Back in February and March we had stories such as this from the Financial Times:
Cotton prices surge to all-time high
The amateur historians were digging through the Civil War record books and I among others was predicting tough times for apparel makers and retailers such as Aeropostale and VF Corp.By Gregory Meyer in New York and Javier Blas in LondonCotton prices burst past $2 a pound for the first time on Thursday and threatened to surge higher as mills race to secure bales against a looming exchange deadline.
Published: February 17 2011 09:39 | Last updated: February 17 2011 14:54
The surge will add to global concern about rising inflationary pressures caused by higher energy and commodities prices.
Over the past few weeks several clothing retailers have warned that they will raise their prices in response. But with unemployment still high in the US and Europe, some have warned that they are likely to struggle to pass on the increase to consumers, acknowledging that their margins are likely to suffer this year.
In early morning electronic trading in New York on Thursday, the benchmark ICE March cotton rose by the exchange-imposed daily limit of 7 cents to $2.0402 a pound, a nominal all-time high. The price has since been locked, limit-up, at that level....
Today the futures are off 4.8% at $0.9946, down 5.00 cents. The price hikes of April are now pure profit for these guys.
