Port Elizabeth - The new wool selling season opened this week, Cape Wools said on Thursday.
Company spokeswoman Lizelle Delport said the Cape Wools Merino indicator shed 7.9 percent compared with the closing sale of the previous season at R101.96/kg (clean).
She said sales were marked by good demand and keen competition from various sectors of the trade.
“Traders commented that the weakening rand helped soften the prices and reflected the Australian market conditions.”
Delport said this week’s national auction was a large sale with 15,607 bales on offer, of which 98 percent was sold.
Major buyers were Standard Wool (4761 bales), Lempriere (3422 bales), Modiano (3041 bales), Stucken & Co (1615 bales) and Segard Masurel (1074 bales).
The next national auction was scheduled for September 4 2013, when approximately 9000 bales would be offered. - Sapa