The latest British Wool auction, which saw a total offering of 1.128 million kilos in 174 lots, took place on Tuesday (July 26).

Of the 1.128 million kilos, 266t was prior-season wool, with the rest being new season.

The total weight sold was 829t. Of this, 196t was prior-season wool, leaving approximately 200t of last season’s wool still to be sold. It is set to be offered at the next sale on August 16.

The total clearance achieved was 73% which, British Wool said, is its lowest clearance for several months. This is being put down to the UK scouring facilities being closed for their summer shutdowns and the majority of the European countries being only days away from their annual August shutdown.

Prices across most wool types were slightly lower, but increases were seen on some of the medium and Welsh grades.

Many of the old season lots that were on offer were either small, of a fault nature, or at the poorer end of the specifications expected for the relevant grades, British Wool said.

Some types went totally unsold, with the bids received being below British Wool’s reserves. This was the reason behind the fact that 49 of the 174 lots offered went unsold.

The clearances by wool type were as follows: