ICE Cotton Jumps as Mounting Demand Tops Supplies

Cotton jumped the most allowed by ICE Futures U.S. for the second straight day as growers struggled to meet soaring demand in China, the world's biggest consumer.

Orders for U.S. exports in the year that ends July 31 have more than doubled from a year earlier, Department of Agriculture data show. For the week ended Nov. 25, shipments were up 21 percent from a week earlier, the USDA said. Cotton prices have surged 67 percent in 2010 as U.S. inventories tumbled and demand rose at Chinese textile mills.

“We’re exporting so much cotton we can’t get it out of the country fast enough,” said Louis Barbera, a broker at VIP Commodities in New York. “The physicals are almost all the way committed.”

In other markets, cocoa surged the most since October 2009 as a disputed presidential election in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest grower, threatened to disrupt exports. Crude oil also gained. The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index advanced 1 percent to 1,546.44.

Cotton futures for March delivery jumped by the exchange limit of 5 cents, or 4.1 percent, to settle at $1.2634 a pound on ICE in New York, the highest since Nov. 19. Yesterday, the limit was 4 cents. The fiber reached a record of $1.5195 on Nov. 10.

The commodity is heading for the biggest annual gain since 1973.

ICE Dec10 Cotton Trend: