WOOL'S eastern market indicator (EMI) firmed again on Thursday, up by another 3c/kg on the last day of sales this week.
The EMI has closed the week on 823c/kg - up 4.2pc since the close of sales on Thursday last week.
This week’s surge comes on top of last week’s 3pc lift in the EMI, so prices now have risen by more 7pc in the past two weeks.
They're up 14pc since this year's market low point at the start of March.
More significantly, the EMI when expressed in $US terms has now risen by 20pc since the start of the year, according to figures released today by the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat.
The rise of 30c/kg in the EMI on Wednesday took the EMI to over 800c/kg for the first time since mid-October.
Fremantle’s western indicator on Thursday, however, lost some of its gains earlier in the week, easing on Thursday by 3c/kg.
Even so, it has closed the week on 781c/kg - up 4.5pc compared with the indicator at the close of sales of Thursday last week.
This wool price surge indicates a genuine heating up in the demand for wool - it’s not just an exchange rate fluctuation.
The $A firmed marginally again overnight against the $US, but this does not appear to have impacted on the market.
Sydney's northern indicator closed the week on 845c/kg and Melbourne's southern indicator on 804c/kg.
A total of 40,825 bales were on offer nationally this week, compared with 57,952 bales last week.
Only 4.8pc were passed in, indicating increasing grower acceptance of prices in view of the rises this month.
The Australian Wool Industries Secretariat says that, when looked at in other currencies, the EMI this week rose by 6.8pc in US terms and by 4.4pc in euro terms, when compared with that of the previous sale.
The $A-$US exchange rate on Thursday was 2.6pc higher compared with that of the last sale.
The secretariat describes the week as a very strong market, with keen competition for all types and micron ranges.
The largest relative increases were seen in the medium wools this week.
The increase here differs from the pattern of recent weeks when the fine wools made the greatest gains.
The combination of low stocks and falling wool production remains a key factor in the current market, the secretariat says, as wool continues to rise despite the increases in the US exchange rate.
Buyers for China dominated sales this week followed by support from India.
Next week, sales will be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle next week, when 42,369 bales are currently rostered for sale.
Present estimates for the following two sales are 39,330 and 41,600 bales, respectively, a fall of 9.2pc over the three sale period when compared with those of last year.
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