The Australian wool market has finished the 2022/23 season weakly, recording overall losses for the last two months, eight consecutive selling series.
The total amount offered this season finished marginally higher than the last. There were 1,876,638 bales put through the auction system, 14,716 bales more than the previous season, an increase of 0.8%.
Most of this week’s losses were recorded on the first day.
In the East the Individual Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for merino fleece 20.0 micron and finer fell by between 8 and 51 cents. In the West, where the losses of the previous series were still to be realised, the falls were larger. The Fremantle fleece MPGs dropped by between 45 and 86 cents. The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) lost 11 cents for the day.
The second selling day the market steadied, with smaller price movements recorded.
In the East the MPG merino fleece movements ranged between plus 3 and minus 14 cents. The EMI dropped another 2 cents. Worth noting, Fremantle selling last finished strongly. The Western merino fleece MPGs added between 5 and 19 cents.
The EMI closed the season at 1,126 cents. The EMI has fallen by 304 cents for the season, a drop of 21.3%. In US dollar terms the EMI closed at 748 US cents, a seasonal fall of 239 US cents, a 24.2% reduction.
The total dollar amount of wool sold in the 2022/23 season was 2,417 million dollars, this was 173 million less than the 2021/22 season.
Next week marks the start of the 2023/24 season. It is the first opportunity for those wishing to sell in the new financial year, making it traditionally one of the larger sales of the year.
This year’s poor market conditions have discouraged many from the market, pushing the quantity lower than normal.
Currently, there is expected to be 42,878 bales on offer.