Week S49: 04/06/2025: The AWEX EMI closed on 1199c down 5c at auction sales in Australia this week. The main currency exchange pairing saw the AUD strengthen against the USD which tested .65 USc which resulted in a 1c fall in the EMI in US terms. This week’s national offering was the smallest since September 2020 with just 22,806 bales as Fremantle did not offer in this week series. Despite the small selection the clearance was 90.1% was achieved. As we are seeing in most weeks, each selling day can conflict the previous one and reflects the difficult trading conditions, especially in the Merino Fleece market. Low volumes were not the only challenge as the seasons transition into the winter months. The variation in the specifications and quality of the selection has widened creating more difficulty for the exporters to batch any meaningful quantity of the main Merino combing wool types, hence some Trading exporters are proceeding tentatively until the quality and quantity improve. Despite this difficulty Australia’s largest trading company topped the buyers list in the Merino Fleece, Skirtings and Crossbred sections, and were in the top 4 buyers in the oddment sector. The traders and Indent buyers seemed to trade aggressively on some wool types however at these levels grower’s sellers are selling reluctantly but generally meeting the market.