Highlights were 31 micron crossbred up 23c to $3.66kg/clean compared to the previous, May 4, sale, 32 micron up 21c to $3.61kg/clean, 29 micron up 14c at $4.29kg/clean and 30 micron up 12c to $3.85kg/clean. The 33 micron was steady at $3.80.
There was spirited bidding for good colour, better prepared crossbred wool generally from a full bench of buyers but getting poorer quality wools away remained a struggle, PGG Wrightson South Island sales manager Dave Burridge said.
That was the wool that was passed in or withdrawn before sale only to be brought back to a later sale and again not selling.
There was a lot of it in store and brokers were telling farmers there was now no point in reissuing it to the market unless they were prepared to meet the market, Burridge said.
There were only three Christchurch sales left before the end of the season, with an oversupply still to be sold.
Those stocks would soon be competing with higher quality, early pre-lambing shear wool.
Wool Services International chief executive John Dawson said there was no change in market conditions with no sign of an increase in Chinese demand.
While demand from supporting regions such as Western Europe and Australasia was still present, it was not enough to soak up the volumes on offer.
The market would likely continue to move sideways until there was some significant change but that was not on the horizon yet.
Spikes in prices might be driven by exchange rate movements and some short term cover requirements but would not be sustainable.
Wool was still being held back from the market, largely by farmers but also by brokers and exporters. That will become a concern only if they continued to be held back indefinitely.
Most farmers were now well aware of the issues and were not expecting a rapid adjustment to prices but the speed of the downturn had taken many in the industry by surprise.
There was plenty of volatility in Chinese buying behaviour, which should keep the market very cautious going forward.
With no sign of change it was likely the wool market might have to adjust to a different level so 2017 looked to be a very challenging year for NZ wool.
Thursday’s sale had 7600 bales on offer and the clearance rate was 85%, a higher level than at many previous sales.
There was a small range of mid-micron and fine wools, attracting very strong demand.
Overall sales included (per micron, all in kg/clean): Full wool, good to average colour: 25m $11.38, 26m $10.33, 27m $9.82, 28m $8.56, 29m $7.60, 32m $4.50, 33m $3.97, 34m $3.81, 35m $3.80, 36m $3.81, 37m $3.91, 38m $3.85, 39m $3.84.
Crossbred second shear: 33m 3 to 4 inches $3.92, up 17c, 35m 3 to 4 inches $3.85, up 15c, 37m 3 to 4 inches $3.78, up 21c, 2 to 3 inches $3.32, up 2c, 39m 3 to 5 inches $3.78, up 21c, 3 to 4 inches $3.71, up 19c, 2 to 3 inches $3.33, up 3c.
