Southern Aurora Markets partner Mike Avery.

“One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose” – Randy Pausch

AUSTRALIAN wool’s spot wool auction system continued its soft start to the new season with all Merino qualities dropping between 1-3.5 percent.

A weak Australian dollar against the US currency did little to stem the negative sentiment around the general economic environment and weak fiscal data from China.

The forward markets were again only lightly traded as buyers searched for better demand signals. The 19 and 21 micron contracts traded early in the week at a 20-cent discount to cash for the end of August, pre-empting the auction’s fall to these levels by weeks end.

With Sydney and Melbourne selling a combined 40,000 bales next week, the best we are likely to see is a steady market. The stronger close to Fremantle this week was more likely due to the absence of a sale next week.

This week’s trades

August 2023 19 micron                                                   1445 cents              5 tonnes

August 2023 21 micron                                                   1335 cents              5 tonnes

Total                                                                                                                   10 tonnes

Source – Southern Aurora Markets.