Cotton Prices Jump on India Export Ban (RL, LIZ, LULU)

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By Paul Ausick Updated Published

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India has banned cotton exports, beginning immediately and lasting indefinitely. The move is causing some turbulence in the cotton market, where short positions reached nearly 8,300 contracts on predictions of a big cotton crop this year.

Clothing makers like Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ), and lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU), all major consumers of cotton, have not shown any effects yet in their share prices.

India’s weak currency has led to higher levels of exports this year, particularly to China. The government’s ban on exports is likely a move to try to boost prices. An international cotton board last week estimated total shipments by the end of the 2012-2013 crop year of 14.5 million metric tons, a jump of 1.6 million metric tons.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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