WA wool market suffers a 38 cent per kg ‘adjustment’ to close at 1270c/kg average

An “adjustment” to the Western Australia Merino fleece price guides after a week’s pause has left a sour taste among sheep producers and local industry representatives who believe new season spring wools “certainly deserve better”.

The Western Indicator took a hit during Week 9 of the auction season on August 30, with MPGs losing between 26-64 cents during the sale.

While Australian Wool Exchange senior market analyst Lionell Plunkett was focused on the overall national trade, which “recorded an overall positive result” with the “first weekly rise since Week 2 (July 12)“, the Western Indicator dropped 38 cents on average to 1270c/kg greasy after a non selling week on August 23.

The re-entry of WA in to the roster pushed the national bale offering up to 44,690 — 5916 more bales than on Week 8.

“Between the season, sheep prices, cost increases and now wool prices, the markets are sadly pushing sheep into the bin,” Mr Gardiner said.

Endeavor Wool buyer Steve Noa said the State’s “new season spring wools certainly deserve better”.

Australian Wool Innovation’s weekly wool market review and update reported WA’s sale result was an “adjustment” to prices received in prior weeks.

The report also said while the drop was a clear hit to the market, “wool growers and their seller representatives were largely accepting the prices on offer” — with a solid 89 per cent sold to the trade.

“The tone in the auction rooms was healthy and competition reasonably strong, but notably, two or three of the leading buyers were not getting caught up in the initial flurry of activity,” an AWI spokesman said.

Mr Plunkett said the overall market was “buoyant, with a positive trend evident” in Sydney and Melbourne, with “strong buyer interest in the good/best style merino fleece types helped to push the market upward”.

The Eastern Market Indicator closed the week ending Friday, September 1 up four cents to 1131c/kg, with rises in the 18 and 19 micron fleeces at Sydney and more wide spread rises at Melbourne.

“This was the first daily rise in the EMI in seven selling days,” Mr Plunkett said.

“The EMI last rose on the July 11, where a 17c rise was recorded.

“Because the Western region did not suffer the falls recorded in the east (August 23), when the selling opened in Fremantle these falls were quickly realised.”

The week produced a $54.4 million turnover for the industry, which brought the season to date total to $313m — $60m less than for the first nine weeks of the 2022-23 season.