WOOL buyers needed even deeper pockets to fill their orders at last week’s auctions in both Sydney and Melbourne.
The Eastern Market Indicator surged another eight cents a kilogram higher to hit the record price of 1820c/kg.
All categories of wool, apart from the crossbred types, were considerably dearer than past weeks.
Some of the medium-micron wool in Sydney were nearly 50c/kg more, while the finer types climbed about 20c/kg to 25c/kg.
The Northern Market Indicator for the Sydney sales was 9c/kg higher at 1902c/kg, while the Southern Market Indicator in Melbourne climbed another 8c/kg to hit 1769c/kg.
However, the dearer prices in Australian dollars were not as severe for buyers juggling currency conversions such as US dollars into the budget.
In US dollars the EMI was a surprising 17c/kg cheaper than the week before and settled on US1419c/kg.
Australian Wool Exchange market information manager Lionel Plunkett said in US dollar terms this trend was the reverse of what was seen in the previous sales.
Mr Plunkett said as the year progresses, so too does the amount of vegetable matter present in wools across the country.
“In particular in the eastern states, where FNF wools (less than one per cent vegetable matter) currently make up just over half of the fleece offering,” he said.
“The continual decline of these wools, is increasing the premium that buyers are prepared to pay, resulting in larger price rises in these types, when compared to similar wools carrying more fault.”
