ONLINE wool sales increased strongly last week as renewed demand from China also lifted physical auction prices.

The AuctionsPlus offer board sold 1095 bales for the week, including 82 bales of 17 micron wool sold for up to 1490c/kg greasy or 1974c/kg clean.

Merino fleece wool in the 20 micron category also sold strongly, with 283 bales selling to a top of 1050c/kg greasy or 1408c/kg clean.

The top-priced line sold on AuctionsPlus last week was a 13.5 micron lot that made 1900c/kg greasy or 2513c/kg clean. This lot was branded “B In A Horseshoe” and had an average staple length of 58mm and 0.4 percent vegetable matter content. It was offered by Australian Wool Network.

AuctionsPlus said the physical auction offering was boosted by 1673 bales from New Zealand increasing the total offering in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle to 46,049 bales. The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator climbed 17 cents on Tuesday, 23 cents on Wednesday and a further 3 cents on Thursday to close at 1318c/kg clean, or US1022c/kg.

The pass in rate fell slightly to 10.2pc, matching the reduced offering and market demand. AuctionsPlus said the Chinese appetite was emphasised further this week with the firming buyer confidence and has led to an increased offering next week, of an estimated 48,877 bales.

Source – AuctionsPlus.