STRONGER demand for fleece skirtings was reflected in online AuctionsPlus bales sales last week.

AuctionsPlus commercial operations officer Ed Murphy said the sharp decline the wool market has been experiencing lately has steadied a little, but still most prices across all selling centres decreased last week.

The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator last week closed 20 cents lower at 1854c/kg clean, and the national pass-in rate was 16.3 percent.

“This ongoing reluctance of buyers has largely been attributed to the quality of wool on offer, as a large amount is low strength and low yielding.

“This has come on the back of a reported selectiveness of buyers at auction, with the higher quality wools being rewarded,” he said.

Mr Murphy said on a positive note, reports from physical auction suggested a stronger week for skirtings.

“This sentiment was reflected online as there were 36 bales of Merino pieces sold on AuctionsPlus wool, topped by a superfine 15 micron Merino pieces line at 1325c/kg greasy or 2216c/kg clean.”

The two-bale Merino pieces line had a yield of 59.8pc, a an average staple length of 78mm, tensile strength of 19 Newtons/kilotex and 2.5pc vegetable matter content.

The top price online for Merino fleece was 1234c/kg greasy or 2057c/kg clean, for a seven-bale line of 20.6 micron AAAM. The line yielded 60pc, with an average length of 84mm, a tensile strength of 38N/kt and 4.1pc vm.

“Looking forward the market seems to be on a bit of a knife’s edge.

“At some point the Chinese mills will have to re-enter the market to meet demand, but there are no reports of this happening at this stage, so a similar trend is expected this week,” Mr Murphy said.

Source: AuctionsPlus.