You are here:
24 September 2004
The Australian wool market finished this week with prices 1.6% lower, on average, in Newcastle, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Data released by the Chinese Customs Bureau shows aggregate imports of raw and semi-processed wool from all the main wool producing countries lifted massively in June 2004 compared with the SARS-affected levels in June 2003.
Korean wool production activities operated at only 60-70% of full capacity from January to July 2004. New fabric orders for the Spring/Summer 2005 season are reported to be fairly slow and, as a result, it is anticipated that capacity utilisation will deteriorate by a further 5-10% from August onwards.
Australia's agriculture sector experienced a patchy recovery from drought conditions in 2003/04, although much of eastern Australia was still suffering from poor growing conditions.
Wool may see some benefit from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling on cotton subsidies earlier this month, although the gains will take some time to be realised.
17 September 2004
The Australian wool market finished this week with prices 0.3% lower, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Australia and China are in the initial stages of considering a Free Trade Agreement.
July data revealed a weakening of luxury fibre prices, despite continuing strong demand for luxury goods.
Supply side concerns in Iraq, a referendum in Venezuela (the fourth largest oil exporter to the US), political interference in the Russian giant oil company, Yukos, and inconsistent messages regarding production capacity from OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) combined to send the oil market to record high levels in the couple of months to August.
EU-15 imports of raw wool (greasy, scoured and carbonised) and carded and combed wool (noil, slivers and top) fell moderately in 2003. Imports of wool fibre by the 10 EU acceding countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus) showed a marginal increase to reach 59.4 mkg actual weight in 2003.
Around 45% of India's total raw wool imports is used for apparel consumption and Australia has traditionally commanded a major share of this market segment. The remainder is used to supplement domestic wool production in the manufacture of carpets and rugs.
10 September 2004
After more than forty years of import quotas, the European Union and the US are required to eliminate quotas on clothing and textiles on 1 January 2005 as agreed under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.
The Australian wool market finished this week with prices 0.6% higher, on average, in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Official Italian retail sales statistics for May revealed a drop (in nominal terms), compared to the same period last year. The decline is the biggest since 1997, when comparable measurements began and was seen in both food and non-food items.
Japanese consumer spending data for June revealed a continued but unexpected slowing, particularly for clothing.
6 September 2004
Highlights from the September edition of Monthly Market Briefing:
3 September 2004
The Czech wool processing industry saw raw wool (greasy, scoured and carbonised) imports dip in 2003, but rise at the start of 2004. The far greater proportion of imports in 2003 by weight was greasy wool, mainly in the 20-23 micron range.
Chiefly-wool knitwear imports into Japan gained strength during the first five months of 2004, lifting some 2.3 times over the same period a year earlier.
Wool prices at auction, like the prices for almost all commodities, are volatile, with significant week-to-week, day-to-day and even within-day variation for wool with the same fibre attributes.