Australian wool auctions seem to have now broken the oscillating trend of the past year, with another week of strong progressive gains.

Wool prices have seemingly settled into more economically charted patterns, with supply, demand and currency movements being the main ingredients for the more predictable market direction.

A major factor for this change is surely the stronger competition to China buyers in the sale rooms from other buying destinations such as India, Italy, and other European users. As such the Chinese buyers are now taking under 70% of our clip, a figure that has not been as low for a few years now.

The diverse variety of types on offer this week is indicative of the change the Australian sheep and wool industry has undertaken over the past five or six years, with a large proportion of the selection slotting into the come-back and crossbred area.

The considerable shift towards dual enterprise operations has allowed owners to capture both the good wool prices when available and the decent returns for the meat value.

In the Merino sector though, the most recent AWTA key test data figures are showing a concerning lift in the production of wools finer than 19.0 micron at the expense of wools available in the broader categories. Obviously the tougher season has a lot to do with the fining up of the clip, but probably more pertinent are the breeding decisions made over the last decade.

During the past week of auctions, all Merino fleece types posted gains of between 10 and 40acents clean per kg with the standout performers being the Superfine types between 16.0 and 18.5 micron, which appreciated by a full 35acents. A good offering of the better types from the New England and Yass districts of NSW extracted a healthy premium of 60 to 80acents above the quoted levels.

Disappointing though were the prices being paid for a high percentage of the sub 16.0 micron Ultrafine and extra fine types which continue to be lack lustre at best from the demand side of the equation. The 19.0 micron and broader types continue to firm in their prices and a further 10 to 15acents was added to the levels by week’s end.

All other sections of the market, including the skirtings and cardings of all breeds and qualities, remained largely firm to slightly dearer for the week, although some of the better Merino skirtings managed to add 10 to 20acents to the established quotations. Comebacks and crossbreds did exceptionally well to be basically un-changed in sellers favour, in what was a very large offering in volume of these types.

With just two weeks of selling left before the three week Christmas recess, we will see some sporadic prices being paid as buyers compete to fill outstanding commitments, and conversely, as orders are filled we will witness some easing as buyers will be reticent to carry stock over the recess given the cost of doing so.

With an immediate outlook of good demand and thereported strengthening of the USD against the AUD, the likelihood of a downward correction to the current mini bull run now appears unlikely in the immediate term.