The Australian wool market has set a new national record with the Eastern Market Indicator soaring to 1431 cents a kilogram clean.
On the back of frenzied buying for fine wools in Melbourne on Tuesday, the EMI climbed six cents higher than the previous record of 1425c/kg clean which was set in June 2011.
The EMI in US dollars also cracked the previous high price by 10c to finish on Tuesday at 1071c/kg.
The EMI’s climb was the reaction to Tuesday’s only sale which was held in Melbourne where the Southern Region Indicator hit a record high at 1393c/kg - a rise of 16 cents on the back of continued strength in the finer microns.
The small sale offered 7882 bales for a $11.1 million turnover.
Fine microns from 15 to 17m attracted the most attention, with competition adding a further 50-60 cents while 18-19m gained 30 -40c/kg.
Australian Wool Exchange senior market analyst Lionel Plunkett said the small selection of 21-23m wool had varied results with a handful of lower specification types easing slightly.