The AWEX-NRI rose 59 cents this week, taking it to 1418 (its highest level since June 2011). The market started off slowly when Melbourne sold in isolation on Tuesday; the small Australian based catalogues were only slightly dearer before a late NZ-catalogue found better support and set the tone for the rest of the week. Wednesday initially jumped 20 cents but quickly gathered momentum to close 40 cents higher for most of the Merino microns. Thursday repeated the pattern with the finer microns again the centre of buyer attention and making further increases of 30 cents.
By the end of the week the finer microns were around 70 cents higher than the previous sale and many of the MPG’s closed at 5-year highs. Merino Skirtings tracked a similar line to the fleece, while crossbreds were mixed, initially gaining ground before a lacklustre finish. Merino Carding types maintained their renewed interest, rising 20 to 50 cents. Next weeks sale is currently estimated at 48,603 bales.