After two successive weeks of losses and three without an overall increase, the Australian wool market has recorded an overall rise in this series.
All three centres opened on Wednesday, to accommodate the Anzac Day Public Holiday on Tuesday. The national offering reduced after last week’s sizeable sale and there were 38,505 bales available to the trade, 14,446 fewer bales than the previous sale.
With vegetable matter (vm) levels rising as the calendar year progresses, wool carrying less than 1.0 per cent (pc) vm became hot property, as these types become less available. Strong buyer interest in these free or nearly free (FNF) types were the driving force in the increases across the Individual Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for merino fleece, whose movements in Sydney and Melbourne ranged between unchanged and +55 cents.
The crossbred and skirting markets in the east recorded very little change for the week, while the oddments eased slightly. The net result was a 13 cent increase in the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI), which closed 1,302 cents.
For the second week in a row the Western region had a robust performance. In Fremantle the Merino fleece MPGs added between 22 and 60 cents, these gains helped to push the Western Indicator up by 30 cents, again only mediocre results in the skirtings and oddment markets preventing a larger increase.
Although often remarked on, currency must again be mentioned, as it has again played an influential role in this series. As the Australian dollar fell by nearly a full cent compared to the US dollar, when viewed in US terms, the EMI fell. The EMI lost 3 US cents, closing the week at 860 US cents.
Next week’s offering is forecast to rise and although three selling days are available, only two are needed. There are currently 44,257 bales on offer.