Bid:offer ratio at highest level since ‘10

The Liv-ex bid to offer ratio has this month returned to its highest level since May 2010, holding firm despite a lukewarm primeurs.

The ratio of bids to offers hit 1.76 at one point this month, the same level seen at this period in 2010 when the market was in the midst of its China-driven bull-run, while the total value of bids hit a new record of £33.4 million – up from the record £30m achieved this February.

Liv-ex reports that, on previous experience, any level over 0.5 indicates an uptick in the market and, at the very least, price stability.

The bid:offer ratio rose above 1.0 for the first time since 2010 this January and has maintained that rally ever since.

The focus on the 2015 en primeurs has led to a slight cooling off of this activity recently and the bid:offer ratio currently stands at 1.43.

That said, as Liv-ex pointed out, “this is still a high ratio historically” and it is an encouraging sign that it is the case despite what has so far been a “lukewarm” primeur campaign.

Of course, with most of the true ‘blue chip’ wines still to announce their opening prices, there is always a chance this state of affairs could change for the worse.