1534 EDT [Dow Jones]--Cotton futures on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange
continued to mark new highs not seen since the end of the U.S. Civil War,
settling up 1.78 cent a pound, or 1%, at $1.4223 a pound Friday--in the sixth
consecutive day of gains. "We guess it's demand," said Sharon Johnson, an
analyst with First Capitol Group in Atlanta. "It's hard to know when we make
new highs." That's because speculative funds tend to jump in as prices are
rising, but then flee "once they realize how high prices are," she said, noting
Friday was "an extraordinary volatile day." Johnson suggested cotton mills are
more likely buying to ensure supply down the road than for any current demand,
but any attempt to pass such high prices on to consumers may meet with
resistance, eventually.