Australian wool markets sees first increase, 14 cents, for first time in four consecutive weeks
The Australian wool industry is breathing a sigh of relief as the wool market makes its first meaningful recovery after four consecutive weeks of declines.
Wool industry experts say the result — owing to the stabilisation of the Australian currency, an increase in consumer confidence and an increase in woollen top sales — is indicative of future market trends.
The Eastern Market Indicator added 14 cents to close at 1203¢/kg on April 22.
Australian Wool Exchange senior market analyst Lionell Plunkett said the national offering was the smallest it's been since 2020 at 26,897 bales.
With Fremantle not in operation, bales were down 3762 on the week prior.
Mr Plunkett said the smaller offering this week attracted good widespread competition, pushing prices higher from the outset.
'Although the strongest demand continued to be on the higher yielding lots, particularly those possessing favourable additional measurement (AM) results, with such a limited selection of these types, the lesser style types and wool with less favourable (AM) results also benefited from the rising market,' he said.
'On the opening day, all the published individual AWEX Micron Price Guides across all three centres posted upward results.
'The Merino fleece MPGs added between 5 and 54 cents.
'The crossbred and skirting markets both trended higher.'
Mr Plunkett said the benchmark EMI added 10 cents for the day — the biggest daily rise in nine selling days.
'The EMI also managed a US2¢ increase,' he said.
'This was the first time the EMI rose in both Australian (AUD) and US currency terms since the 19th of March.'
On the second day, AWEX said the market again trended higher.
'The EMI rose again in both AUD and US terms, adding 4 and 3 cents respectively.
'The EMI finished the series 14 cents higher, closing at 1203¢/kg clean.'
Although most wool types experienced a rise, the Merino carding indicator was the only anomaly with a 28¢/kg drop in Melbourne.
Westcoast Wool and Livestock regional wool manager Brad Faithfull said he was confident the wool market had found its base level and would continue a positive trend.
He said a major indicator in the trend was the increase in woollen top sales, which was 'always a good sign'.
Demand from trader buyers forced price rises into the local sale rooms as trading exporters quite often had to outbid the top makers and indents to meet their shipment obligations.
'We have also seen our currency — which has been radical for a while — stabilise and an increase in producer confidence,' Mr Faithfull said.
'Greasy stock is down at an international level which is also boosting demand.'
Around 28,000 bales are being offered on April 29, with the WA centre at Fremantle selling just one day again on Tuesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Most Australians aren't ‘good with money'. It's time that changed
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan and South Africa, women's literacy on all things money isn't just as good as the gents, it's better. But what was easily the most concerning finding was that among those aged 15 to 24, the score out of five was just 2.9. That, my friends, is a seriously mediocre C-grade. Perhaps 50 years ago, when the choices were between a couple of basic bank products and a superannuation account, these numbers wouldn't have been so concerning. But in a world of countless different types of specialised bank loans, HECS debt, credit cards, buy now pay later schemes, online gambling, cryptocurrency, ETFs, salary negotiations, bonus structures, stock options, and self-managed versus industry or corporate super funds, it's never been more important to ensure that everyone, especially young people, is literate when it comes to money. Though the Australian curriculum does include financial literacy content, the way in which it is being taught and the detail within that vary greatly, leaving much room for improvement. One country leading the way in this field is, believe it or not, the United States. According to the US' Council for Economic Education, as of 2024, 35 of the country's 50 states now require high school students to attend personal finance classes before they graduate. Loading That's more than two-thirds of teenagers across America having a basic understanding of money and finance before they leave home and enter the world of adulthood and employment. The trend is also taking off at American universities, where a growing number of public and private institutions are offering personal finance courses for students as electives. These courses teach the basics, but some go further and cover the principles of investing, taxes, how to understand job offers and salary packages, as well as the psychology of why people make certain financial decisions. As much fun as those 101 literature or psychology electives can be, this seems like a much more useful course to be aiming for an easy A in. Aside from the fact that we live in much more financially complicated times, there are other reasons we need to care about making sure our kids understand money. For starters, research consistently shows that the better financially educated someone is, the more likely they are to make good decisions and better judgements about their money. We also know that the cost of being totally financially illiterate or having a poor understanding of money can have devastating long-term effects. People who are 'bad with money' are consistently shown to have a lower standard of living, and we see the wealth gap widening between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. So easily, one high-interest credit card or personal loan can follow someone around for decades and impact their credit scores, their ability to make career or relationship choices, create extra stress, and make it harder to meet their basic needs. And yet, we see it happen every day, often affecting people you'd least expect. Having a solid grasp on finances isn't just about us as individuals, either. Ensuring everyone knows the basics, especially those who are the least financially literate, is actually great for the economy broadly. That's because it allows people to carry less debt, improves their job opportunities and earning potential, and creates new jobs in the process. To quote former assistant RBA governor Keith Hall all the way back in 2008: 'Money spent on financial education would be money very well spent.' And while it's not as if we're doing nothing, we certainly need to be doing so much more. Because the more people who can hold their head high and say they're 'good with money', the better. Victoria Devine is an award-winning retired financial adviser, bestselling author and host of Australia's No.1 finance podcast, She's on the Money. She is also founder and director of Zella Money.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
New route launched as Australians flock back to former Asian favourite
Australians bounced back to international travel with a vengeance following the reopening of borders after the pandemic, but there were a handful of destinations we did not rush back to. One was the United States, thanks to more expensive flights, a strong US dollar and, most recently, the actions of President Donald Trump. Another was Hong Kong, where the decline in visitors began before COVID amid political unrest following China's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. However, the signs show that Australians are returning to the harbour city. The number of visitors heading there has surged recently – up about 40 per cent year-on-year for the past three months. The number of visitors heading to Australia from Hong Kong has also increased. The number of Hong Kong residents heading here in April rose more than 70 per cent on the same time last year, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. The trends explain why Hong Kong Airlines has decided to launch another route into Australia, which started from Sydney on Saturday. It's the second Australian route for the airline after it resumed Hong Kong-Gold Coast flights in January (it suspended the route in 2018). The Australian government recently reached a new bilateral air agreement with Hong Kong, allowing for increased traffic between the two destinations. The new daily flights will increase capacity by 20 per cent and cement the destination as the third-busiest international route from Sydney, behind Singapore and Auckland.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
New route launched as Australians flock back to former Asian favourite
Australians bounced back to international travel with a vengeance following the reopening of borders after the pandemic, but there were a handful of destinations we did not rush back to. One was the United States, thanks to more expensive flights, a strong US dollar and, most recently, the actions of President Donald Trump. Another was Hong Kong, where the decline in visitors began before COVID amid political unrest following China's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. However, the signs show that Australians are returning to the harbour city. The number of visitors heading there has surged recently – up about 40 per cent year-on-year for the past three months. The number of visitors heading to Australia from Hong Kong has also increased. The number of Hong Kong residents heading here in April rose more than 70 per cent on the same time last year, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. The trends explain why Hong Kong Airlines has decided to launch another route into Australia, which started from Sydney on Saturday. It's the second Australian route for the airline after it resumed Hong Kong-Gold Coast flights in January (it suspended the route in 2018). The Australian government recently reached a new bilateral air agreement with Hong Kong, allowing for increased traffic between the two destinations. The new daily flights will increase capacity by 20 per cent and cement the destination as the third-busiest international route from Sydney, behind Singapore and Auckland.
