ICE Cotton Futures Fall Near 6 Cent 'Limit Down'

Cotton futures on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange forDecember delivery settled down 5.58 cents, close to the day's 6-cent "limitdown," or nearly 4% at $1.4565 a pound after seven days of record settingsettlements Wednesday. "It was never a question of if, it was when we would dothis," said Sharon Johnson, an analyst with First Capitol Group in Atlanta.However, Tom Mikulski, senior market strategist with Lind-Waldock in Chicago,noted that cotton prices remain supported by continuing demand from China andcrop deficits such as that described in a U.S. Department of Agricultureestimation report Tuesday of U.S. ending stocks at their lowest since 1925.