Consistency was key as the week began, with continued momentum as high-quality wool was sought after but as the week progressed, we saw an eventual easing in the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI). Meanwhile, the Western market joined the party with a stronger showing this week adding to the strong calendar year of its eastern counterparts.
Overall the EMI increased 8ȼ week on week to 1341ȼ/kg, and with the Aussie dollar holding steady at US$0.69, the EMI when expressed in US$ was elevated slightly to 926ȼ/kg (US).
Improvement across all categories in the west saw the Western Market Indicator bounce back 20ȼ to finish the week at 1487ȼ/kg.
Crossbreds supply accounted for 27% of the catalogue, and improvement was evident again with the 28 MPG in Melbourne up 9 ȼ to 604 ȼ /kg.
Cardings were up 9ȼ in Sydney with a slight increase of 2ȼ in Fremantle and Melbourne down 1ȼ.
Steady momentum in the first two days of sales in all three centres was followed by a softer finish on Melbourne’s third day of rostered sales.
Markets saw a more subdued offering this week of 47,343 bales compared with the previous week. Whilst the withdrawn figures were down slightly to 5.0%; the pass-in rate steadily decreased to 5.7% of the week’s offering.
44,633 bales were sold, down 181 bales from the previous week. Despite this decline, clearance figures are still consistently above the average weekly sales of 34 000.
This week on Mecardo, Andrew Woods investigates the increased supply of long-staple merino wool amongst the broader merino categories. Increased supply of long-staple merino wool in the market due to seasonal conditions, delayed shearing, and processor preferences are coinciding with a 10-year maximum on discounts in the over-length AWEX eastern 21 MPG.
The week ahead….
In light of the Thursday public holiday, all three centres are only trading Tuesday and Wednesday. There are 46,535 bales currently rostered for sale.
Click on graph to expand
Click on graph to expand
Click on graph to expand
Data sources: AWEX, Mecardo
