High A$ Overwhelms Wool Prices

June 22, 2007 - The rise of the Australian dollar (A$) is finally overwhelming a resilient wool market still concerned about supply.

The A$ was trading at US$0.84.59 when the market opened on Wednesday of this week, with the smallest wool offering in four years.

But the unfavorable impact of the strong A$ appears to have outweighed the benefits of such a small offering. Australia Wool Exchange reported solid price falls in early sales on Wednesday morning - falls of 20 to 30 cents per kilogram.

Fewer than 26,000 bales are being offered nationally this week, the smallest offering since the corresponding sale week in 2003.

Large falls on the forward wool market earlier this week foreshadowed Wednesday's auction market trend.

The wool market finished last week 13 cents per kilogram, or 1.3-percent lower, with the eastern market indicator at 985 cents per kilogram, in a relatively modest offering of 48,000 bales.

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