The final South Island wool sale of the season finished on a strong note with prices across the board trending higher.
The large offering in the Christchurch sale saw all crossbred types up in price compared with the previous sale, with 90% of the wool sold and the strong wool indicator (SWI) up 12 cents.
PGG Wrightson South Island auction manager Dave Burridge said the first of the pre-lamb shorn lots were a feature of the offering, with buyers showing plenty of vigour to secure volumes, especially for wool showing low VM readings.
The mid-micron market continued to reflect limited demand, proving challenging while stocks align the wool pipeline, Burridge said.
The best of the crossbred wool strengthened 3% with good style fleece selling at an average of $3.39/kg (clean) and average style $3.05; poorer, while strengthening 5% on the previous sale, still came in below the $3 mark at $2.85.
Crossbred second-shear good style 50mm-100mm fetched an average $3.34 and lesser quality $2.85, while oddments lifted 7%, making $1.95.
The year June 2023 to July 2024 saw prices remain steady and while still needing significantly more improvement were up all the way, month on month, on the previous two years.
Fine wools remained subdued, reflecting the demand, with mid-micron fleece back 5% on the previous sale; 28-micron fleece sold for $3.75/kg and 23-micron hogget wool at $9.82. Crossbred lambs’ wool 30-31.5-micron fetched $3.05 and 31.5-micron and above $2.95. The North Island final wool sale for the 2023-2024 season had its own story.
The tone remained strong at the wool sale in Napier but, with a slight adjustment in price for some of the longer wools, the SWI fell 12 cents, PGG Wrightson North Island auctioneer Steve Fussell reported.
“Very good styled and good styled wools sold at not much difference in price particularly in the second shear areas,” he said.
In a 98% sale clearance the better crossbred fleece sold at $2.92 and poorer $2.87. Crossbreed second shear had a better sale, as lifts up to 6% had 75mm-100mm length making $3.27 and $3.09; 50mm-100mm $3.08 and $2.91; and 50mm-75mm $3.06.
As in the South Island the year month-on-month held solid, tracking ahead of the previous two years.
Given the solid auction results and high clearance rates of recent weeks, there is a hint of optimism in the wool market, looking ahead to the new wool season with an increase in urgent bidding from buyers indicating a positive trend.
Early season crossbred wool is starting to come forward and despite challenges in various regions, the quality is promising, suggesting strong support at upcoming auctions.
PGG Wrightson Wool highlighted a mixed demand scenario in Europe.
On one hand there is strong demand from the cruise industry for crossbred carpet wool, leading to significant price increases in auction prices for bellies, pieces and yellow shear. On the other hand, fine wool for fashion continues to face reduced demand as consumers become more cautious with their spending, PGW general manager wool Rachel Shearer said.
