Cotton climbed the most allowed by ICE Futures U.S. after India, the world’s second-largest grower, announced yarn-export limits and China’s manufacturing expanded.
India will cap shipments of cotton yarn at 720,000 metric tons in the year started Oct. 1 to bolster domestic supplies, the Textiles Ministry said. China’s manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in seven months in November, government data show. The fiber has surged 61 percent this year as Chinese demand surged.
“News from India about capping yarn exports is bullish for the market,” said Sharon Johnson, a senior analyst at Penson Futures in Atlanta. “Also, manufacturing numbers out of China are supporting the commodities market overall.”
Cotton futures for March delivery gained by the exchange limit of 4 cents, or 3.4 percent, to settle at $1.2134 a pound at 2:44 p.m. in New York. The price added 5 percent in the previous two days.
India will decide by Dec. 3 whether it will ease restrictions on cotton exports, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters in New Delhi yesterday. The nation said in September that it would cap shipments at 5.5 million bales in a bid to meet domestic demand. An Indian bale weighs 375 pounds, or 170 kilograms.
Cotton Record
Prices touched a record $1.5195 on Nov. 10 as inventories plunged and growers struggled to meet rising demand in China, the world’s biggest consumer. The U.S. is the largest producer.