The latest British Wool auction held on Tuesday 20 October met more challenging marketing conditions with 876 tonnes (77%) of the sale offering of 1,127 tonnes, sold.
This compares to a clearance rate of 97.5% in the previous sale.
The reluctance to trade at a lower price reduced the clearance rate but helped maintain the average price.
The average price of greasy wool was recorded at £1.64/kg (€1.95/kg), just 1p/kg lower than the previous sale held on 6 October. The wool price index reduced by 2.5%, to an average price of £2.43/kg (€2.89/kg) for clean wool.
British Wool stated that bidding was more tentative than in early October with exporters “noticeably more hesitant to bid”.
It added: “Wool is still being traded at these levels, but it has clearly been challenging for merchants, both in the UK and New Zealand, to write new business. Of the core types in the offer, only Cheviot wool had a 100% clearance.
Price performance
British Wool reports that with just over a quarter of the anticipated supply for the 2026 season now sold, the average price stands at £1.68/kg.
This, it says, is 33p/kg higher than the average for the 2025 season which “continues to bode well for a significant increase in returns to British Wool members”.
With regards to intake volumes, British Wool’s intake for the 2026-season wool clip is currently running 2% to 3% ahead of last season and with volumes expected to remain low relative to recent years, the offering in upcoming sale auctions is likely to be in the region of 1,000 tonnes.
