Market Intelligence
Weekly Wool Market Commentary
Moses & Son is committed to providing our valued customers the most current information and data to empower your decision-making process. Discover our latest Australian wool market weekly update below, along with archived reports for your perusal and analysis.
2024-S29
Wool sales resumed this week in Australia after a three-week Christmas recess. The AWEX EMI closed the week at 1190 cents, up 36 cents from auction sales. The key drivers during the recess were the depreciating AUD against the USD, which fell from the December 18th closing of 63.28 to a low of 61.30 cents this week and above expected sales made exporters in the recess. This combination catalysed business activity over the recess, increasing demand from exporters to replenish their inventory sold during the break. A total of 44,434 bales were offered this week, with 95.7% cleared to the trade due to feverish competition, particularly noticeable during the opening market. The EMI added 34 cents on the opening day and maintained stability on Wednesday, with an additional 2 cents by market close.
Merino Fleece
Prices increased between 30 and 55 cents per Merino MPG, with the strongest competition observed in the 17.5-19.5-micron range. The competition was dominated by the three largest Chinese top makers and Australia’s largest domestic trading companies, reportedly covering new sales made in recent weeks. Clearance rates for Merino Fleece remained impressive at 97% for the week.
Merino Skirtings
Merino skirtings followed suit, rising by 20-50 cents initially, with the best bulk and specified skirtings with low VM in high demand. Average skirtings held steady on Wednesday, while the best bulk and specified lots added another 10 cents.
Merino Cardings
Merino Cardings varied across different centres, with Sydney adding 5 cents, Melbourne 29 cents, and Fremantle 25 cents.
Crossbred Fleece
Crossbred fleece saw an increase of 10-35 cents on Tuesday, supported by favourable currency exchange rates. Wednesday's market was steadier, with Sydney adding another 10-15 cents, although Melbourne struggled to maintain Tuesday's price levels due to a larger offering of Crossbreds.
Crossbred Oddments
XB oddments maintained the pre-Xmas historically low price levels.
Crossbreds
Next Week
Graphs
Market Commentary
Despite this week's positive market performance addressing short-term supply issues, there is no indication of increased consumer spending driving demand for woollen garments. While I celebrate this week's upward swing, I anticipate an increasingly volatile wool market leading up to Easter.
Next week's offering is expected to increase to 48,930 bales, driven by the strong market performance attracting additional wool. Unfortunately, two factors may counteract this week’s upward price trend: firstly, the higher offering next week may lessen exporter and processor urgency to maintain buyer pressure, and secondly, the USD rose from 61.88 cents to 62.44 cents on Thursday. Fingers crossed I have read the tea leaves complete wrong. ~Marty Moses.