Fashion
Australian wool lifts this week on strong demand, tighter supply
Fine wools between 16.5 and 19 microns led the rally, lifting around 15 cents on average, while medium microns (19–22 microns) also strengthened by 10–15 cents. Crossbred wools remained the only soft spot, easing 5 cents as the market enters the peak supply period for this category. Carding types held firm with gains of about 10 cents, the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) said in its commentary for week 23 of the current wool marketing season.
Australia’s wool market strengthened this week, with the EMI rising 17 cents to 1,521 AC/kg and surpassing US$10 for the first time since October.
Fine and medium microns gained up to 15 cents, while crossbreds softened.
Tight supply, reflected in AWTA’s double-digit testing declines, and strong buyer demand lifted clearance rates to 95 per cent.
Auction dynamics also tilted in sellers’ favour. Offerings fell 15 per cent for the week, but the clearance rate rose to 95 per cent, signalling strong competition despite a strengthened Australian dollar. The AUD gained ground even with softer GDP data, supported by US dollar weakness. Although a higher AUD often pressures export competitiveness, buyer demand remained resilient.
Latest November data from Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) continued to underline the tight supply backdrop bolstering prices. Wool tested during November fell 14.2 per cent year on year, while season-to-date volumes from July to November were 10.4 per cent lower. AWTA has tested 116.5 million kilograms so far this season, compared with 130.1 million kilograms a year earlier, the AWI commentary added.
Next week, 41,383 bales are rostered for sale, with all three centres operating on a Tuesday–Wednesday schedule.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
Fashion
Dutch inflation slips to 2.8% in December 2025
Consumer goods and services in the Netherlands were 2.8 per cent more expensive in December 2025 than a year earlier, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This marked a marginal cooling from November’s 2.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) reading. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices remained virtually unchanged compared with November.
With the December data now finalised, average consumer price inflation for the whole of 2025 stood at 3.3 per cent compared with 2024, CBS said in a release.
Under the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), Dutch inflation eased to 2.5 per cent in December from 2.6 per cent in November. By contrast, inflation across the euro area declined from 2.1 per cent to 2 per cent, helped by lower energy prices.
Consumer inflation in the Netherlands has eased slightly to 2.8 per cent in December 2025, down from 2.9 per cent in November, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
Prices were broadly stable month on month (MoM).
Average inflation for full-year 2025 came in at 3.3 per cent, while euro area inflation slowed to 2 per cent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Fashion
Germany’s Hugo Boss reshapes structure with menswear, womenswear units
As part of this transformation, Kerstin Dorst will assume the newly created role of Senior Vice President Business Unit Womenswear as of January 15, reporting into HUGO BOSS Chief Sales Officer and Deputy CEO Oliver Timm. Dorst joins HUGO BOSS from Tory Burch, where she spent more than 10 years in New York and played a key role in growing the brand’s main collection and sportswear. Prior to Tory Burch, she worked at Adidas for over five years in Germany and Asia, contributing to the launch of the brand’s SLVR premium sportswear line, among others. In her new role, Dorst will also oversee the creative direction for womenswear collections, working closely with Marco Falcioni, HUGO BOSS Creative Director.
Hugo Boss is introducing separate menswear and womenswear business units to strengthen gender-specific expertise, unlock synergies and support its CLAIM 5 TOUCHDOWN growth strategy.
Kerstin Dorst will join as SVP Business Unit Womenswear from January 15, reporting to Oliver Timm, while Christian Schwinn continues to lead menswear across Boss and Hugo.
“With the new organizational structure, we are reshaping our business units to strengthen our focus on womenswear and lay the foundation for future growth. The new set-up will enable us to address gender-specific preferences even better and to deliver collections with a true customer centric approach in both areas in the future,” said Oliver Timm, Chief Sales Officer and Deputy CEO of HUGO BOSS. “In this context, I am pleased to welcome Kerstin Dorst in the newly created role for womenswear. Her extensive international experience and profound expertise will play a key role in taking our womenswear business to the next level in the years to come.”
The BOSS Menswear business will continue to be led by Christian Schwinn, who will additionally take on responsibility for HUGO Menswear as Senior Vice President Business Unit Menswear.
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)
Fashion
North India cotton yarn trade slows amid US tariff uncertainty
In the Ludhiana market, cotton yarn prices were broadly stable, with spinning mills maintaining their selling rates due to advance export sales bookings. A Ludhiana-based trader told Fibre*Fashion, “The cotton yarn market has become highly sensitive to US tariff-related developments. After earlier threats of *** per cent US tariffs, the recent announcement of a ** per cent tariff on Iran’s trading partners has triggered fresh concerns. Buyers have turned extremely cautious and are restricting purchases to immediate requirements only.”
In Ludhiana, ** count cotton combed yarn was sold at ****;***–*** (~$*.**–*.**) per kg (inclusive of GST); ** and ** count combed yarn were traded at ****;***–*** (~$*.**–*.**) per kg and ****;***–*** (~$*.**–*.**) per kg, respectively; and carded yarn of ** count was noted at ****;***–*** (~$*.**–*.**) per kg today, according to trade sources.
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