Cotton advanced to the highest in almost two weeks as signs of smaller crops in China, the worldΆs top grower and importer, signaled higher demand for U.S. exports.

ChinaΆs harvest may drop 12 percent to 6.68 million metric tons this season, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said, citing a survey by China National Cotton Reserves Corp. ThatΆs less than the 7.08 million tons estimated by U.S. Department of Agriculture on Nov. 8. In the week ended Nov. 7, U.S. export sales climbed 56 percent from a week earlier, government data show.

In China, “the smaller crop will lead to higher imports,” Sharon Johnson, a senior cotton specialist at KCG Futures in Atlanta Georgia, wrote in an e-mail today. “There is also talk of the auction being delayed for a few weeks,” she said, referring to sales from state stockpiles.

Cotton for March delivery gained 1.5 percent to 78.69 cents a pound at 12:01 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, after touching 79.45 cents, the highest since Nov. 7. Through yesterday, prices rose 3.2 percent this year.

China bought about 38 percent of the fiber sold by U.S. shippers in the week through Nov. 7, the USDA said. Total sales of the upland variety so far this season have reached about 5.3 million bales, compared with a full-year forecast of 9.37 million. Each bale weighs about 480 pounds (218 kilograms).