Support linked partly to surge in U.S. equities, jump to an eight-year high in new home sales and a large unpriced on-call mill position in July. India has temporarily withdrawn an order on GM cotton seeds.

Cotton futures, leaping from recent coiling price action, jumped above the prior two weekly highs in spot July and December on brisk volume Tuesday.

July settled up 153 points to 63.01 cents, its highest close since May 3 and near the high of the sessionΆs 205-point range from down 30 points at 61.15 to up 175 points at 63.20 cents. It posted its highest intraday price since the outside-range reversal down of May 5.

December closed up 111 points to 62.45 cents, its highest finish since May 2 and just off the high of its 167-point range from 60.86 to 62.53 cents. Both July and December rebounded from overnight lows just above the prior-session lows.

Volume quickened to an estimated 39,150 lots from 16,526 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 7,317 lots or 44%. Options volume totaled 6,861 calls and 5,572 puts.

Surging U.S. equities amid strong housing data, rising oil prices and perceptions that higher interest rates wonΆt undermine stock prices may have contributed to the cotton rally in the face of a strong U.S. dollar.

U.S. single-family home sales surged to more than an eight-year high in April and prices hit a record high, viewed as evidence of a pick-up in economic growth. People who buy new homes often buy cotton products to go in their new abodes.

New home sales jumped 16.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units, the highest level since January 2008, the Commerce Department said. The percent increase was the largest since January 1992.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 208 points near the cotton close and the S&P 500 climbed 1.3%, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil also rose 1.3% to $48.71. U.S. dollar index futures traded up 0.410 to 95.625 against a basket of major currencies.

Support for cotton also may have stemmed partly from a rather sizable unpriced on-call mill position in the July contract, where options expire June 10 and first notice day arrives June 24.

Mills came into last week with an unfixed position of 20,778 lots after pricing 1,422 lots the prior week. Producers had priced 73 lots, trimming their unfixed position to 3,463 lots.

The net call difference declined 1,349 lots to 17,315 or about 1.73 million bales, which was 17.18% of JulyΆs open interest, compared with 17.4% a week earlier. The unpriced mill position outweighed that of producers by a ratio of 6.00:1, down from 6.25:1.

In international news, India has temporarily withdrawn an order capping royalties on any new variety of genetically-modified cotton seeds, Reuters reported, citing a government source. The action brought relief to U.S.-based Monsanto Co., the marketΆs sole supplier. Cotton is the only GM crop grown in India.

The government now will seek feedback from various stakeholders in the next 90 days before reaching a decision, the source said. No reason was given for the decision to withdraw the order temporarily.

India is forecast by USDA to remain the worldΆs largest cotton producer for the second consecutive season in 2016-17. Its crop is projected at 28 million bales, up 4.5% from the prior year. The area is forecast slightly lower at 11.8 million hectares or 29.16 million acres, but IndiaΆs yield is projected to rebound from this seasonΆs 10-year low.

Futures open interest increased 811 lots Monday to 190,361, with JulyΆs down 193 lots to 97,059 and DecemberΆs up 843 lots to 76,626. Cert stocks grew 350 bales to 91,209.