The Eastern Market Indicator dropped 10¢ over the week to 1,129¢/kg, settling once again at the levels of four weeks ago. The market faced a similar fate in the West, with the Western Market Indicator losing 11¢ to end at 1255¢/kg. The AUD depreciated 0.54 US¢ to 63.31 US¢ but staged a bounce to 64¢ on Thursday after the wool sales were complete for the week.
Wool with favourable additional measurement results received very strong buyer interest and held their ground according to AWEX. However, anything outside this bucket was discounted this week which overall dragged the MPG’s lower for almost all microns in all markets.
Fine Merino and crossbred wools showed the most resilience this week.18.5 MPG and finer in Melbourne dropped 5-12¢, 17.5MPG was the exception, posting a 7¢ lift this week. Medium fibres in the south lost 12-26¢ this week while 19.5MPG in Sydney came under more pressure and dropped 32¢.
Crossbred prices remain at their new, higher levels which is encouraging selling. There was no change to crossbred prices in Sydney while in Melbourne they lost 2-5¢ on the week.
This week’s offering of 44,378 bales was 5,354 bales more than the week prior. A slightly higher pass-in rate this week of 9.4% meant that 40202 bales were sold to the trade which is the highest volume since August. The fact that clearance rates remain high and wool on hold is steady tells us that cash flow is the priority in most livestock enterprises at the moment. Much weaker livestock values might have something to do with it.
Looking further out to the 2024/25 season, current levels of sheep offtake that the Australian flock is set to contract this season. This means lower sheep numbers in 2024-25 for slaughter and a lower wool supply, although exactly how this affects wool supply will depend on changes to the different sheep categories of the flock.
Wool supply heading higher
Next week
Southerner’s will have their holiday for the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday next week which means sales are set for Wednesday and Thursday. Another large offering of over 45,000 bales is on the roster.
Have any questions or comments?
Click on graph to expand
Click on graph to expand
Click on graph to expand
Data sources: AWEX, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Mecardo
Categories
Have any questions or comments?
Dip in dollar drives demand
The bounce back in the wool market this week was largely driven by improvement in the 18-19 micron range of price indicators as buyers continue
Update on RWS premiums
Premiums for quality scheme-accredited wool continue in the greasy wool market. This article takes a look at RWS premiums during the past three months. Calculating
No warmth for this weeks wool market
Unfortunately, the second week of the new selling season resulted in a continuation of the opening weeks’ sentiment. The market struggled with the twin issues
How is cotton going
The Australian cotton crop has a value in the order of three billion dollars and is the larger sibling to the older Australian textile of
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
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.
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.
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.