Fabric News for the 4th Week of October 2024

On October 17th, after the cotton market opened, it gave up the previous day's gains. The strong performance of the US dollar and the pressure of new cotton harvests forced speculators not to go long easily. On that day, the US dollar index soared to an 11 week high, and the good weather in the cotton producing areas of the United States facilitated the smooth harvest of new cotton in the country. On that day, the US dollar index surged to an 11 week high, as traders had already anticipated a rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its November meeting. In addition, the market has also digested Trump's plan to implement tax cuts, relax financial management, and impose tariffs, all of which have a positive impact on the US dollar. According to the latest released data, retail sales in the United States were good in September, with market expectations for retail growth of 0.3%, but actual growth of 0.4%. This data has raised expectations of a reduction in the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, despite the European Central Bank's earlier interest rate cuts, the US dollar index still rose again.

According to market reports, global shoe manufacturer Pouchen is planning to invest in and establish a factory in India, and is expected to start construction next year. Pouchen announced in April last year that it would invest 23 billion Indian rupees (approximately 260 million US dollars) to establish a production base in the special economic zone of Tamil Nadu, and build the factory in two phases, with the expectation of expanding and diversifying production capacity. This is also Pouchen's largest investment and factory construction plan in recent years.

According to data from Cotton Inc, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for clothing increased by 0.6% month on month and year-on-year in September. This has brought clothing prices close to the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, with prices in April 2024 only slightly higher than this. At present, the price is 6.4% higher than the average level in 2019. Despite the price increase, consumer spending on clothing still decreased by 0.8% in August, but still increased by 1.8% year-on-year. The US labor market performed strongly in September, with 254000 new jobs added, marking the highest monthly increase since March. This number significantly exceeds the six-month average of 176000 new job opportunities added each month. The revision of the employment growth forecast for July and August is also positive, with an increase of 55000 jobs in July and 17000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate has slightly decreased, from 4.2% to 4.1%. After reaching a peak of 5.9% in March 2022, wage growth in the United States has slowed down and stabilized at 3.4% in July 2024. However, there has been a slight rebound in recent months, with wage growth rates reaching 3.9% and 4.0% in August and September respectively, indicating that wage pressure may be gradually returning to the economy.

On the evening of October 18th, after 5 spectacular performances, the 13th Jiangsu (Shengze) Textile Expo and 2024 Suzhou Bay Fashion Week, which lasted for 4 days, concluded. In 4 days, the 20000 square meter exhibition areas were filled with excitement, with 19 fashion shows showcasing the latest trends, 4 design competitions fiercely contested, and 2 industry conferences enthusiastically discussed. The online and offline audience reached 28 million, attracting over 300 exhibiting companies and 51000 domestic and foreign textile and clothing buyers. The intended transaction volume exceeded 1.5 billion yuan.

The sustainable intelligent design technology research team of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology has collaborated closely with an interdisciplinary team from Tsinghua University to jointly design a "temperature adaptive intelligent fabric (SF)", achieving significant research breakthroughs. Recently, the research results were published in the internationally renowned academic journal <Science Advances>, showcasing an innovative thermal management solution that does not require additional energy consumption, achieving adaptive temperature regulation of artificial fabrics and providing a new sustainable solution for future lifestyles. The research findings have also received attention from the top international academic journal <Nature>and have been reported in its Research Highlights column, further affirming the international forefront and significance of the research results.

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