The South African wool market caught up well at the first sale of the new year, Cape Wools said on Wednesday. It saw a 13.5% increase on the opening sale and is up almost 6.1% on the corresponding sale last year.

Company spokesperson Lizelle Delport said that Cape Wools' Merino indicator softened by a marginal 1.4% to close the day at R115.67/kg (clean).

The local market seemed to follow the international trend, as the Australian market had also decreased by 1.3%.

The better style wools were much sought after, and traders supported the 20 micron and finer types well. The average price for good top making types of 18 microns gained 2.1%.

Delport said that this week's offering was fairly large at 13 146 bales, of which 95% was sold.

The next national sale was scheduled for January 22, when an estimated 16 500 bales would be on offer.

Major buyers at the first sale were Standard Wool (3716), Lempriere (3458), Modiano (2301) and Stucken & Co (1415).