Southern Aurora Markets partner Mike Avery.

SPOT auction and forward wool markets continued to suffer from a lack of confidence this week.

The spot market meandered this week with the softer tone that has haunted throughout late October.

The early October rally put almost 7 percent on prices in the first two weeks, but the next three weeks gave back almost half of those hard-fought gains.

Both the spot and the forward markets are suffering from a lack of confidence. This malaise is affecting most soft commodities, with consumer confidence low due to cost-of-living pressures and the current economic and political uncertainty.

Passed-in rates at auctions remain low, with more than 90pc of wool being sold. Growers are accepting of the levels, albeit historically low. Frustratingly, they are not engaging in the forward market to manage their risk.

Forwards remain lightly bid and offered. The outliners remain the strong bidding in late 2025 and into 2026. The 19 micron contract is bid in December 2025 at 1450 cents, in January 2026 at 1450 cents and in March 2026 at 1500 cents (cash 1382 cents). The 19.5 micron contract is bid in January  2026 at 1450 cents (cash 1345 cents).

Next week’s 38,000 bales on offer will likely see prices remain range-bound.

Source – Southern Aurora Markets.