Great start to year for wool market

THE wool market traded 5.2% higher yesterday and the Cape Wools Merino Indicator increased by 761 points to close at R154.54 (clean).

On the Australian market, the EMI increased 5.3%. The Cape Wools All Wool Indicator gained 4.5%.

It was a promising start at the first sale of the new year, with the market trading above the 15 000 (clean) level.

There was a fairly large quantity of wool, with excellent demand for merino fleeces in limited stock.

The finer end of the market did particularly well, while the coarser wool also appreciated in value.

The competition between buyers remains fierce as the seasonal change in the profile of the offering limits the supply of the highly sought-after quality wool.

The rand had weakened by 1.1% against the US dollar compared with the average rate at the previous wool sale.

Yesterday’s offering comprised 12 213 bales of wool of which 98.1% was sold.

The major traders were Modiano with 3 868 bales, Lempriere SA with 3 127, Standard Wool SA with 2 538 and Stucken & Co with 1 820 bales.

The average clean prices for the selection within the different micron categories for good top-making (MF5), long fleeces were: 18 microns gained 6.6% to close at R176.29 a kilogram, 18.5 microns increased 5% to close at R175.08/kg, 19 microns increased 5.6% to close at R169.64/kg, 19.5 microns gained 5.2% to close at R161.07/kg, 20 microns increased 5.7% to close at R157.60/kg, 20.5 microns gained 5.3% to close at R148.04/kg, 21 microns gained 4.9% to close at R146.73/kg, 21.5 microns increased 6.4% to close at R145.91/kg, 22 microns gained 6.3% to close at R144.12/kg and the 22.5 microns wool increased 4.1% to close at R143.54/kg.

The next sale in Port Elizabeth is on Wednesday and about 14 392 bales will be on offer.