Prices ease slightly at North Island wool sale - 3 December 2009

New Zealand Wool Services International Ltd reports that prices for the bulk of the offering at today’s North Island wool sale in Napier dropped slightly.

Since the latest South Island sale on 26 November, the New Zealand dollar has fallen in value against a weighted indicator of the main international wool trading currencies by less than one per cent. However, this normally positive currency effect did not have the expected impact on today’s sale. 

Of 13,400 bales on offer today, 94 per cent sold. 

According to New Zealand Wool Services International, the fine crossbred sector withstood the downward price pressure experienced by the other types. Compared to the previous North Island wool sale on 19 November, fine crossbred full fleece types rose by 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, longer shears were up by two to five per cent and a small offering of very short shears strengthened between 10 and 12 per cent, stimulated by urgent shipping requirements from the Chinese market.

Coarse carpet fleece types eased between 1.5 and three per cent, while shears ranged from firm to two per cent lower, pushed down by the imminent prospect of seasonal volumes of these types appearing on the market. 

Oddments were firm to slightly easier.

Competition was well spread: buyers from China dominated the finer wool types, while Australasian carpet mills, India and the Middle East were active on the coarser wools, assisted by Western Europe and the United Kingdom.

Next week’s auction, on 10 December, will be of South Island wool, in Christchurch, offering approximately 8,400 bales.

New Zealand Wool Services International publishes a detailed weekly report on New Zealand wool auction trends. A summary of this can be viewed at http://www.nzwsi.co.nz. The full report is available by negotiation with the company.