The market barometer 37 micron good-to-average full wool sold at $3.52kg/clean at Thursday’s Christchurch sales, a rise of about 40c/kg clean from early August prices, continuing the trend of intervening sales in Christchurch and Napier, PGG Wrightson South Island manager Dave Burridge said.
In real terms the crossbred price was still very low and must lift strongly from here to reach a sustainable level for farmers.
The wool being sold at latest sales was very good quality pre-lamb shearing wool.
Once it was cleared in the next few weeks, last season’s wool, of lesser quality, put in store because it could not be sold at prices farmers wanted, would return to market ahead of the main shearing season.
The pre-lamb shear wool was in strong demand from a full bench of buyers and the slightly weaker currency also helped prices, Burridge said.
While strong wool showed some recovery, finer Merino wool and mid-micron fleece continued to sell at what he called astonishing prices, the best in many years.
Most NZ wool was in the stronger micron levels so that was where recovery was needed.
CP Wool ‘s South Island auctioneer Roger Fuller said the fact the market had been moving upward might of itself bring in more overseas buyer interest.
“If we can get a bit more, if there’s a bit more interest, you get some competition then continuity and one thing leads to another. There’s still a long way to go though.”
The ratio of passings at Thursday’s sale, at 8%, was the lowest in many months.
That was on a total offering of 11,000 bales, which Burridge said was 3000 more than the initial roster so was very encouraging.
Fuller said brokers and farmers were aware the older, lesser-quality stored wool would have to be brought back to the market gradually, with realistic market expectations. It was a good sign on Thursday that there was not a lot of high reserve-pricing set.
AgriHQ analysts Rachel Agnew and Reece Brick said the trend was positive but until greater volumes reached the market it would be hard to accurately gauge the direction.
There was more buying from China, typical of this time of year when that market moved into winter with greater demand for products made from coarser NZ wool.
The industry was now “cautiously optimistic rather than wary”, they said.
Finer wools made up less than a quarter of the total Christchurch offering. Prices included: 14.7 micron $28.34/kg clean, 18 micron $24.45/kg clean, 26 micron $11.80/kg clean, 29 micron $7.86/kg clean. Crossbred 32 micron $4.76/kg clean and 38 micron $3.43/kg clean (up from $3.20 a fortnight earlier in Christchurch and $3.15 on August 10).
