Prices for most types of wool eased at Wednesday's North Island wool sale under pressure from a stronger New Zealand dollar and low demand, after having risen last week.
Barely half of the 11,000 bales on offer sold at auction.
New Zealand Wool Services International says the strengthening of the New Zealand dollar by 1% against the main wool trading currencies since last week's South Island sale contributed to the price fall.
Higher volumes of poorer style faulted wools on offer this week also had an impact.
Exceptions to the generally lower prices were the limited volumes of B-style fleece which were 4% to 7% higher, some local mill-style shears which rose by up to 2% and second lambs wool which sold at 2% to 5% above previous levels.
Most other types on offer sold at 3% to 6% per cent below the previous sale.
Most significant buyer interest at was from Australasian carpet mills, India and Western Europe.
Next week's sale of South Island wool in Christchurch will have just over 15,000 bales for auction.
