Fashion
Australian wool prices climb this week as cardings lead rally
Carding wool prices jumped 4.5 per cent over the week, marking the standout performance across the catalogue. Cardings, which are shorter staple wools used in woollen spun yarns such as locks, crutchings and lambs wool, have historically led sustainable market rallies. After lagging other wool types during the past six months of steady price gains, the strong lift in this segment may encourage renewed buying interest from both domestic and overseas buyers, the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) said in its commentary for week 33 of the current wool marketing season.
Supply conditions continue to underpin sentiment. Test house data show a seasonal 10 per cent decline in volumes, while wool representatives in growing regions report lower sheep numbers and reduced wool flows into stores due to challenging climatic conditions. The most striking figure was a 21 per cent year-on-year drop in wool tested last month. Over the past two years, Australia’s wool production has fallen by an amount equivalent to the entire South African wool clip, highlighting the scale of tightening supply in the global Merino market, the AWI commentary added.
Australian wool prices rose again this week, led by a 4.5 per cent surge in carding wool, despite a stronger Australian dollar.
Supply concerns intensified as wool tested fell 21 per cent year on year and sheep numbers declined.
China expanded its export share to 88.4 per cent, while Italy increased imports 6.3 per cent.
Auctions will resume on February 24, 2026, after a scheduled break.
Export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that China extended its dominance in the first half of the 2025-26 season, accounting for 88.4 per cent of Australian wool exports by volume. India held a 5.4 per cent share, while Italy accounted for 3.3 per cent. Italy was the only major destination to increase imports year on year, with volumes rising 6.3 per cent compared to the same period last season.
The market will pause next week at the request of major customers observing their Spring festival and New Year celebrations, with auctions scheduled to resume on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
The vote followed multiple rounds of negotiations.
The UN Security Council has rejected a draft resolution submitted by several Gulf states that would have strongly encouraged countries to coordinate defensive efforts and deter attempts to interfere with navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
By a vote of 11 in favour to two against (China, Russia), with two abstentions, a draft resolution submitted by several Gulf states could not be adopted.
Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bahrain and Council President for April, presided over the meeting. “We [member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council] declare loudly and unequivocally before this Council, which is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security, that [Iran] has no right to close this waterway to international navigation,” he said.
He cautioned that if the Council permits the Strait of Hormuz to remain closed today, “such a scenario would inevitably be replicated in other straits and waterways, thereby transforming the world into a jungle where force, arrogance and hegemony prevail”.
However, by a vote of 11 in favour to two against (China, Russia), with two abstentions (Colombia, Pakistan), the draft resolution could not be adopted.
The Chinese representative said that the proposed draft “failed to capture the root causes and the full picture of the conflict in a comprehensive and balanced manner”. Noting that it contained one-sided condemnations, he stressed that “this war should never have happened” and called on the United States and Israel to cease what he described as illegal military actions.
He also called on Iran to stop its attacks and noted that his delegation is currently working alongside Moscow on an alternative resolution to address the situation, according to a UN press release.
Beijing and Moscow announced plans to introduce an alternative text soon. “Our draft will be concise, equitable and balanced,” said the Russian representative.
“The objective of this draft is obvious,” stated Iran’s representative, as it seeks to “punish the victim for defending its sovereignty and vital national interests in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz while providing political and legal cover for further unlawful acts by the aggressors”.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
ETI is a composite index for payroll employment. When it increases, employment is likely to grow as well, and vice versa.
The Conference Board employment trends index for the US declined to 105.72 in March, from an upwardly revised 105.84 in February.
Job seekers continue to face a challenging market, according to economist Mitchell Barnes.
The share of consumers who report ‘jobs are hard to get’ climbed to 21.5 per cent in March and reflects a 5-percentage point rise YoY.
“Job seekers continue to face a challenging market,” said Mitchell Barnes, economist at the US think tank, said in a release. “This is evident in the ETI as several components moderated in March. Overall, the US economy has remained surprisingly resilient, but rising geopolitical uncertainty may contribute to ongoing employer hesitancy to add more workers.”
The share of consumers who report ‘jobs are hard to get’—an ETI component from the Consumer Confidence Survey—climbed to 21.5 per cent in March and reflects a 5-percentage point (pp) rise year on year (YoY).
The share of small firms reporting that jobs are ‘not able to be filled right now’ declined by 1 pp in March to reach 32 per cent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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