For the first time in twelve years, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index closed January with a loss. Despite appearances, the last two years have seen the index bounce in the first quarter, but so far in 2014 the market has remained muted. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 drifted 0.9%, while the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 fell 0.8%. Index levels can be seen here.
Bordeaux’s share of trade in January dropped below 80% for the second month in a row. Although merchants are engaging with the market – the value of bids and offers on Liv-ex has risen to a record £24.5m – buyers have been unwilling to take a view, and price movements in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 (below) remain relatively arbitrary. Tomorrow we will publish the level of the recently launched Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index which should give us some greater flavour of underlying trends.
