Market Report 06.03.2026

What happened this week

How quickly the world changes once again. At the end of last week, it was not foreseeable where we would stand just one week later—and that once again we would be dealing with a military conflict whose consequences are still far from clear today. What is happening in the Gulf now naturally overshadows everything else—especially the rather insignificant sector we report on. Nevertheless, our market is affected by these developments as well, and there is simply no alternative but to consider scenarios that may follow as a consequence. To begin with, of course, nobody knows how long this conflict will last or how far it might still spread. As of today, it no longer looks like this will be merely a short-lived episode. Regardless of how the military conflict evolves, the region is unlikely to return to stability anytime soon. This may lead to a prolonged period of higher oil and energy prices. The region also plays a major role as a sales market—particularly for luxury goods—especially after demand in China had weakened. This week, many could do little more than reflect on these issues, as the events prompted people to wait and try to form a picture of the potential implications. In China, there was certainly a willingness to first await the leadership’s political decisions on the next five-year plan, since these often have decisive effects on the domestic consumer goods market. The Politburo’s decisions do not appear particularly stimulative. Growth targets were set lower, and only the defense budget was increased noticeably. For the leather market, none of this seems to have any real significance. In addition, many who planned to travel to Hong Kong next week and route their journey via airports in the Gulf are now having to consider alternative travel routes. At the moment, it does not seem likely that regular flight operations will be restored by the start of the fair. Alternative routes are, of course, in high demand, and this is reflected in flight ticket prices. Overall, until the end of last week, there was strong interest in developments in Asia, and naturally many were guided by the hope that the fair in Hong Kong might set a positive impulse for the coming months. Seasonality spoke—and still speaks—against it, but after a relatively long quiet phase and several positive signals from certain sectors, the overall sentiment was at least not entirely negative. The current situation, however, has clearly dampened that enthusiasm again. From a business perspective, there is not much to report. Aside from a few sporadic spot deals in Europe, there was little of substance from overseas in the morning inbox ahead of the fair. The US dollar has improved slightly, without showing any impact, and in addition, transport costs are likely to rise in the near term.