Coronavirus outbreak fails to lay a glove on wool market

Chinese wool buyers’ “tenacious purchasing appetite” has saved the Australian wool market from an expected fall due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The Eastern Market Indicator closed 29¢ higher at 1577¢/kg greasy last Thursday, despite wool analysts’ fears global uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus epidemic would push the market lower.

It came after the nation’s wool market was clouded with uncertainty the week prior, after buyers showed a lack of confidence and the EMI fell 28¢.

Australian Wool Innovation trade consultant Scott Carmody admitted the positive auction result was a surprise.

“Expectations were of a wool market that would be ravaged by the turmoil caused to the Chinese normal working environment by the growing coronavirus outbreak,” he said.

“These thoughts were quickly extinguished, though, with strong European interest being met by a tenacious purchasing appetite from a large Chinese top maker.

“In what should be a good indicator of the market’s potential to stabilise and perhaps further improve, is that the two major influences on pricing this week were first stage processors.

“It wasn’t long before the local trading houses took the affirmative lead that those two influential operators provided and upped their own buying rates accordingly.”

More in tomorrow’s Countryman.