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30 July 2004
In the US, job growth and rising consumer confidence strengthened apparel retail demand during April. Consumers continued to demand imported products, despite a lower US dollar making many of the imports more expensive. By the end of May the picture was a little different.
In their Monthly Economic Report for June, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) upgraded their assessment of current domestic economic conditions, reporting "the economy continues its recovery", the most positive statement made by Government since the collapse of bubble economy during 1991.
23 July 2004
In 2003 buoyant commodity prices made a major contribution to the Russian economic turnaround. There has also been a strong contribution from domestic consumption, making future economic growth more sustainable.
Retail sales of apparel and home-related items in the UK showed no signs of slowing down in spite of rising interest rates. According to official government figures, the volume of textile, clothing and footwear sales in April were well up on year ago figures.
19 July 2004
Korean apparel retail sales data showed no improvement during May, despite flat clothing prices.
16 July 2004
The Australian wool market finished this week with prices 0.4% lower, on average, at the second sales for 2004/05 in Sydney. Melbourne and Fremantle are in recess.
Statistics released by the International Textile Manufacturing Federation (ITMF) show a deterioration in shipments of long-staple (wool) spinning machinery during 2003.
The first quarter of 2004 saw weakening demand for wool floor coverings amidst overall strong growth in US imports of flooring materials.
9 July 2004
The Australian wool market finished this week with prices 2.1% lower, on average, at the first sales for 2004/05 in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Taiwan's wool textile industry, which is primarily export orientated, recorded no improvements during the first quarter of 2004. The last three years' trade data highlights the steady decline of Taiwan's wool processing.
Economic data released for the final months of the fiscal year 2003/04 suggest that the Indian economy ended the fourth quarter (January-March) on a strong footing. For the year as a whole, Australia's third largest customer for raw wool expanded at its fastest pace in 15 years.
6 July 2004
Aggregate chiefly wool product exports recorded strong year-on-year gains in both volume and US dollar terms according to April data. A similar trend was reported for the four months ending in April, where both volumes and values lifted.
5 July 2004
Highlights from the July edition of Monthly Market Briefing:
2 July 2004
The Australian wool market finished this week with prices 1.2% lower, on average, at the last sales for 2003/04 in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
The French economy displayed a timid recovery in Q1 with GDP growth of 0.8%. Even though growth was recently reported to have picked up more quickly than expected due to positive domestic demand, consumer and business confidence remains shaky. This was particularly felt within the French textile and apparel industries.