Demand continued strongly at this weeks’ Australian wool auctions and as a result, price gains on all wool types and descriptions occurred. Melbourne and Sydney were the only centres to sell as Fremantle is on their annual mid-year schedule of fortnightly sales. Still, over 33,000 bales were offered and a notable clearance of 94.9% was sold to the trade. 

The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) lifted by 1.4% or 20ac for the week to be  1468ac clean/kg at the close of selling. This is the highest week ending closing price since the 2nd week in March 2020.  AUD wool prices were again assisted by the weakening AUD:USD forex rate (-1.1%) . The mid-week figure was a touch higher though at 1472ac. In USD terms the EMI added 3usc to 1108usc clean/kg which is a level last seen in January 2020, which was prior to the influences of the pandemic.

In the absence of a physical Western Australian auction this week, WoolQ Market was used as the platform for one WA broker to hold an online auction in which 817 bales were offered with a 75% clearance. There was good activity and competition from exporters with price levels comparable to the Eastern sales achieved. The sale was held Thursday.

The stand out wool type in demand this week was super fine and ultra fine wools finer than 17micron, albeit in very limited offerings. Most of these wools received 70ac or more than the previous week, but prices were regularly well over 100ac dearer for individual lots. The finer the sale lot, generally the larger the price advance was. Significantly, a very large percentage of these wools were produced in past seasons. 

Merino combing wools, both fleece and skirtings from 17.5 to 22.0 micron had variable rises, but a general 10 to 30ac was added to the established values, with 18.5micron well sought. Cardings operated fully firm to marginally dearer and crossbred wools slowly recovering and added 15 to 25ac.

Shipping issues continue to plague exporters. Completed contracts struggle to set sail, placing pressure on resources, both human and financial. This is even more relevant as relatively large offerings for this time of the season continue to be offered as grower sellers look to liquidate stocks and their freshly shorn product. With three weeks of selling left, exporters (and their bank accounts) are looking forward to the annual recess to relieve those pressures.

Local traders,  top makers and manufacturers topped buyers lists and this widespread interest seemingly attracted stability. The weakening AUD assisted overseas users in dealing with a similar wool price in their currency.

All three centres are in action for the end of financial year sale next week and over 44,000 bales have been rostered for auction.