The Australian wool market is limping toward the end of the 2022/23 season, recording another overall loss and the seventh straight week without an increase.
Fremantle did not hold a sale again this series, pushing the national quantity down to just 28,484 bales. This was the smallest sale since September.
In a similar patter to the previous series, buyer sentiment was weak from the outset, which translated into price reductions across all merino fleece types. On the first day the market opened lower and then progressively deteriorated. By day’s end, the Individual Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for merino fleece had dropped by between 4 and 86 cents. The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) fell by 25 cents, only a generally unchanged crossbred market and limited movements in the skirtings and oddments preventing a larger fall.
The losses continued into the second day but at a more subdued rate than on the first, with some micron pockets recording no change or small increases. The movements in the merino fleece MPGs ranged between plus 10 and minus 55 cents for the day. The skirtings tracked a similar path to the fleece, while the oddments and crossbreds recorded little change.
The net result was a 10 cent drop in the EMI. The EMI finished the week 35 cents lower. The losses to EMI this series have pushed it down to 1,139 cents. The EMI is now at its lowest point since the beginning of December 2020, when the EMI was at 1,133 cents.
Currency played virtually no part in this week’s falls. The EMI lost 3.0% when viewed in both Australian and US currencies.
Fremantle returns next week for the final sale of the 2022/23 season, pushing the quantity higher.
Currently, there is expected to be 49,496 bales on offer, if this quantity eventuates, this will be the largest offering since April.