased slightly.

It is worth again focusing on the fine wool price relative to the medium Merino types; as an example the 17 MPG has never been at the current premium to 21 MPG, (The 17 MPG was first recorded in  2009) and has averaged 394 cents over the 21 MPG since 2009. It now sits at a 1154 cent premium to the 21 MPG category.

The Crossbreds section also improved, picking up the losses of the past three weeks, however the 32 MPG’s just held their ground under the weight of an excess of poorly prepared types. AWEX reported the 28 & 30 MPG categories both appreciated 15¢, while the 26 MPG was up 4¢ in Melbourne.

Cardings followed the market up with an 18¢ lift in Fremantle, with prices improving 12¢ in Sydney & 3¢ in Melbourne.

Around 5,000 bales fewer came forward with 38,590 bales offered this week after 6.4% of the original offering was withdrawn. With a reduced pass-in rate of 7.4%, 35,724 bales were cleared to the trade, 3,084 bales fewer than last week. The average weekly clearance for the season to date sits at 34,095 bales.

This week on Mecardo, Andrew Woods looked at the discounts for VM in Merino fleece noting that VM discounts have widened markedly for the broader merino micron categories, on the back of more wool and more VM in the wool. By contrast VM discounts for finer merino wool have remained modest at worst.