Prices paid for South Island wool have fallen slightly since it was last auctioned before Christmas -- mostly because of exchange rate movements since that December 17 sale.
A combined auction today of 24,000 bales of North and South Island wool in Napier and Christchurch, saw 86 percent of the wool sold, with the price of South Island wool weakening in line with the 3 percent rise in the exchange rate of the NZ dollar over the past month.
Prices of North and South Island wool are now directly comparable, New Zealand Wool Services International said.
A limited offering of mid micron wools in the South Island was strongly-contested, with prices lifting between 2.5 and 4.5 percent.
Fine crossbred fleece 35 micron and finer and longer shears also strengthened by 1.5 to four percent, with the shorter types remaining firm.
Coarse fleece was firm to 1 percent down. Shears ranged from firm to 2 percent dearer, as did early season first lambs wool.
Oddments received strong support, with the longer types up to 5 percent dearer and prices for the shorter styles rising by 2 percent.
Competition at today's sales was evenly spread across a number of markets: buyers from Australasia, China, India and the Middle East dominated, with support from Western Europe and the United Kingdom.
Next week's sale will be in Napier on January 21, comprising approximately 9950 bales of North Island wool.