Wool market surges into 2026 with strong first sale

The Australian wool market has opened 2026 with one of its strongest starts in years, as prices surged at the first sale back after the Christmas break.

The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) jumped 107 cents for the week to 1,648 cents a kilogram clean, sitting 38 per cent higher than this time last year. In US dollar terms, the EMI has now pushed above the US$11 mark — around 50 per cent higher year-on-year.

Australian Wool Exchange Wool Technical Controller Andrew Partridge said on FlowFM's Market Day Edition of the Country Viewpoint that the market took off immediately upon return.

“From the first sale of 2026, bang, the market took off,” Mr Partridge said. “The EMI jumped more than 100 cents for the week, rising around 50 to 80 cents a day.”

While strong starts to the year aren't unusual for the wool market, he said the size of the rise this year really stood out.

“The starkest thing is the EMI in US terms is 50 per cent higher than the same time last year,” he said. “That’s the whole market average.”

Supply for the first market back remained tight, with just 37,000 bales offered nationally and a pass-in rate of only one per cent.

“It’s not a big offering at all,” Mr Partridge said. “With a better market, growers were very happy to sell.”

Prices lifted across most micron categories, particularly broader Merino types. Nineteen-micron wool rose 130 cents to 2,042 cents, while 21-micron wool lifted 109 cents to 1,958 cents.

“We’re seeing 20 and 21 micron wools making close to 2,000 cents clean,” he said. “You don’t see that too often.”

Strong competition from Chinese buyers underpinned the market, and Mr Partridge said volatility was likely to continue in coming weeks.

“When the market moves this quickly, it can get a bit jolting,” he said.

“We just want it to settle into something a bit gentler.”