Wool market gains stability after trade talks

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Retail sale reports from China are showing a very slight increase in sales, and many are hoping for positive sales figures out of Europe off the back of Brexit trade agreements.

Last week saw the wool market regain a level of normality, contrasting previous weeks dramatic rises and falls.

More successful trade talks between China and the USA may have helped usher in this stability, which will help keep demand for Australian wool strong.

A lack of supply due to adverse seasonal conditions was the main driver of price fluctuations for the week.

Initially, the AWEX EMI dropped on Wednesday, then rose back up on Thursday to finish the week at 1517c, down 26c on last week. In terms of USD, this equated to 1029c. 35,356 bales were offered, with a passed-in rate of 14.6%.

AuctionsPlus wool had 20 different grower brands find buyers, with a total of 177 bales selling. Online 16µ and 17µ micron fleece wool sold to a top of 1430c and 1156c greasy or 2020c and 1744c dry. 18µ and 19µ micron fleece wool sold to 1185c and 1230c greasy or 1700c and 1725c dry. 20µ and 22µ micron fleece wool sold to a top of 1205c and 1145c greasy or 1662c and 1679c dry.

One line of XB skirtings 24µ micron sold last week, for 365c greasy or 773c dry. The top-priced lot sold online this week was a line of 14µ micron XXX superfine Merino fleece wool, which had 0.7% vm, and was 68mm in length.

This lot was branded SGW/BUNDAMAR, offered by Arcadian Wool and sold for 1486c greasy or 2248c dry. With 33,000 bales being offered next week, and only one sale day for Sydney, supply should continue to be lower than forecasted.

Retail sale reports from China are showing a very slight increase in sales, and many are hoping for positive sales figures out of Europe off the back of Brexit trade agreements. Coupled with ‘warmer’ trade talks between the US and China, some are predicting positivity for the coming week.

However, the recent volatility of the EMI will no doubt mean buyers and sellers will continue to tread carefully until a clear trend is identified.