After three weeks of successive rises the Australian wool market has recorded overall losses this week. Melbourne opened proceedings on Tuesday and was the only centre in operation. The softer tone evident at the end of the previous week’s sale was immediately apparent when selling began. By day’s end, the individual Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for 17.0 micron and coarser falling by 14 to 40 cents. On the back of these falls the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) lost 14 cents for the day. As the Northern region did not sell on the last selling day of the previous series, or the first selling day of this series, they did not suffer the losses experienced in the other centres on these days. As a result, Sydney posted large losses on its opening day, these falls pushed the Sydney MPGs down by 37 to 110 cents. The Sydney losses were the driving force behind the 24 cent drop in the EMI, as the Southern region was firm when compared to the previous day, shaving only one cent of the Melbourne indicator. The market settled on the final selling day as buyers found a price basis they were comfortable with, the market then slowly rose as the sale progressed, so much so that the Fremantle region selling last, recorded increases of 6 to 16 cents for the day, finishing the week on a positive note .The EMI managed a 5 cent increase for the day. Overall the EMI lost 33 cents for the series, closing at 1,576 cents. The oddment sector was the strongest performer for the series. Locks in particular were in strong demand, pushing prices up by 30 to 40 cents. These gains combined with modest increases in other carding types, helped push three carding indicators up by an average of 30 cents. Next week’s national offering reduces to 40,680 bales.