BLBG: Cotton Futures Extend Rally to Record in New York on China Supply Concern
Cotton futures jumped to a record on concern supplies will trail demand as adverse weather damages crops in China, the world’s biggest consumer.
A three-day cold spell, forecast to last through today, may hurt plants, the China Meteorological Center said yesterday. Stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest shipper, will drop 8.5 percent in the year that began Aug. 1 from a year earlier, the Department of Agriculture said on Oct. 8. Cotton futures surged 65 percent this year before today.
“The fundamentals remain bullish,” said Keith Brown, the president of Keith Brown & Co., a brokerage in Moultrie, Georgia.
Cotton for December delivery rose 2.08 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $1.2679 a pound at 9:36 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the commodity touched $1.2854, the highest ever.
Prices yesterday jumped the most allowed by ICE for the second straight session after hail last week pounded fields in Texas, the top grower in the U.S.
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