MANY wool producers across the eastern States gave a sigh of relief as the wool market resumed auctions on a higher price trend after the mid-year recess.
One wool agent described the results as “refreshing” after so many weeks of softer prices in the lead up to the auction break.
When all the results were in, the Eastern Market Indicator had managed to climb to 1031 cents a kilogram by Thursday afternoon.
That’s about 5c/kg higher than the close before the recess.
The big movers were the superfine wools which so far this year have been knocked about by the market.
Elders wool sales manager Bruce McLeish said renewed inquiry from the Italian sector in particular meant there was some very spirited competition in the sale rooms.
“Many (Italian) mills remain concerned about being able to gather enough quantity of their product this season,” Mr McLeish said.
“Quality is generally not negotiable, as the standard specification for yarn and fabric that have been sold dictate the greasy wool required to achieve that particular product.
“So, given the seasonal conditions in recent months and the smaller volumes expected to be available, the disparity in prices based on staple strength and other characteristics will remain wide.
As a result, he predicted the difference between superfine prices and medium Merino wool should continue to widen after being very close in recent months.”
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Some superfine wools were as much as 50c/kg dearer last week and as a result the 16.5-micron indicator at the Sydney sale closed at 1309c/kg.
There’s also a good outlook for medium-micron wool as stocks for greasy wool, top and yarn around the world are not high.
Mr McLeish said processing mills would need to restock following the recess and the busy season from a processing point of view would be in the fourth quarter of the calendar year.
“Given low stocks, mills need to pre-empt their expected requirements to ensure they can deliver on time so the demand should be broad based across the micron and length spectrum,” he said.
The gains in the medium microns were not as strong as the fine wool, but the 19.5-micron wools did manage to jump about 13c/kg to 1150c/kg on Thursday.