Unseasonal dry weather, particularly in the west, has seen many growers bring their shearing program forward.

This resulted in a significant increase in the originally rostered quantity.

In the end, 46,463 bales were offered to the trade.

The merino fleece market performed very solidly as buyers attempted to secure quantity leading into the break.

The benchmark Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) recorded a slight fall for the week of 2 cents, closing at 1522 cents.

However, due to the strengthening of the Australian dollar, in US dollar terms, the EMI actually managed a healthy lift of 15 cents.

Main competition was in the 17.5 micron and finer range and the 21.0 micron and broader range, generally pushing these types up by 10 to 20 cents.

The skirting market had a very solid week. Generally, all types and descriptions sold at levels above those achieved last week, with buyer focus centred on the lower vm lots or wools with excellent additional measurement results.

The crossbred sector will head into the break on a high note also. The entire crossbred micron range enjoyed general rises of between 10 and 20 cents.

Once again it was the better prepared lines that attracted the strongest competition and hence the greatest price increases.

However, this sale saw strong competition on the lesser style lots as buyers fought to secure quantity before the recess.

The oddment market was the only sector of the market to suffer large corrections this week. All types and descriptions experienced losses of generally 15 to 30 cents.