The wool market in Australia had another really good crack last week and almost notched up a tonne - falling just one cent per kilogram short - with a 99c/kg rise in the Australian Wool Exchange Eastern Market Indicator (EMI).
All Merino fleece types finished up by more than a 100c/kg, as did skirtings.
Cardings performed well, with increases of 50-70c/kg. But the crossbred sector was a bit more restrained and overall managed a 20-30c/kg jump.
With the 'risk-off' mood sweeping the world's trading desks, the Australian Dollar dropped significantly earlier in the week.
This allowed exporter buyers to 'pin their ears back' even further, turning a 50c/kg market increase into 100c/kg.
The EMI rose by US0.53 and 0.54 Euro as early stage processors and trading companies reached for the panic button - just to give it a little nudge - in case the wool market has really passed the bottom.
Trade players are not convinced that demand has actually started to improve from the retail or consumer end - yet.
Supplies remain tight and expectations of a price increase are building, so one person 'blinked' last week and then everyone followed to get a few bales into their stores and not be left standing alone.
After the first auction selling day, there was a flurry of activity - as those who had sat back jumped on the bandwagon.
Even after the sale on Wednesday, some overseas buyers were keen to mop-up any stock lots available around the trade, although price increases were a little harder to come by as reality set in.
How this week pans out will be determined, in part, by sales activity over the weekend - and, of course, whether the risk-off mood still exists to keep the currency around the US0.70 level.
In the broader picture, demand has not come roaring back, but there are tentative signs that we will get something in the next month or three.
Intertextile Shanghai was held last week in China and it was a slightly more staid affair than usual, with no foreign visitors and only foreign exhibitors with local staff able to attend.
But all the key Chinese fabric producers were front and centre, showing their new collections for autumn-winter 2021-22.
Inquiry was said to be 'good' and there were many requests for samples and prices.
But it is much too early for actual orders to be placed, as customers need to compare offerings and ponder what will be in fashion next year - as well as sell product they have on the shelves at present.
Retailers - having endured a terrible six months - are understandably cautious about launching into the next round of buying when they do not yet know how much of the current season's stock will walk out the door and into someone's wardrobe.
Chinese processors - right through from topmakers to spinners, weavers and garment makers - are fighting among themselves for business in the domestic market.
In many cases, this is the only market operating near 'normal'.
While it is a growing market, as China's economy claws its way out of the COVID-19 shutdowns, it remains very competitive and price-driven.
Thankfully, the higher-end consumer in China seems to be more willing and able to spend - having suffered less economic hardship than the lower paid rural migrant factory worker.
Nevertheless, Chinese manufacturers - whether they are producing woollen garments or widgets - are looking wistfully at the blue-sky export markets and wondering when these will come back.
For the past decade, those in the wool industry who expanded their businesses on the back of exporting to Europe and America are now having to suddenly turn back to the competitive domestic market. They are facing a challenge they did not see coming, nor are they enjoying.
The recovery in wool prices in the past three weeks has been welcomed by all, not least Australian growers.
But, as mentioned previously, the journey to a full recovery will be bumpy.
There are some in the trade who think the market has got a little 'over-cooked', and that there will be a correction this week.
Others think there may be a bit more upside, as the wool market has just now shrugged-off the ridiculous over-reaction that drove prices down to 10-year lows.
While those in the middle are thinking that the market should more-or-less hold at current prices and drift sideways until there are some better demand signals from the retail end.
With the Chinese 'Golden Week' holidays fast approaching, many factories will shut down on October 1 and re-open on October 8.
This has already been factored into inventory requirements. But more important will be the consumer activity in what is traditionally a big shopping event in China.
Hopefully the average, or well-heeled, Chinese consumer feels confident enough to get out and spend prolifically during this time and we see garments 'running off' the shelves.
Elsewhere, the global recovery is lumpy and uneven.
Recent IHS Markit surveys of purchasing managers' intentions (PMI's) showed the services sector in the US fell slightly, from a previous 17-month record high, but manufacturing was slightly higher than the previous month.
Similarly, in Europe, the services sector PMI was well down, as fears of a second wave of COVID-19 abound. But manufacturing PMI's rose above expectations.
Plotting the future course for wool is going to be difficult. But at least there is now a general consensus among the trade that the wool industry is in a better place than it was a month ago.