Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Wool surges at 14th sale of the season
The 14th sale of the wool season saw 10 790 bales on offer. Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)-certified wool comprised just below 50% of the Merino wool on offer. Sixty-three percent of the wool on offer tested 20 microns or finer, according to Cape Wools SA.
The South African market took its lead from the good demand experienced in Australia, further supported by a weakening rand on the second day of the sale.
All micron categories ended the day in positive territory, with the good competition resulting in an overall sales clearance of 96,3%. A highest price of R300/kg (greasy) for the season was achieved this week for a bale of 14,3 micron wool.
The non-RWS-certified indicator gained 6,3% to close at R156,35/kg, while the RWS-certified indicator increased 6,8% to close at R176,31/kg. Major buyers were G Modiano SA (2 601 bales), Standard Wool SA (2 194), Tianyu SA (1 605) and BKB Pinnacle Fibres (1 475).
OVK saw an offering of 2 498 bales, with the highest price of R174/kg (clean price: R224,40/kg), achieved for a one-bale BH lot of 16,3 microns from the clip of McNaughton Farming in Graaff-Reinet. The buyer was Standard Wools SA.
The Australian market continued its good performance and ended the week up 1,6% in Australian dollar terms compared with the previous sale.
Australian Wool Innovation reported price gains on all Merino types and descriptions, despite the ever-strengthening Australian dollar compared with the US dollar.
Increased buying pressure from China initially activated the market, but other global wool destinations had now placed small orders as well. The third largest of the Chinese top makers continued to overshadow the current buying of the usually dominant topmost two top makers. This has had been the case for quite a few weeks now, as that company was somewhat of a uniform supply specialist to the local Chinese industries and state-owned enterprises. –