Merino Fleece saw increased competition from a wider range of buyers on opening. The best performers were the 16.5μ which increased by 77c and the 17μ MPG, closing up 98c. 17.5 and 18.0 MPG’s added 55c and 54c respectively whilst the 19μ-21μ MPG’s added 30-40c.
Noticeable premiums were measured in best style, classed and specified lots and as in previous sales the Non Mulesed lots in Certified Sustainability programs sold at substantial premiums to the average market quotes.
NM declared wool represented ~ 17.7 % of the offering last week. The large Australian based exporters dominated the fleece purchasing for China, India and Italy whilst well supported by the Chinese indent operators.
| The AWEX EMI closed on 1449c up 42c at auction sales in Australia last week. The increase in the EMI signalled the 5th consecutive weekly rise which has an accrued 91c increase in the EMI.
The week’s rise in the EMI was the largest weekly rise since October 2021 and subsequently 93.1% of the 40,491 bale offering was cleared to a wide range of buyers, predominantly for orders destined for China, Europe and India. The selling schedule was pushed back to a Wednesday/Thursday series to accommodate the Chinese New Year celebrations on Tuesday. The big question is – are we ready for the year of the “Black Water Tiger?” Merino Skirtings followed the fleece trend opening dearer and continued dearer throughout the week. Widespread competition was received on the majority of skirting lots reflecting the demand on combing merino wool. Crossbreds also experienced the positive price trend, adding 12-28c across the Crossbred MPG range, interestingly we received inquiry for 36μ fleece this week. Cardings were also keenly sought by local and OS exporters, adding 20-30c each day. The Northern MC is now 10% (110c) greater than it was at this time last year. Crossbred oddments performance remains divided into two categories, finer than 26.5μ and coarser than 26.5μ. The finer XB oddments are being pulled up with the MC indicator whilst the coarser lots remain in a narrow low level price channel. This week 48,274 bales are rostered across all centres. With a fortnight of altered sale days, the roster returns to the normal Tuesday/Wednesday selling. The markets positive performance, coupled with slightly improved warehouse receivals has pushed the weekly offerings up around 15%, which I expect will be met with mild caution from China, however the current market Intel indicates that despite the increased offering, it will be adequately offset by demand and therefore the majority of the MPG’s will be maintained this week. -Marty Moses, Moses and Son |