29 May 2010

Wool prices ease back

4:25 pm on 29 May 2010

After several weeks of improvement, prices softened at Thursday's North Island and South Island wool sales.

Wool Services International says international economic instability and a volatile New Zealand dollar, especially compared with the US dollar, combined to put pressure on the auction prices.

The exporter says fine crossbred wool prices underpinned by Chinese buying interest remained firm, but coarse carpet fleece and shears, which made up the bulk of the offering, eased by 1% to 2%.

Lamb's fleece prices rose or fell by up to 2%, depending on style and length, and a small offering of mid-micron fleece also had mixed results.

More than threequarters of the 9500 bales put up for auction were sold.