NZ wool auction volumes fall to 2-year low amid seasonal lull

Friday 1st May 2015

New Zealand wool sold at auction declined to the lowest level in two years following the end of the main shearing season.

Some 4,700 bales were on offer at yesterday's North Island auction, down from 9,265 bales on offer at the South Island event the previous week, the lowest level since May 2, 2013, according to AgriHQ. New Zealand is coming off its seasonal peak, following the end of the main shearing season from December to early February. Auctions are now alternating between the North and South islands each week. Some 92 percent of the wool bales offered at the latest auction were sold.

"It's the time of the year where volumes get quite low," said AgriHQ analyst Emma Dent. "Typically volumes start to trend downwards from March."

Some 6,700 bales are expected to be offered at next week's South Island auction, according to New Zealand Wool Services International.

The price for clean 35-micron wool, a benchmark for crossbred wool used for carpets and accounting for the majority of New Zealand's production, slipped to $5.30 per kilogram in the latest auction, from $5.35/kg at last week's auction, according to AgriHQ. Lamb wool slipped to $6.40/kg from $6.60/kg.

New Zealand wool exports rose 15 percent to $786 million in the year through March, compared with the year earlier period, according to Statistics NZ data released this week. That accelerated wool to New Zealand's 13th largest commodity export, up from the 14th largest in the year through February, according to the agency.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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