June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Cotton futures rose for the third time in four days as demand jumped for exports from the U.S., the worldΆs biggest shipper.

In the week ended May 30, U.S. export sales of upland cotton jumped 57 percent from a week earlier, Department of Agriculture data showed today. Purchases were led by Vietnam and China, the top consumer. Futures have climbed 13 percent this year.

“Export sales were very good, and thatΆs what pushed the market up,” John Flanagan, the president of Flanagan Trading in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, said in a telephone interview.

Cotton for July delivery rallied 1.6 percent to settle at 84.87 cents a pound at 2:30 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The price has climbed 7 percent from a four-month low of 79.3 cents on May 31.