Bloomberg
By Yi Tian and Jae Hur
Cotton futures jumped to a record for a second day in New York on speculation that global supplies will fail to keep pace with rising demand, particularly from China, the world’s largest user.
China’s custom agency said today that cotton imports urged 31 percent to 126,125 metric tons in November from October. Shandong, China’s second-biggest producing province, said Dec. 17 that output dropped 22 percent this year from a year earlier. In India, the world’s No. 2 grower, production will be less than forecast, an industry group said yesterday.
“The crops are disappointing,” said Robin Rosenberg, a futures strategist at PFG Best Research, a brokerage in Chicago. “Prices will go even higher.”
Cotton for March delivery advanced by the exchange limit of 5 cents, or 3.2 percent, to an all-time high of $1.5912 a pound at 10:01 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Prices have risen by the exchange limit for three straight sessions and have more than doubled this year, heading for the biggest annual gain since 1973.
“It’s not just new buyers that are driving prices up,” Rosenberg said.
Cotton may rise to $1.75 in a few weeks, he said.
Stockpiles in the U.S., the biggest exporter, are forecast to plunge for a third straight year.
(Story found in original context here.)