The Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) said its eastern market indicator (EMI) dropped 1 cent to 728 cents a kg clean at sales on Thursday. AWEX said its northern indicator at sales in Sydney fell 2 cents to 741c/kg, and the southern indicator at sales in Melbourne rose 1 cent to 717c/kg.
In Sydney fine merino fleece of 18 microns and finer closed 20 cents cheaper, while crossbreds of 30.5 microns to 31 microns finished the day dearer by 5 cents.
Sales in Melbourne closed on a steady note with little movement recorded across fleeces. Fleece of 19-18.5 microns eased slightly while 18 microns dropped 5 cents. Odd lots of merino skirtings closed cheaper by up to 5 cents. Locks made up to 5 cent gains.
Of the 18,350 bales offered, 10.6 percent were passed in. Sales will resume in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Australian Wool Market finished the week 0.3 percent higher, on average, at sales in Sydney and Melbourne, while Fremantle was in recess.
The AWEX EMI increased by 1c (+0.1 percent), ending the week at 728c/kg clean. This reflected a decrease of 1c (-0.1 percent) in the North and an increase of 4c (+0.6 percent) in the South, with their corresponding Regional Indicators finishing the week at 741c and 717c clean respectively. The Western Indicator remained unchanged at 697c/kg clean, as there was no Fremantle sale.
The EMI is now 95c (15.0 percent) above the closing value at sales prior to Christmas, but 26c below the season peak of 754c achieved in the second sale in March.
In a small offering, 38,330 bales were on offer (compared with 65,374 last week), of which 12.5 percent of the bales offered were passed in, comprised of 15.1 percent in Sydney and 10.3 percent in Melbourne. Pass-in rates for Merino fleece and skirtings were 13.8 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. 1,419 bales (3.6 percent) were withdrawn prior to sale and re-offered wools were present in significant numbers, making up 20.5 percent of this week's offering.
When looked at in other currencies, the AWEX EMI decreased by 2c in US terms also by 2c in Euro terms when compared with the previous sale.
The downward movement in the US exchange rate on Tuesday and Wednesday reflected the zero change in Australian interest rates by the RBA on Tuesday and an expectation of a further rise in US interest rates. The upward movement in the exchange rate on Thursday was associated with an increased expectation of a rise in Australian interest rates following yesterday's announcement of 30 year low unemployment figures and possible increases in consumer spending when the income tax cuts come into place on 1 July.
In a two day sale in the North and South this week, the AWEX EMI increased by 2c on Wednesday, and decreased by 1c on Thursday. The market opened with zero, or small upward changes in the North and general increases across all Merino micron ranges in the South, where the 21 and 23 Micron Indicators increased by 11c and 10c, respectively. Yesterday saw a slight easing in Merino fleece types in the North, whereas they remained firm in the South, except for a small downward movement in the 18 and 19 micron range. Skirting types moved upwards in the North, while generally holding in the South. Crossbreds picked up in the South and oddments started strongly on Wednesday, but eased in the North yesterday.
Buyers for China were dominant with support from the topmakers.
Sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 55,536 bales are currently rostered for sale.
The changes to the AWEX Market Indicator calculations for 2006/07 were released this week and are available on the AWEX web site.
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