Wool Market hits a large speed hump
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- Ag Tech News
- Oct 26, 2018
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By Mark Dyson - Quality Wool
A week of reduced overseas demand coupled with an ongoing wool offering of drought-affected wools has resulted in market values taking a sharp downturn this week.
Despite the Australian dollar dipping below 71 US cents, the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) reduced by 96c/kg clean to finish the week out at 1874c/kg.
The decline in market values were felt from the outset of selling, and as with recent weeks it was the finer 15 – 18 micron wool categories that were hardest hit as a greater percentage of poor measuring types filled broker catalogues.
Most Merino fine wools traded 120 – 155c/kg clean cheaper compared to last week’s quotes, with the medium-to-broad Merino categories falling up to 85c/kg clean.
Pieces and bellies retreated in value up to 100c/kg clean, with lower fault types less affected, as skirting passed in rates hit 30 per cent.
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The crossbred wool categories fared somewhat better, but did not escape unscathed with most micron categories reducing by 10 – 70c/kg clean.
The carding sector continued its downward spiral with locks, crutchings and stains down by 140 – 160c/kg clean, resulting in the Merino Carding Indicator retreating a further 148c/kg clean to finish at 1156c/kg for the week.
This equates to a reduction of 331c/kg clean on the MC Indicator over the past four weeks.
Buyer support was found for FNF washing lambs below 0.3 per cent vegetable matter, with the higher VM categories trending cheaper.
Later selling in Fremantle today resulted in a higher percentage of wools being withdrawn prior to sale, resulting in some firming of the market in the west by day’s end after yesterday’s losses.
Next week’s national wool offering increases to 40,351 bales, with Melbourne playing host to an expected 22,145 bales.
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