Mob of sheep moving in dusty yard

The wool market continued to push higher this week, building on early-season momentum. The EMI lifted 9 cents to 1,222 cents, supported by solid demand across most categories.

Volumes were lower than the previous sale, with 22,399 sold and 23,623 bales offered nationally, down 5,652 bales from the previous week. Namely, due to there being no Western region sales this week, with only the northern and southern centres operating. Despite the smaller offering, buyer interest remained firm, with a low national pass-in rate of 5.3%,

Fine and medium Merino fleece lots led the charge. In the north, the 18 and 18.5 micron indicators rose by 25 and 12 cents to close at 1,600 and 1,544 cents, respectively, while the 17.5 MPG eased slightly to 1,626 cents after last week’s gains. Southern microns from 17.5 through to 20 all posted rises, with the 18.0 MPG up 16 cents to 1,605 cents and the 19.5 MPG in Melbourne finishing 20 cents higher at 1,474 cents.

Crossbred categories continued their recent improvement. The 28 micron indicator closed at 495 cents in Sydney, up 20 cents, and 497 cents in Melbourne, up 7 cents. Oddments traded firm to slightly dearer, with bulky and stylish locks in demand. Merino Cardings rose to 717 cents in the north and 693 cents in the south.

Despite all the news, currency was not a major market driver this week, though a stable AUD helped underpin offshore interest.

This week in Mecardo, Andrew Woods examined the supply of non-mulesed and RWS-accredited wool (see article here). He found that around 18% of the Merino clip was declared non-mulesed, with 6% also RWS-accredited. For non-Merino types, non-mulesed declarations reached 42%, with RWS supply tracking at approximately 8% of offerings.

Next week

Looking ahead, next week’s sale marks the final offering before the annual three-week winter recess. A total of 38,045 bales are currently rostered across all centres.

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Click on graph to expand

Click on graph to expand

Data sources: AWEX, Mecardo

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