Physical wool auctions returned last week after the Christmas recess and kicked-off strong.
The Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) was up 2 cents a kilogram on Tuesday, and rose another 13c/kg on Wednesday to close the week at 1172c/kg. This was 910c/kg in US Dollar terms.
Prior to the auction break, it was unclear whether market demand would be able to sustain the expected increased volume of supply post-recess.
But last week's results suggest it has maintained the strength that was experienced at the end of 2020.
Prices at all auction selling centres closed the week up, with Melbourne experiencing the biggest increase of 16c/kg to finish at 1134c/kg.
The AuctionsPlus online offer board strengthened last week and 1188 bales were sold for the period.
There were 136 bales of 16-micron wool that sold online up to 1580c/kg (greasy), or 2168c/kg (clean), and 15-micron wool sold to a top of 1880c/kg (greasy), or 2716c/kg (clean).
The top price online last week was shared by two lots offered by Nutrien, in New South Wales, and branded Cressbrook.
One was a line of 14.6-micron Merino Fleece XXXULTRA wool that sold for 2200c/kg (greasy), or 3010c/kg (clean). It had a vegetable matter of 1.7 per cent and staple length of 90 millimetres.
The second lot was 14.8-micron Merino Fleece ULTRAXXXX wool, which sold for 2200c/kg (greasy), or 3022c/kg (clean). It had a vegetable matter of 1.7 per cent and staple length of 99mm.
Looking ahead, 49,256 bales are expected to be offered nationally this week, with demand remaining for a variety of wool types in the first physical selling week of the year.
This is expected to be maintained, regardless of the current global situation for January.
