Southern Aurora Markets partner Mike Avery.

FORWARD wool markets remain frustratingly illiquid despite the better wool auction market last week, with a solid opening on Tuesday and most microns gaining ground on Wednesday.

This action injected some confidence on the forward markets with bidding returning to the nearby months at a slight discount to spot.

The market remains in a tight trading range with just in time buying dominating the market direction.

Fine wools 17-19 micron remain towards the bottom of their season range. The broader Merinos, crossbreds and cardings are all sitting around their seasonal averages.

Forward trade bidding dominates along the strip in the nearby and as far out as June 2026. Volumes are light, but more importantly are non-existent in the 2024/25 season when growers particularly are looking for guidance.

With processors predominantly buying hand to mouth the need to hedge their longer positions is not there. There will need to be a change in confidence and demand to deliver growers correct signals for the new season.

Source – Southern Aurora Markets.