Merino sheep walking out of a shed

The Wool market again experienced a large clearance for the week although the weaker Australian dollar was not able to sustain the market levels which fell across most categories. Since the Christmas recess, an average of 43,200 bales have been sold at auction, well above the season average of 36,700 bales, and also higher than the previous two seasons where the weekly average was 34,000 and 36,000 respectively.

This week the  Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) fell by 10ȼ this week to 1358ȼ/kg. The Australian dollar was again lower, finishing at  US$0.659.  The EMI when expressed in US$ was down 28ȼ/kg to 895ȼ/kg (US).  

The falls were widespread and across the board, with merino types posting a 10 to 20 ȼ/kg fall. The exception was the 18.5 MPG which was down just 3 ȼ/kg to finish at 1841 ȼ/kg in Melbourne.

In Fremantle the Western Market Indicator (WMI) finished the week at 1501ȼ/kg, posting a 23ȼ fall. 

Crossbreds overall trended sideways this week, although a good offering of 26 mpg in Melbourne finished the week 19ȼ higher to 615ȼ/kg.

Cardings fell at all centres this week with the Carding Indicator quoted in Fremantle at 904 (-21ȼ),  in Melbourne at 914 (-5 ȼ), while Sydney cardings fell 28 ȼ to be quoted at 900 ȼ/kg.  

Significant volumes are still making it to market, with 47915 bales offered this week.  Despite an increase in the pass-in rate which finished the week at 13%, 41,683 bales were cleared across all markets.

This week on Mecardo, Andrew Woods looks at how the volume of RWS wool has changed in response to the price signals which began in 2021.

The first message in this article is that the shift to non-mulesed merino flocks has stalled in recent seasons, with the proportion of average to broad micron merino stuck at low levels. The second message is RWS volumes have responded to the strong price signals of 2021-22. Non-mulesed wool accredited to RWS proportions has grown, with scope for more growth as the proportion of non-mulesed wool sold with RWS accreditation ranges from only one-fifth to one-third, depending on the micron category.

The week ahead….

More than 49,000 bales are rostered for sale next week across all three selling centres, with sales on Tuesday and Wednesday only due to the Victorian public holiday.

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Data sources: AWEX, AWI, Mecardo

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