Which microns fared best over past 12 months

Back-to-back weekly lifts in the final sales for 2023 have given the wool market a promising finish to a bumpy year.

It’s been a promising finish for the wool market which put together back-to-back weekly lifts to end the calendar year’s selling program.

The benchmark Eastern Market Indicator rose 35c/kg after last week’s sales to close at 1212c/kg and has gained 46c/kg in the past week.

More importantly, the EMI not only rose in Australian dollars but also in US currency, pointing to demand which was not just due to currency movements.

It’s been a bumpy ride for wool this year as the market ebbed and flowed, with some microns faring better than others during the past 12 months.

The EMI ended last year at 1327c/kg clean and closed 8.7 per cent lower at 1212c/kg last week, even after the late market rises.

While the broad wool market has hardly been exciting, its prices held on best of any category in the past 12 months.

The 28 micron indicator closed last week at 348c/kg, just 14c/kg or 3.4 per cent below this time last year.

Fine microns did not fare as well. The 17 micron indicator closed at the end of this year’s sales at 1927c/kg, back 320c/kg or 14 per cent down on last year’s finishing rate.

The 19-micron indicator fared slightly better but still lost 11 per cent of its value over the 12-month period or 182c/kg.

Medium microns were relatively steady with the 21 micron indicator losing 107c/kg to close at 1348c/kg, a drop of 7 per cent year-on-year.

In the final sales for 2023 held last week, analysis from Australian Wool Innovation said it was China that dominated the bidding.

“Animated bidding is perhaps an understatement, as buyers representing mainly Chinese interest clashed heatedly, with only very minor support coming from other using nations,” the AWI analysis said.

“Many of the better superfine Merino clips continue to be loaded onto vessels bound for China.”

The flip side is the slackening-off of interest from India and Europe.

The analysis showed a 3 per cent gain across the board for wool sold last week and predicted the increased interest might continue.

“This will be the basis of trade for basically the next month (private deals) as sales are now in recess for three weeks.”

The wool market will resume in the second week of January where up to 50,000 bales have been rostered for sale.