The Australian wool market experienced two selling days of steady rises, to post large overall increases for the series. The national offering rose slightly to 34,045 bales, an increase of 1,898 bales compared to the previous week. This week is the second last sale of this calendar year and many exporters reported that this was the final opportunity to purchase wool required for December shipment. This created a sense of urgency for this series, which resulted in an increase in buyer sentiment and demand. This in turn led to an overall increase in the prices required, to acquire the wool needed to fill these orders. By the end of the series all merino fleece types had recorded solid rises. The finest microns enjoyed the greatest lifts in price. The individual Merino Price Guides (MPGs) for 17.0 micron and finer gained between 56 and 142 cents. The MPGs for 18.0 through to 21.0 micron added between 46 and 81 cents. The rises in these MPGs helped to push the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) up by 54 cents for the series, closing the week at 1,198 cents. This equated to a rise of 4.7%. Due to further strengthening of the Australian dollar, when viewed in US dollar terms, the rise was even higher. The EMI added 47 US cents closing at 892 US cents, an increase of 5.5%. After three weeks of consecutive falls, the crossbred sector bounced back this week, with gains felt across all types and descriptions. The largest increase was in the 32.0 micron MPG, the 37 cent rise was a weekly gain of 15.2%. Next week is the final sale of the year and the last auction opportunity before the annual three-week Christmas recess. Many sellers are taking this chance to offer their wool, pushing quantities higher. Currently, there is 49,124 bales available to the trade in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.