Last week, with the smallest offering of the season to date, price gains were recorded over both selling days to leave the eastern market indicator (EMI) up 65c/kg for the two weeks.

Much of this rise, however, is being attributed to a short-term shipping squeeze as buyers had left themselves short over the past month, he says.

The combination of low auction offerings and buyers being caught short has certainly sparked the market into action.

Early estimates for wool on offer leading into the Christmas recess are well down on the corresponding period last year.

This may continue to help the market short-term.

However, with a consumer spending slowdown in Japan, Europe and the US leading into their winter (peak period for wool clothing sales) it is more than reasonable to expect demand for wool to soften, along with demand for many of the other rural export commodities, he says.