In welcome news to sellers and buyers the Australian wool market rose for the second successive week. Fremantle did not sell this week, with only Melbourne and Sydney in operation the national quantity fell to 15,375 bales. This was the lowest national quantity since AWEX records began (1995). The wool market often acts with a mind of its own, this series however, the market followed conventional economic theory, the reduced supply attracted stronger demand. The result of this increased demand was general price rises across the board. As Sydney did not sell on the last selling day of the previous series, this centre enjoyed the largest rises. The individual Micron Price Guides generally rose by 2 to 30 cents, the only exceptions being the 16.5, 18.0 and 21.0 micron MPGs in the South which recorded very little change. The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) added 13 cents for the series, closing the week at 1,183 cents, this equated to a modest 1.1% increase. Worth noting, due to the strengthening of the Australian dollar, the price increases when viewed in USD terms were more significant. The EMI rose by 44 USc for the series, closing the week at 821 USc, this was a rise of 5.3%. The limited offering of skirtings attracted strong demand, pushing prices higher, generally between 20 and 30 cents. The crossbreds also enjoyed rises this week. The MPGs for 26.0 to 28.0 rose by 12 to 41 cents. A limited offering of 32.0 micron wools were generally unchanged. The oddment market also continued to rise, again Sydney recorded the largest gains, catching up with the other centres. Gains in locks, stains and crutchings pushed the two carding indicators up by and average of 24 cents. Quantities increase next week as Fremantle re-joins Sydney and Melbourne on the selling program. Currently, there is 24,140 bales available to the trade.