The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 rose 1% in March after yet another extremely active month of trade on the market. It is now at its highest ever level, having risen above the previous peak seen in November 2018.
The benchmark index closed at 365.06, its seventh month of consecutive gains. Its fellow benchmark index, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 also rose in March.
Continuing the pattern set at the start of the year, across the exchange as a whole, the number of distinct wines (LWIN7) traded surpassed 1,000 (1,437), while with a vintage factored in (LWIN11) the number of wines traded was over 2,000 (2,708). March has therefore surpassed November 2020 as the broadest month of trading yet recorded.
The four-month suspension of tariffs between the US and EU was a major fillip for the market and US merchants were increasingly active following the announcement on 5th March.
Positive gains
Bordeaux and Burgundy have been chief beneficiaries of the US tariff suspension. The Bordeaux 500 and Burgundy 150 indices both rose over 1% in March and are positive year to date.
During the 18 months the tariffs were in place, Champagne, Italy and the Rest of the World made big gains in the secondary market but their trade share by value among US merchants has dipped a little since the tariffs were suspended.
This is perhaps reflected in the very slight declines in the Champagne 50 and RoW 60 sub-indices last month. Nonetheless, interest in Italian wines remains robust – the Italy 100 regained its composure after a sluggish start to the year to be the best-performing sub-index in March.
Champagne remains by far the best-performing index in the Liv-ex 1000 over the past year, up 12.65%.
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