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2 May 2005
Highlights from the May edition of Monthly Market Briefing:
3 May 2005
Japanese chiefly wool men's suit imports during 2004 reported a strong recovery from the dip in 2003.
4 May 2005
UK retail sales of big ticket furnishing and electrical items continued to feel the impact of interest rate, housing market and tax concerns in February, while clothing and footwear sales were also on the weak side. Figures from the Office of National Statistics showed that total sales fell again between February and March.
6 May 2005
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 0.1% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
5 May 2005
Gaining some support from the stronger retail environment for luxury and higher end merchandise, cashmere and other luxury fibres saw modest price gains during the first quarter of 2005.
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson is to discuss soaring textile imports whith China's trade minister Thursday, 5 May. Bo Xilai has already met with US and French officials to address the situation, which has seen Chinese textile exports to the US and EU surging in the three months since quotas were removed.
10 May 2005
Statistics released by the Chinese Customs Bureau show China's imports of raw and semi processed wool cooling with a weak increase during February 2005 compared with the same month a year earlier.
11 May 2005
Conditions in the key markets for wool apparel consumption have been fairly mixed so far this year.
Pressure on China to revalue its currency could be beginning to have an effect, with several experts predicting the country will revalue the yuan soon.
13 May 2005
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 0.4% higher, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
12 May 2005
Based on figures to the end of March 2005 from AWTA, grower in-store stocks are moderately higher than at March 2004. The first three months of 2005, grower in-store stocks were virtually unchanged, having fallen very little compared to the end of December 2004.
17 May 2005
With over 70% of modern Japanese adults stating they have problems sleeping, demand for products which support a sound and comfortable rest have been growing sharply in Japan, with product categories ranging from bedding to personal care and home electronics. Positive sleep functions have been actively emphasised by Futon (quilt) brands resulting in slowing some of the retail price deflation recorded in this market over recent years.
China has continued to express its objections to the US decision to re-impose quotas on three categories of textile imports (WGSN News May 16). Prime minister Wen Jiabao said the restrictions were unhelpful for trade between the two countries, while other government officials have said the decision runs against the WTO's free trade principles.
18 May 2005
The Australian sheep flock has undergone significant changes in the last 15 years. The overall sheep population has declined from a peak in 1990 of 173 million head to the 2004 low of just under 100 million head, while the mix of ewes and wethers in the adult flock has also changed significantly over this time.
19 May 2005
Annual data for the Italian wool industry revealed that worsted yarn output fell moderately in 2004.
20 May 2005
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 1.8% higher, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
The US is to impose quotas on four more categories of Chinese textile imports following pressure from domestic manufacturers, which blame surging imports from China for damaging their industry.
China has announced a dramatic increase in the export taxes it imposes on textiles as it bids to limit further safeguard moves by the US and EU.
25 May 2005
A Datamonitor report reveals the importance of trousers in the global men's wear market. In value terms, trousers accounted for over one third of 2003 global menswear sales. In Japan in 2003, trousers accounted for over one quarter of the sales.
26 May 2005
The major raw materials (PTA, MEG and acrylonitrile) for the synthetic fibres that compete with wool (polyester staple and acrylic) edged higher during April on the back of a higher propylene prices.
27 May 2005
The Australian Wool Market finished this week with prices 1.2% lower, on average, at sales in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
24 May 2005
The International Monetary Fund has called on world governments to resist the urge to use protectionist measures in the face of booming Chinese textile imports, reported Reuters.
31 May 2005
AWTA test data for April 2005 showed that with just two months to go for the season, tested weight of Australian wool for the first four months of 2005 was barely higher than for the same period in 2004.
The textile trade dispute between China, the US and the EU has moved a step closer to crisis point with China removing export tariffs for 81 categories of textiles. The categories include the 74 that had recently been subjected to increases of up to 400 per cent in a bid to stave off quota restrictions by the US and EU.