December topped highs of prior four weeks. Hail stripped some Texas Plains cotton. National Cotton Council calls for broad examination of global fiber markets.

Cotton futures surged to triple-digit advances for a second day Tuesday as benchmark December jumped from modest early morning gains above highs of the prior four weeks.

December settled up 230 points to 70.80 cents, just off the high of its 307-point range from down 67 points at 67.83 to up 240 points at 70.90 cents. It printed hit the highest price since Aug. 15 and highest close since Aug. 11 after posting the low in the first 10 minutes overnight.

October closed up 184 points to 70.82 cents, March advanced 211 points to 70.83 cents and December 2017 rose 148 points to 70.43 cents.

An undetermined amount of overall damage from hailstorms over the weekend to crops in the West Texas Plains and Oklahoma and a second day of strong gains in ChinaΆs Zhengzhou cotton futures may have contributed to driving the market into buy stops.

Individual producers on the High Plains have reported that hail stripped their cotton. The regionΆs undamaged cotton is getting exactly the sunny, unseasonably warm conditions it needs for boll maturation ahead of the weekend when an upper storm system is expected to bring back unsettled weather.

Volume quickened to an estimated 33,701 lots from 19,169 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 4,528 lots or 24% and EFP 22 lots. Options volume totaled 13,589 calls and 4,651 puts.

U.S. cotton industry people cheered the U.S. Trade RepresentativeΆs filing last week of a complaint against ChinaΆs price supports for corn, wheat and rice and asserted that similar action should be taken on its cotton subsidies.

The filing “reflects a growing desire in the United States and abroad to address more effectively the range of policies in major developing countries that affect agricultural markets,” Gary Adams, president and CEO of the National Cotton Council, said in a statement.

Through semi-annual dedicated discussions established by the WTO in December 2013, cotton is the only agricultural commodity with an explicit mechanism that allows for the multilateral evaluation of domestic support, export subsidies and market access, he said.

“These discussions provide the venue to scrutinize and question ChinaΆs cotton target price program, reserve stocks policy and import quota administration along with support prices and fertilizer subsidies in countries such as India,” Adams said.

“However, to identify and understand all of the factors affecting global cotton markets, a thorough and comprehensive examination of all policies affecting global fiber production and trade — including synthetics — is required,” he added.

Global synthetic fiber production capacity is three times the level of world cotton production, Adams pointed out.

“With U.S. cotton area down almost one-third since 2011 and the fundamental changes in the safety net included in the 2014 farm bill, an honest critique of the global cotton market must include cotton policies in the developing world as well as subsidies provided to synthetic fibers,” he said.

All U.S. cotton industry segments — from the producer to the textile manufacturer — feel the impact when other countries donΆt adhere to WTO rules, Adams said.

The stated mission of the semi-annual WTO discussions to enhance transparency and monitoring in “trade-related aspects of cotton” cannot be accomplished without considering the impact that synthetic fibers have on global cotton production, consumption and trade, he said.

“With world polyester producers operating at just 71% of capacity and with prices in China — the largest polyester producer — below 50 cents per pound, the detrimental impacts of synthetic fibers are felt by all participants in the global cotton market,” Adams said.

In a statement on its website, ChinaΆs Commerce Ministry expressed regret over the filing and said government supports for agriculture is “an internationally agreed-upon practice and allowed under WTO rules.” The ministry said it will work through the WTO “to safeguard ChinaΆs industry and trading interests.”

Futures open interest increased 786 lots Monday to 232,379, with DecemberΆs down 116 lots to 152,418 and MarchΆs up 415 lots to 49,499. Certified stocks declined 2,050 bales to 32,628. There were 270 newly certified bales and 2,320 bales decertified. Awaiting review were 270 bales.