 Merino Fleece opened immediately cheaper, with the large Australian trading exporters sitting back waiting for a price basis to be established by the commission indents buyers and large Chinese processors to set the tone.
Ironically, the large Chinese processors were waiting for them to set the tone, so hence the magnitude of the price falls across the merino MPG’s blew out. Once the price basis was determined the past hour of fleece in the northern region seemed to pick up a little. Unfortunately, this sentiment did not carry over to Wednesday’s sale, where the merino MPG’s fell up to 30c over the day. Week S08: 23/08/2023 The AWEX EMI closed on 1127c down 36c at auction sales in Australia this week. With Fremantle sitting out of this week’s auction offering, the national sales reduced to 38,774 bales with 84.7% of the offering being cleared to the trade. The early market intelligence mood was signalled to the trade as a further continuation of the previous week’s negative market trajectory, with our largest customer China suffering severe economic pressures. Currency exchange had some influence towards the end of the week as the AUD climbed over 1c to temporarily hit .649 US c before falling back down to the low .64c mark. After three selling weeks of poor market conditions, exporters remain extremely cautious in purchasing, this is evident with the reduced competition on lots that are off style or containing poor specifications or high VMC to avoid any claims down the track. The EMI is now at the lowest level since June. |
| Merino Skirtings followed the trend down with the FNF and best prepared skirtings remaining the least effected. Heavy VM was supported however heavy jowls, cotted and coloured skirts took a heavier price hit.
Crossbred combing wools of best quality and preparation continued to buck the general trend posting slight increases between 5-15c from 28-32 MPG’s. Merino Cardings closed slightly cheaper this week however there were pockets of support in the better style fine locks. This was offset by a complete lack of competition on merino crutchings in the 22-24 micron range. Carding lots containing hard heads (e.g. bathurst burr) continued to attract large discounts. This week’s national offering climbs back up to 48,601 bales as Fremantle rejoins the selling roster. The early market intelligence is that there has been evidence of some support at the current price levels, meaning business has been forthcoming in the latter part of this week. This should cover the 19.5 μ and coarser merino combing types. Fingers crossed. ~Marty Moses |