COMMODITY PRICE INDEX

COMMODITY PRICE INDEX Australian wool prices have risen by 15% since the end of March to a 21-month high. Demand has picked up in Europe, where textile manufacturers are starting to rebuild stocks. China, Australia's largest customer, is buying more Australian wool as supplies of cheap Russian wool run out. Exports to China rose by 30% in the first nine months of the 1996-97 season, which ends this month. Less wool has been on offer at auction in Australia in recent weeks, and the minimum quarterly sale from the wool stockpile has already been reached. Moreover, the 1996-97 wool clip is put at only 639m kilos, the smallest for 16 years, and 38% below its peak in 1989-90.