Cotton futures rose for a second day in New York amid tightening global supplies and signs of climbing demand in China, the world’s biggest user and grower.

Cotton yields in China may be lower this year amid cool, wet weather in growing regions, said Andy Ryan, a senior-risk management consultant at FCStone Fibers & Textiles. Futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange rose to a record today. The Asian country has increased imports in a bid to curb local prices.

“This morning’s strength is directly related to the Chinese markets,” said Mike Stevens, an independent trader in Mandeville, Louisiana. “It is a red-hot Chinese market that went to new highs. It’s just the scramble for supplies.”

Cotton for December delivery rose 2.05 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $1.1631 a pound at 10:31 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Yesterday, the most-active contract rose by 4 cents, the exchange limit.

On Oct 15., futures reached $1.198, the highest level since the fiber starting trading 140 years ago.

“Chinese cotton prices are driving the rest of the world higher,” FCStone’s Ryan said from Nashville, Tennessee. “Their market’s being driven higher by crop concerns and a very tight world situation.”

Global inventories will fall 4.3 percent in the year that began Aug. 1 from a year earlier, the U.S. government forecast on Oct. 8.

Before today, futures in New York jumped 51 percent this year, the most among the 19 raw materials in the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index.

A weaker dollar, down about 2 percent this month against a six-currency basket, has supported cotton and other commodities, Ryan said. Before today, the CRB Index rose 4.2 percent since Sept. 30.