NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - U.S. cotton futures ended Monday up the
daily limit at a one-month top on speculative buying, but dealings were
light as most players seemed content to sit on the sidelines for the
moment, brokers said.

Cotton is the best performing commodity in the Reuters-Jefferies
commodity index, up over 76 percent year to date.

(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/kew48n)

The benchmark March cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. rose the
4.00 cents daily limit to finish at $1.4097 per lb, with the session low at
$1.3697. It was the highest close for the second position cotton contract
in over a month.

Total volume traded hit about 12,500 lots, about two-thirds below the
30-day average of 34,500 lots, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed.
Market sentiment was aided by news that China only raised reserve
requirements for banks instead of benchmark interest rates, easing worries
of a slowdown in a prime engine of the world's economy.

'Everything was based on the Chinese not raising interest rates,' said
Mike Stevens, an independent cotton analyst in Mandeville, Louisiana.
China is the world's biggest consumer of cotton. With benchmark
interest rates not increasing, traders said that meant cotton consumption
in China will remain strong given the robust economic growth rate being
posted by the country.

The limit-up close meant cotton ended the day above the session top of
$1.4095 set on Friday.

'It does portend higher (cotton) prices sooner rather than later,' said
Stevens.

In China, cotton prices went up on Monday with the May cotton futures last
done at 27,535 yuan per tonne, up 880 yuan on the day.

The market's attention will soon turn to prospective spring 2011 cotton
plantings in countries such as the United States and China.

Analytical firm Informa Economics upped its U.S. cotton plantings
forecast in 2011 to 12.2 million acres, a 4-year high and nearly 12 percent
higher than 2010 cotton sowings of 10.909 million acres.

Industry group National Cotton Council will release its survey of
potential cotton sowings in February and the USDA will hand out its own
potential cotton plantings data on March 31, 2011.