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29 October 2004
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 0.1% lower, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
28 October 2004
The US government has moved to impose new limits on socks made of wool imported from China, as well as socks made from cotton and man-made fibre, after concluding that domestic manufacturers have been hurt by the surge of these imports in recent years.
Raw wool prices in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa appear to have been hostage to the daily and weekly movements in their currencies against the US dollar for much of the past year or more.
25 October 2004
Data to September has shown a number of luxury fibre prices recorded an upward swing on the back of strong demand for luxury goods - according to some leading international brands. The price for super-fine wool, specifically the volatile 15.5 micron and finer, bucked this trend.
22 October 2004
While market fundamentals in a number of the main wool consuming countries highlight positive signs for wool demand and prices out to early 2005, dependable indicators suggest that economic growth in the key wool consuming markets may have already peaked.
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 0.5% higher, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
21 October 2004
Statistics released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) show that China remains the main supplier of choice for all the main fibre types apart from wool, for US manufacturers and retailers.
20 October 2004
Premier Vision, the main European fabric exhibition, which ran from 21-24 September, reported good news for wool in the Autumn-Winter 2005-06 season.
Under the terms and conditions of China's accession into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), China agreed to abolish its Designated Trader System (DTS) in 2005.
15 October 2004
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 0.1% higher, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Italy's stagnant household consumption continues to be a cause for concern but forecasts point to an improvement. Domestic demand proved to be the major contributor to growth in the economy in the first quarter. Analysts are still cautious and warn that the signs may not imply a permanent return to higher growth.
Australia could gain easier access to export markets of 500 million people under a proposed trade deal between Australia/New Zealand and the Association of South East Asian nations (ASEAN).
13 October 2004
One of the key concerns for the Japanese apparel and textile industry is how to deal with the nation's ageing population. Of particular concern is the number of Japanese baby boomers nearing retirement age and the impact this may have on sales of men's business suits.
12 October 2004
China Customs statistics show that China's imports of raw and semi-processed wool rose by a large 164 per cent in July 2004 compared with July 2003 - the sixth consecutive month of year on year gains, and the highest July import level since 2001.
8 October 2004
Despite waves of lobbying, the WTO Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) meeting on 1 October 2004 made no change to the long-established plans to remove textile and apparel quotas from 1 January 2005.
Data for the second quarter of 2004 show a marginal increase in raw wool imports into the US. A large rise in scoured wool imports was virtually cancelled out by a significant fall in greasy wool purchases.
Wool carpet imports into Japan during the second quarter of 2004 saw a more moderate upward trend after the exceptional volume gains seen in the first quarter.
Russia's growing economy has not guaranteed the domestic textile and apparel industry an easy ride.
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 0.3% lower, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
4 October 2004
Highlights from the October edition of Monthly Market Briefing:
1 October 2004
Tariff free access into the US has been maintained for 18.5 micron and finer wool and wool products throughout 2005 up to specific quantities. The US government has called for requests to modify the maximum quantities for fabric made from 18.5 micron and finer.
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 2.7% lower, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Growth in China's apparel retail sales recorded a slight slowdown in June compared with May, suggesting that the efforts by Beijing to slow China's high economic growth rate began to bear fruit.
US Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) statistics show wool apparel imports during June were higher in both volume and value terms, recording the highest year-on-year gain since October 2003 (in volume terms).
Predictions from a leading forecaster point to a moderate slowdown in the growth of private consumption (a key indicator of apparel retail sales as it indicates the likely growth in expenditure by consumers) in several of the key wool consuming countries, including China, Japan, the USA and the UK, in 2005.