Merino Cardings Indicator Fall by 32¢

The Australian wool market finished 1.4% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle this week. The AWEX EMI fell by 19¢ (-2.0%), ending the week at 938¢/kg. This reflected decreases of 28¢ (-2.8%) in the North and 11¢ (-1.2%) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 981¢ and 903¢ clean, respectively. The Western Indicator fell by 2¢ (-0.2%), finishing the week at 936¢. Sydney and Melbourne, the AWEX EMI fell by 6¢ on Wednesday and by 13¢ on Thursday.

The Western Indicator rose by 3¢ on Wednesday and fell by 5¢ on Thursday in a two day sale in Fremantle. 52,435 bales were on offer, compared with 53,550 bales last week, of which 20.7% were passed in, comprised of 16.7% in Sydney, 16.4% in Melbourne and 30.8% in Fremantle. The US exchange rate (source RBA) was 0.83¢ lower on Monday when compared with Thursday of last week. It was up by 0.66¢ on Tuesday, down by 0.22¢ on Wednesday and up by 1.07¢ on Thursday to close at 93.79¢, up 0.68¢ (+0.7%) since the last sale. The exchange rate against the Euro rose by 0.14 Euro cents (+0.2%) to close at 58.87 Euro cents on Thursday night. When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI decreased by 11¢ (1.2%) in US terms and by 10¢ (-1.8%) in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale. It was a generally easier market this week that was also influenced by the appreciation in the US exchange rate. Buyers for China were dominant with a strong presence of buying for Europe. Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.

Source: Australian Wool Innovation Limited