AUSTRALIAN wool prices have mostly held firm despite an increased offering at auctions this week.

The Australian Wool Exchange said the market has performed admirably this week, recording a minimal reduction in the Eastern Market Indicator benchmark of two cents to 1420c/kg clean.

AWEX said the 48,990-bale offering — 1278 more bales than last week  —   was the largest offering since August last year.

Included in this total was over 6000 bales of featured Tasmanian wool, sold in Melbourne.

“There was plenty of stylish wool on offer Australia wide, 48.5 percent of the fleece selection was appraised as AWEX style 4 or better, this was 13.4pc higher than in the previous series,” AWEX said.

“The market opened cautiously in Sydney and Melbourne, buyers were selective in their purchases, aware of the amount of wool that was still be offered in the coming days.

“This cautious approach resulted in price decreases for the day. By the end of the first day the individual Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for merino fleece in Sydney and Melbourne had fallen by between 2 and 39 cents,” AWEX said.

AWEX said the Western region recorded gains, due in part to the fact that on the final afternoon of last week’s sale, prices in the west dropped well below those that were achieved in the eastern centres earlier in the day. The MPGs in Fremantle rose by between 5 and 11 cents and the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) lost 15 cents for the day.

AWEX said on the second day of selling, buyer confidence increased noticeably, resulting in price increases in all three centres. The MPGs for 21 micron and finer gained between 3 and 45 cents.

The EMI clawed back 10 of the cents lost on the previous day. On the final day, only Melbourne was in operation, where further overall price increases were recorded. The EMI added another 3 cents, closing the week at 1420 cents. Next week the national offering increases slightly. 50,142 bales are currently expected to be offered in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.

Source: AWEX