Wool market catches up on losses

Week nine closed at 2090c/kg, on an offering of 35,988 bales, up 6297 bales on the week before.

And the passed-in rate reflected the EMI rise, with only 2.7 per cent of bales passed-in, a rate down by eight pc on last week.

The Southern Market Indicator (SMI) recorded the lowest of the three indicators, at 2055c/kg, but this was still an 18c/kg rise on the previous week.

The biggest SMI rises were seen on the fine end of the scale, with 18.5 micron rising by 61c/kg, and 18 micron lifting by 50c/kg.

Mecardo managing director Robert Herrmann said the stability of the market at high levels proves a bit of resilience has been set in, with buyers getting used to purchasing at these prices.

But Mr Herrmann said it looks like there’s not a lot of wool coming forward.

“We’ve seen a big number of sheep slaughtered because of the drought, and there’s also anecdotal evidence that people are shearing more regularly, so there’s really a combination of things putting downward pressure on supply,” he said.

He said the only impact of the fire that delayed Melbourne’s Thursday sale to Friday was that things were made “slightly more awkward for exporters”.

“Because there’s not much wool in the pipeline, deliveries are all immediate now, so that would have caused a delay there, but that would have been the main impact,” he said.

There was a designated Australian superfine sale in Sydney that performed well.

“The quality of the superfine wool was extraordinary given the drought, and given the European dollar fell quite dramatically, Italians were able to bid strongly on the wool,” he said.