NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Cotton prices rose Monday in synch with gains in
Chicago Board of Trade wheat and soy futures.

Nearby cotton for October delivery settled 1.49 cent, or 2%, higher at 83.85
cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. The most actively traded December cotton
contract settled 0.58 cent, or 1%, higher at 79.34 cents a pound.

Cotton prices have risen 6% since July 1 as available supplies drop ahead of
the fall harvest. Talk that the earliest harvested crop has been sold for use
in textiles is lifting prices. Typically the market would be weighed down by
expectations for a 50% increase in U.S. production.

Against that supportive backdrop, cotton took cues from outside grains
markets Monday.

Drought conditions in the former Soviet Union have brought wheat production
there into question and pushed CBOT wheat to 23-month highs during the session.
The recent wheat rally has brought agricultural commodities into speculative
funds' eyeline, analysts note.

"In the U.S., cotton competes with corn and soybeans for acreage," said John
Flanagan, president of Flanagan Trading Corp. in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. "But in
China, the competition for cotton acres is wheat. Strong wheat prices could
capture Chinese cotton acres for the coming season."

The weaker dollar also supported cotton prices during the session, said Jack
Scoville, vice president at Price Futures Group in Chicago. A softer greenback
makes futures contracts less expensive in other currencies.

December cotton has technical resistance at 80 cents, one broker/analyst
said.

ICE daily cotton stocks decreased by 206 500-pound bales Friday to total
47,365 bales, according to exchange data.

ICE cotton open interest--the number of active positions left at the end of
the session--increased by 5,359 positions Friday to total 172,451, according to
the exchange.

Volume was estimated 20,691 lots. In options, approximately 11,353 calls and
5,400 puts traded on the floor, according to exchange data.

Close Change Range
Oct 83.85 +1.49 82.18-84.05
Dec 79.34 +0.58 78.16-79.80
Mar 77.33 +1.04 76.30-77.60