Cotton rose to a two-week high on concern that India, the worldΆs second-largest producer, wonΆt follow through with a plan to boost exports.
India yesterday lifted restrictions on exports of raw cotton, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said in a statement. Some traders bought the fiber on speculation that supplies will be blocked, according to Mike Stevens, an independent trader. The countryΆs Supreme Court issued a stay on shipments, Birkenhead, England-based Cotlook Ltd. said on its website.
“This Indian pattern of an on-again, off-again export policy has made most international traders quite wary, and rightfully so,” Stevens said in a telephone interview from Mandeville, Louisiana.
Cotton for December delivery gained 3.28 cents, or 3.2 percent, to settle at $1.0505 a pound at 2:46 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the price touched $1.0532, the highest since July 14. The fiber reached a record $2.197 on March 7.
CotlookΆs Memphis, Tennessee, office declined to comment further. China is the top producer.