WOOL market volatility that seemed to abate last week returned with a vengeance and forward trading was light.
Concerned with the fall-out from the coronavirus outbreak and anticipated closing of the Chinese mills for an extended New Year period, the spot auction fell significantly on Wednesday only to partial recover Thursday.
The forward market has been stagnant for weeks and traded lightly again, with buyers looking to find a base and sellers trying to offload some risk.
March traded 21 micron on Tuesday at 1760 cents, then 19 micron in March on Thursday at 1800 cents and 1825 cents, as the market rallied.
With volatility still high, growers should set target into the autumn and look to execute hedges on the rallies.
Anticipated trading levels next week
19 micron 21 micron
January/February 1820 cents 1770 cents
March/April 1820 cents 1770 cents
May/June 1790 cents 1740 cents
Trading this week
19 micron March 1800/1825 cents 7.5 tonnes Closing cash 1793 cents
21 micron March 1760 cents 5 tonnes Closing cash 1744 cents
Total 12.5 tonnes
HAVE YOUR SAY