Sep 21, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- 1716 EDT [Dow Jones] - Cotton prices continued their surge beyond the $1-a-pound mark on harvest problems in China and resilient demand from textile mills. The latest data from the world's No. 1 cotton importer and user--as well as producer--confirms the appetite. China's cotton imports in August more than doubled on year. Imports over the first eight months of the year also doubled compared with the same period in 2009. ICE October cotton settled 1.32 cents, or 1.3%, higher at $1.0169 a pound, a fresh 15-year high.