Liv-ex 1000 stutters in February

After storming to unprecedented heights over the past three years, 2019 continues to see the Liv-ex 1000 struggle to make any headway with Burgundy taking the biggest hit.

The broadest measure of the market Liv-ex has, the index dipped 0.9% in February after declining 0.3% in January, as did the Fine Wine 100 as previously reported.

All of the sub-indices declined last month with the exception of the Bordeaux Legends 500 which gained 0.9%.

Intriguingly, it was the Burgundy 150 index that has been the most successful which was hit hardest, down a frighteningly tangible 3%.

Liv-ex reported that demand in Asia during the New Year break had been poorer than usual.

It is of course possible that this is a blip and normal service will resume shortly. Many markets ‘pause for breath’ after prolonged periods of big growth and sometimes settle back a little before kicking up another gear.

But if the indices continue to fall over the course of several months with ‘Brexit’ uncertainty still casting a pall over many markets and an en primeur campaign that could stall and drive the market still lower without much UK input, the situation does not look too terribly settled for fine wine this quarter.