The Australian wool market ended the 2020 calendar year with a soft finish. As this was the final auction selling opportunity before the annual three-week Christmas recess, the national offering increased to 44,835 bales, this was 6,430 more bales than was offered in the previous week. The larger selection attracted solid demand, the market however, could not sustain the prices achieved in the previous series. Prices fell across all merino fleece types and descriptions, generally between 30 and 70 cents. The losses pushed the Merino Price Guides (MPGs) across the country down across the country by between 10 and 70 cents. Due mainly to the falls in the MPGs in the merino fleece, the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) dropped by 41 cents for the series, this equated to a 3.4% fall. Worth noting, due to further strengthening of the Australian dollar, when viewed in US dollar terms, the fall was lower, the EMI dropped 18 US cents, a reduction of only 2.0%. The fall in the market, understandably pushed the passed in rate higher, as many sellers were reluctant to accept the reduced prices on offer. The national passed in rate climbed to 18.3%, this was 13.3% higher than in the previous series. The oddments were the only sector of the market to record increases for the series, the smallest of losses in the North, combined with solid rises in the South and West, resulted in an average rise in the three Merino Carding Indicators (MC) of nearly 12 cents. Sales will resume in the week beginning Monday the 11th of January. In the New Year, three-day sales will be allowed to resume. In the likely event that Melbourne requires three selling days, they will sell Tues, Wed and Thurs. If requiring only two days, Sydney will sell Tues/Wed, whilst Fremantle will sell Wed/Thurs. This is to avoid Melbourne selling in isolation on any day, following an extended recess.