Hedge funds cut their bullish positions on cotton to the lowest level since July, even as prices surged last week to a U.S. record, after a New York exchange imposed new disclosure rules for larger holdings.

In the week ended Feb. 8, the net-long positions, or bets on rising prices, to 38,465 futures and options contracts on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed. The 11 percent decline was the biggest since mid- November.

ICE said this month that traders who want to hold more than 300 cotton contracts must prove an economic need for them during the notice period when the commodity is delivered, as part of an effort to curb price volatility. Cotton has more than doubled in the past year, touching a record $1.9455 a pound on Feb. 11.

“Many liquidated positions were prompted by the exchange’s rule,” said Sharon Johnson, a senior analyst at Penson Futures in Atlanta. “The week, we saw speculative traders also book profits as prices surged.”

Cotton for March delivery jumped 13 percent last week, the most since early December, to settle Feb. 11 at $1.8997.

Prices have surged on concern that global demand will outpace production, after adverse weather damaged crops and mills boosted purchases in China, the world’s largest user.

Managed-money positions include hedge funds, commodity pools and commodity-trading advisers. Analysts and investors follow changes in speculator positions because such transactions may reflect an expectation of a change in prices