Market steadies as sellers withdraw

Nutrien Ag Solutions sheep farm.

The market steadied this week after last week’s downward trajectory. The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) didn’t budge on last week, the first time it has remained unchanged week to week since September 2017.

The EMI is currently at 1342ȼ/kg, although in US dollar terms the EMI fell 18ȼ to 931ȼ/kg, thanks to a weakening Aussie dollar, down 1.8% to 0.694 US.

According to AWEX, the large falls last week “discouraged” some sellers from coming to market and thus the initial large offering was reduced substantially, which no doubt helped halt the downward price spiral from continuing.     

There were mostly positive movements across the indicators with gains between 1 to 30 cents. The 16.5 MPG in Sydney & Melbourne were the standout performers, both lifting 30 cents apiece. There were some minor losses recorded for the other fine wool indicators, falling between 2 to 16 cents. The medium types all performed well across all centres, lifting between 4 to 22 cents bar the 22MPG in Melbourne which slipped 3 cents.

Over in the west all MPG’s lifted on the week prior with the Western Market Indicator finishing 10 cents higher at 1459 ȼ/kg.

Crossbreds had some small gains, the 26 & 30 MPG in Melbourne lifted 5 cents each, while the 28MPG in Melbourne fell just 3 cents.

Cardings in Sydney & Melbourne fell again, although not as much as the week prior, just down 7 & 6 cents respectively, while in WA the cardings indicator stayed put.  

Last week’s price falls spooked some sellers and the initial large offering for this week was reduced by 10,000+ bales, to see 44,786 bales on offer. The pass-in rate was 9.6%, resulting in 40,493 bales sold, making this season’s average bales sold to date, nearly 7,000 bales higher than last season’s average.

This week on Mecardo Andrew Woods has been travelling around the world to take a look at how the other main wool producers are faring and what they can tell us about global supply & demand. Although both South Africa & Argentina are relatively miniscule in terms of total greasy wool produced compared to Australia, when filtering for wool that is RWS accredited or CM-NM, for some micron categories their contributions are an important part of the story and should be considered when looking at the global supply and demand situation.

The week ahead….

We’ve got another relatively large offering next week although it’s smaller than the last two weeks as WA quantities aren’t enough to warrant a sale there. Sydney & Melbourne sales are rostered for Tuesday & Wednesday with 40,116 bales on offer at present with no sales in WA.

Have any questions or comments?

We love to hear from you!
Print This Post

Click on graph to expand

Click on graph to expand

Click on graph to expand

Data sources: AWEX, AWI, Mecardo

Make decisions with confidence- ask about our board packs, bespoke forecasting and risk management services

Have any questions or comments?

We love to hear from you!
Sheep running out of a shed
Wool

Dressing for success in 2025?

The increased offering of wool bales stirred a range of outcomes this week, particularly affecting the finer micron wool segments. On balance, the Eastern Market

Read More »

Want market insights delivered straight to your inbox?

Sign up to the mailing list to get regular updates to new analysis and market outlooks

Independent analysis and outlook for wool, livestock and grain markets delivered to you as it’s published

Commodity conversations podcast cover image, a illustration of a sheep standing on a cow's back with grain either side
Listen to the podcast

Join the Mecardo team for the Commodity Conversations podcast, where we provide short weekly market recaps and longer conversations with guests to discuss the drivers and trends in livestock, grain and fibre markets.

Photo of a farmer surrounded by Merino sheep in dusty yards
Research: Analysis of the Australian sheep flock

In this report for LiveCorp and MLA, we analysed the historical trends in the demographics of the Australian sheep flock, examining domestic factors that influence farm-level enterprise decision making. 

Image of harvested grain pouring into a chaser bin
SERVICES AND CAPABILITIES STATEMENT BROCHURE

We don’t just bring you the most up to date market insights. Find out more about Mecardo’s services including risk management advisory, modelling, benchmarking, research & consultancy.