Drought pushes up Australian wool prices

MELBOURNE, March 12 (UPI) -- A drought affecting most of Australia is pushing up the price of wool amid fears of a likely shortage of supplies.

The wool industry's benchmark Eastern market Indicator has risen 300 points in the past year to 900.

A spokesman for one of Australia's biggest firms, Elders Wool, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. prices are likely to stay high as the wool market continued its rise.

"We have started seeing inquiries again from China, India, Korea and Taiwan -- mainly due to fears of another rise due to the uncertainty of supplies," he said.