Cape Wools Weekly Market Report

The 2020/21 wool season kicked off this week, with 8 146 bales on offer and an overall sales clearance of 94.45% (of wool actually offered). The initial offering was reduced by 1 280 bales which was withdrawn prior to the sale.

Amidst continuing global market uncertainty and downward pressure in the Australian market, which declined by 11.5%(AU$) last week and in spite of the 2.2% weakening of the Rand against the USD, the South African market also eased today, closing down 5.7% in ZAR terms on R137.38 p/kg. The weaker ZA currency could also not support the price levels and the market traded 7.7% lower in US$ terms.

The finer microns performed better than the market average, with the broader categories experiencing severe downward pressure. The competition amongst buying houses improved throughout the sale, especially for sustainable merino fleece wools.

The major buyers on today’s sale were: Standard Wool SA (2 215), Lempriere SA (1 953), Modiano SA (1 196) and Stucken & Co (961).

The average clean prices for the selection within the different micron categories for good top‑making (MF5), long fleeces were as follows: 18,0 microns decreased 2,4% to close at R163,47/kg; 18,5 microns moved 4,4% down to close at R152,14/kg; 19 microns lost 3,7% to close at R146,83/kg; 19,5 microns weakened by 5,6% to close at R141,66/kg; 20 microns was 4,5% weaker to close at R140,08/kg; 20,5 microns lost 4,1% to close at R138,16/kg; 21,0 microns lost 6,3% to close at R135,58/kg; 21,5 microns tumbled by 4,0% to close at R138,64kg; 22 microns fell 1,6% to close at R138,63/kg and 22,5 microns declined by 2,6% to close at R134,25/kg. The next auction is scheduled for 19th August 2020 where approximately ±6 893 bales will be on sale. Key Indicators SA Merino