More than 55,000 bales were offered in the final sale of the year. Merino fleece generally finished the week 10 to 20 cents above levels recorded in the previous sale. The skirting market out-performed the fleece in Sydney and Fremantle, generally 20 cents dearer, while Melbourne was firm and unchanged. The oddment market was one of small & mixed movements, leaving the Northern Merino Carding Indicator 7 cents cheaper.
It was also the largest Crossbreds offering in 2 years which saw prices drift lower, poorly prepared & unskirted lots in particular were neglected and increasingly discounted as the sale progressed. The NRI finished the year 122 cents higher at 1412 cents (the highest calendar year closing figure on record). Turnover for 2016 was just over 2.5 billion dollars (AUD) and the average return per bale of $1,478 is the highest on the AWEX database (which commenced in 1997).
Sales resume week commencing 9th of January 2017.