It’s had significant impact on buyer confidence, PGG Wrightson South Island sales manager Dave Burridge said.
Some values are down as much as 15% in just two weeks.
An exception was the best Merino wool, which held value. The market is very fluid.
Generally, Merino fleece, 16 to 20 microns is 2%-12% cheaper with less-stylish wools most affected and the mid wools, 25-30 microns, fell by 17%-19%.
The market rout applied also to strong wools, except for the coarser end, with some 37-39 microns fleece slightly firmer.
Crossbred second shear was slightly weaker across the board though oddments were steady in price.
The weaker market comes at a time when the kiwi dollar has fallen to new lower levels against the US dollar.
The pass-in rate for the sale was a high 23%, failing to meet vendor reserve levels.