Domestic Wool Quiet,
Weakness Down Under

GREELEY, Colo. —(USDA)— Domestic wool trading remained at a complete standstill last week except for limited warehouse sales on medium and coarse wools. Demand was narrow.

Producers and warehouses in the western U.S., with unseasonally large inventories of the spring clip in first hands, remain reluctant to sell at sharply lower bids. Processors and wool mills have reduced normal hours due to declining prices on top, finished cloth and the inventories of wool products.

No sales were reported in territory trading the past two weeks.

In Australia, the "freeze" on the wool stockpile in early August was been short-lived as new elections have been called for and may not be completed until October. In the meantime, Wool International has started re-offering wool to comply with the sales rate of 90,000 bales per quarter of sales.

The eastern market indicator was down one cent at 516A cents per kilo clean. The northern indicator down two cents at 522. No sales were noted on the southern indicator. A total of 44,166 bales were offered and 88 percent sold. Upcoming sales include 79,379 bales to be offered this week. The 21 micron futures contract for October closed at 529 with December at 532. The Wool International stockpile now totals 1,072,273 bales after sales this week of 694 bales.

New Zealand saw the South Island sale continue to sag, particularly in the finewool areas, as the market indicator fell to 408NZ cents per kilo clean off the sale floor.