1446 EST [Dow Jones]--Fears China will move to control price inflation pushed
cotton futures prices on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange for December delivery
limit down again Tuesday, down 5 cents or nearly 4% at $1.3375 a pound. The
March contract, which many traders have been switching to, duplicated the
December contract, falling limit down 5 cents or nearly 4% to $1.2920 a pound.
Despite a major drop from the $1.4565 a pound close just a week ago, analysts
and traders noted futures prices for the fibrous crop remain above the Oct. 29
close of $1.2526--still higher than they've been since the end of the U.S.
Civil War. But Sharon Johnson, senior cotton analyst with Penson Futures in
Atlanta, added: "Once you take the steam out of the market, it's real hard to
get it back. That's the kind of the position we're in."