THE wool forward market opened with renewed interest from the bid side this week, with an offer sweep across the board ahead of the auction opening.
This momentum was maintained into Thursday with growers receiving some historically high hedge levels as the physical auction reached highs rarely seen as we head into spring.
Buyers paid up to 1900 cents for 19 microns and 1580 cents for 21 micron in the early spring. As grower volumes dried up in the nearby months, exporters searched for value in the New Year. The New Year trades were highlighted by 1800 cents for 19 micron in January and 1510 cents for 21 micron in February.
Trades pushed out into the 2018/19 season with 19 micron executed in August at 1705 cents and 1660 cents for March 2019. These represent the 90 and 85 percentile of prices respectively. October options traded at 30 cents for a 1580 cent strike on 21 microns.
Based on this week’s activity we anticipate the following trading ranges next week:
August 21 micron 1600-1620 cents
September 21 micron 1550-1580 cents
October 21 micron 1540-1560 cents
November 21 micron 1500-1520 cents
December 21 micron 1490-1500 cents
Jan to March 21 micron 1450-1480 cents
April to June 21 micron 1430-1460 cents
Trade summary
September 21 micron 1555/1580 cents 42 tonnes
October 19 micron 1850/1875 cents 7 tonnes
October 21 micron 1550/1570 cents 11.5 tonnes
October 21 micron Put option 1580/30 10 tonnes
November 19 micron 1800/1900 cents 11.5 tonnes
November 21 micron 1485 cents 2 tonnes
January 19 micron 1800 cents 2.5 tonnes
February 21 micron 1510 cents 5 tonnes
April 19 micron 1750 cents 2 tonnes
April 21 micron 1495 cents 2 tonnes
June 19 micron 1750 cents 10 tonnes
June 21 micron 1459/1460 cents 10 tonnes
August 19 micron 1705 cents 11 tonnes
March 2019 19 micron 1660 cents 2.5 tonnes
Total 122.5 tonnes
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