THE wool market kicked off with much gusto after the three-week winter recess recording rises of as much as 50 cents a kilogram for some micron categories.
The Eastern Market Indicator surged 28c/kg on the pre-recess average to hit 1550c/kg.
Australian Wool Exchange market information manager Lionel Plunkett said historically the first sales after the winter recess were normally larger ones and this year 52,359 bales were offered to the trade.
He said buyer sentiment was very positive from the outset as they fought to obtain wool to cover orders sold over the break.
The Northern Indicator hit 1614c/kg which was up another 26c/kg on the last sale.
The rises were right across the board and included a healthy lift of 56c/kg for 16.5-micron wool which averaged 2273c/kg.
The lines of 18-micron, all the medium-microns (19.5 to 22 micron) and even some of the cross bred wool recorded rises of more than 40c/kg.
Elders regional wool manager Bruce McLeish said the market will now nervously await the return of other buyers, or other end users to compliment the current driver.
He said the mainstay of the industry in historical terms, worsted fabric production was lagging behind at present, but given the time of year we are in, this was not particularly unusual.
“The products that created the current high prices, new active and casual wear fabrics are still selling well across the globe,” he said.
“Once the music stops for the fake-fur production cycle people will be hoping there are enough chairs to go around for the other products.
“The next month or so will be very interesting for the wool market with the doom and gloom merchants looking for the bubble to burst, and the optimists looking for the uptrend to continue.”
