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Rocky road for wool

The consolidation at the end of last week turned into a retracement of prices this week. AWEX reported this week that the Australian wool market was unable to maintain the strong gains of last week, posting falls across all categories.

The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) fell 36ȼ or 2.7% for the week to close at 1,333ȼ. The Australian dollar was again stronger with the US/Au rate quoted at US$0.752, which contributed to the EMI in US dollar terms also moving down by 22ȼ or 2.2% to settle at 1003ȼ. 

Selling last, Fremantle initially lost ground on Tuesday, before positive sentiment emerged towards the end of the week. For the week, the Western Market Indicator (WMI) fell 33ȼ cents to 1368ȼ. Fremantle sold 5,763 of the 8,169 bales offered with 29.5% of offered bales passed in.

An increased national offering came forward this week with 42,117 bales offered, more than 7,000 more than last week. The national pass-in rate of 21.0% was a big lift on last week, however there were 33,259 bales sold, just 870 more than last week. The average clearance of bales per week for the season to date is 32,445, still tracking below last season’s average clearance of 34,186 bales.

The crossbred indicators were all weaker, the 26 MPG gave up 33ȼ for the week. 28 & 30 MPG were down a more modest 20ȼ & 12ȼ respectively.

Cardings were not spared in the tough market, Fremantle eased 47ȼ, while in Melbourne the indicator fell 31ȼ and 40ȼ in Sydney.

This week on Mecardo (view article here), Andrew Woods took a look at the moves in micron for the Australian clip. The swing in fibre diameter which underpinned a resurgence in micron premiums and discounts since mid-2020 has run its course. The average merino fibre diameter is running at levels slightly finer than a year ago. This implies that micron premiums and discounts, which are still at elevated levels, will narrow in the coming year.

The week ahead….

Next week a smaller offering is listed for sale in Fremantle, Melbourne & Sydney. All centres are selling on Wednesday & Thursday, with 40,276 bales currently rostered.

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Data sources: AWEX, AWI, Mecardo

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