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13 February 2004
After steadying last week, the Australian wool market fell this week with prices dropping by 1.8% on average at sales in Sydney, Launceston and Fremantle.
20 February 2004
The Australian wool market fell again this week with prices decreasing by 1.2% on average at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
27 February 2004
The Australian wool market rose this week when prices increased by 0.8% on average at sales in Newcastle, Melbourne and Fremantle.
5 February 2004
China's exports of wool textiles and apparel rose in November in both weight and value terms. A stronger rise in value compared with volume was evident, reflecting the flow-on effect of higher prices within the wool pipeline over 2003.
2 February 2004
Highlights from the February edition of Monthly Market Briefing:
19 February 2004
Leading apparel designers in Europe revealed their collections for the coming Autumn/Winter season in Milan, Florence and Paris in January. For finer merino wool, the key menswear shows are an indicator of potential demand.
Prices for Australian mid-micron wool (20 to 25 micron) remain at relatively high levels in historical terms in A$, US$ and Euro terms, despite the sharp drop in A$ and Euro prices recorded in the past four months. However, fine wool prices (19.5 micron and finer) remain at lower levels in both A$ and Euro terms.
6 February 2004
The Australian wool market steadied this week, as prices increased by 0.5% on average at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Early signs of an upturn in purchases of apparel in Korea, particularly in the casual wear and volume-priced sectors, didn't help the local wool industry much as it continued to suffer sluggish levels of domestic demand coupled with the increasing threat of imports from lower-cost Asian processing countries at the end of 2003.
Recent Turkish customs data reveals that wool textile exports from Turkey were trending upward in value nearing the end of 2003.
The Chinese economy posted a stunning growth of 9.1% in GDP in 2003 - the highest rate for seven years and per capita GDP exceeded US$ 1,000 for the first time in 2003. Economists concerns about the sustainability of such high growth rates aside, Chinese consumer spending remains robust.
South America's two major wool producing countries, Argentina and Uruguay, both saw a dramatic weakening of wool exports in November 2003. Combined export volumes (clean equivalent) fell 55% compared with November 2002 and continued to trend downwards in December 2003.
23 February 2004
New Zealand wool production bottomed in the 2003/04 season and is forecast to rise in season 2004/05.