DESPITE the continuing strength of sterling and the difficult world market, the Wool Board says it feels considerably more optimistic.

The final offering of the 1999/2000 selling season last week saw strong competition for both spot and forward wools, resulting in 88 per cent sold of an offering over 2m kg. All prices were up and the Wool Board says that it will open the new selling season considerably more optimistic than 12 months ago. The price indicator moved to 70p per kg for the first time since March.

Said Ian Hatley of the Wool Board: "Our flexible selling policy, offering wool forward on a variety of options and aiming to sell the clip within the year has successfully stimulated sales and I think we can look forward more confidently to better prices."

The annual price schedule indicates that, because prices have started to move from last year's exceptionally-low base, the Wool Board will be paying an average of 50p per kg this year, compared with 39p last year. Britain is the fifth largest supplier of world wool and the market is still suppressed by both the strength of sterling and the weakening New Zealand dollar which has given advantage to competitive cross-bred wools.

Given these circumstances, there is still a wide variation in prices for different types, and coloured hill wools, particularly Swaledale, and some Welsh types, have again proved more difficult to sell. However, most producers should see around a 20 per cent increase in the price paid for most grades. The Wool Board says that aggressive selling has proved successful with 67 per cent of the clip sold by December. Some 13 per cent of the new season's wool will have been sold ahead.