Australia's leading trading exporters maintained their presence but did not take on their usual market-leading roles. Traders reported that business has been challenging, with sporadic enquiries resulting in minimal new contracts. The bulk of the current interest in new business continues to originate from Chinese users and traders, the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) said in its commentary for week 1 of the current wool marketing season.

There has been little evidence of significant buying from Indian buyers since their activity a few weeks ago. Similarly, there has been no noticeable resurgence of interest from the remaining European buyers. Although some Italian mills have shown interest in the best superfine Merino, the selection and volume have not yet reached levels suitable for these specialist worsted buyers.

Crossbred wool types are faring better than other sectors, potentially reflecting the current environment in the large Chinese domestic market, where consumers are reportedly still inclined to purchase wool products but at increasingly lower retail price points, the AWI commentary added.

Logistics issues have resurfaced with intensity, heavily impacting the speed of global deliveries and resulting in massive price increases.

Next week, around 33,000 bales are scheduled to be sold.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)