All centres offered on Wednesday andThursday as the market posted its sixth consecutive weekly rise and eighth consecutive daily rise.

It is not surprising that there was a clearance rate of 98 per cent. Sales opened on Wednesday displaying vigorous demand for all Merino fleece categories. The 25c opening rise for the Merino types extended to the Merino skirtings especially on the lower vegetable matter levels.

As Thursday unfolded it was evident that the sub 19 categories had reached some price resistance as the market response was similar to the previous day. Medium and coarser Merino types continued to add 10c to 15c.

Crossbreds recorded modest gains of approximately 5c to 10c while support for lambs, locks, crutchings and stains posted 10c to 15c increases.

As the market punches upwards there is a noticeable increase in the wool offered from hold stocks. An observation made by analysts this week is the increasing price basis between 18 and 22 MPG.

This has returned to levels experienced two years ago (160c to 170c) and has been climbing since July 2014 from a narrow range of 20 cents to 30 cents.

Next week the market offers 45,026 bales before the offerings fall below 40,000 for the next few months.

With a more stable Australian dollar this week I feel the market has performed extremely well and has confirmed a solid trend.