Australian Wool Market Remains Firm Amid Rising Costs

The Australian wool market remained firm in USD but prices dropped slightly in local currency terms due to a stronger Aussie Dollar. The AWEX closed 3 US cents higher, but lost 8 cents in AUD terms last week. Better clips performed strongly while poorer average and inferior style wools lost ground, dragging micron price guides lower.

Only 21,000 bales were offered in the Sydney and Melbourne catalogues, with growers passing in 8.5% of these wools. This week saw all three centres selling before the annual winter recess, which comes at a fortuitous time for the trade as many are focused on their northern hemisphere summer holidays rather than wool business.

Shipment times from Australia to China have increased slightly and costs are rising due to higher oil prices. The cost of transporting a container of wooltop or yarn from Shanghai to Europe has blown out to over 7,000 USD, with journey times taking up to two months for the best service.