A total of 7 647 bales were on offer, after 472 were withdrawn beforehand. The offering mainly consisted of medium length wools, with 76% testing 20 micron and finer.
A highest price of R360,04 p/kg clean (R240,00 p/kg greasy) was paid for a single bale lot of 14,8-micron Merino wool.
The major buyers on the sale were Standard Wool SA (1 531), Tianyu SA (1 414), BKB Pinnacle Fibres (1 363), and G Modiano SA (1 057).
BKB’s auctioneer Leon Du Plessis, and appraiser Jacque Taljaard, agreed that the market is looking good and the next sales would be smaller.
“Prices not only kept their levels of the previous sale but wool is clearly in demand,” said Du Plessis. “Even stuff that seemed stuck is moving. An average price of more than R200/kg is good money and 50% higher than a year ago.
“This is the most expensive wool I’ve ever sold. But we’re still missing Europe’s interest in the super fine bracket.”
White wools improve
White wools like SA Mutton Merino, added Taljaard, also picked up, averaging more than R84/kg.
“VBC, with their strict typing system, also came in with 100 bales. You can feel honoured if they bought some of your wool. It may end up in an expensive men’s suit,” he said.
OVK’s best price of R236,90/kg (clean price R331,69) was fetched by DL Conroy of Victoria West. His three-bale lot of seven-microns was bought by VBC.
Australian market strengthens
Australia Wool Innovation (AWI) said their market improved in US dollar terms as the Aussie dollar broke above 72 US cents for the first time since 2022.
The underlying bullish tone of the wool market remained intact, AWI said, although fine Merino types (16,5 to 19μm) eased, while medium Merinos (19,5–21μm) recorded larger losses.
Merino cardings and crossbred gained 15c to 20c across the selling centres, the latter reflecting the relative strength of the crossbred and oddments sectors. This may reflect increased demand for blended fibre applications, and woollen-spinning inputs as processors chased lower-cost raw materials amid ongoing macro uncertainty.
The resilience of these sectors contrasted with continued weakness across lower-style Merino fleece types, reinforcing that buyer competition remained selective, with processors continuing to prioritise fibre specifications that delivered greater processing efficiency and consistency as manufacturing margins remained under pressure, according to AWI.
