Wool prices in key Australian markets trended lower in the third quarter, with the benchmark Australian Eastern Market Index (EMI) finishing September at $3.90 per pound, well below the peak of almost $4.90 per pound reached in early June.
After the three-week break in July, prices headed up a bit in early August, but then drifted lower throughout August and September as a slowdown in global demand for apparel and fiber due to economic concerns began impacting wool as well as other natural and manmade fibers. Though there were some bright spots in demand for merino, coarser counts were victim of careful buying and extreme price sensitivity.
