THE forward wool markets finished the financial year with a whimper, as record levels paid last week did little to attract interest from growers.

Only 15 tonnes was traded in the new season, albeit at historically good prices. In the 21 micron index, August traded at 1490 cents and September traded at 1430 cents.

Exporters were hesitant to get aggressive further out as demand in the spring is being constricted by the current price spot price. Bidding remained over 1400 cents through to the end of October, even as the spot auction fell 30 to 50 cents to the close. This drew scant interest from growers.

We expect exporter interest to be maintained around the 1450 to 1470-cent level in August. This is about 5 percent under cash (1545 cents). This shows a degree of confidence that the fall in prices this week at auction (around 2.5pc) will steady and hopefully bring demand.

Concern for the spring, centres around the demand being sufficient to maintain prices at historical highs when faced with the seasonally increased supply.

Morning update

Traded September 2018 at 1350 cents 21 micron.

Indicative forward levels today 21 micron

July            1500 cents

August      1460 cents

Sept           1430 cents

Oct            1410 cents

Nov           1400 cents

Dec            1380 cents

Jan/Mar    1370 cents

Apr/June   1360 cents

July/Sept   1350 cents

Anticipated levels next week

July                19 micron  1800 to 1840 cents

21 micron  1480 to 1520 cents

August           19 micron  1750 to 1800 cents

21 micron  1430 to 1470 cents

September    19 micron  1710 to 1750 cents

21 micron  1410 to 1430 cents

October         19 micron  1680 to 1710 cents

21 micron  1400 to 1410 cents

Trade summary

August         21 micron    1490 cents   10 tonnes

September  21 micron    1430 cents     5 tonnes

Total 15 tons

Source: Southern Aurora Wool.