Future Prices Cotton Surge as as Increased Export Commodity from USA

Cotton futures prices surged as increased exports from the U.S., the world?s largest shipper, signaled that global demand remains robust. Orange juice was unchanged, while coffee declined.

Cotton for March delivery climbed 2.39 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $1.8997 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. at 2:56 p.m. in New York. Earlier, the fiber touched a record $1.9455.

In the week ended Feb. 3, U.S. cotton shipments jumped 26 percent from a week earlier, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Prices have more than doubled in the past year as adverse weather slashed global crops and mills boosted purchases in China, the biggest user.

?The U.S. export sales showed that despite the high price of cotton, demand isn?t dipping,? Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte, said by telephone from Singapore.

Global output will be 115.25 million bales in the year ending July 31, 0.2 percent lower than a January forecast, the USDA said on Feb. 9. Demand will total 116.55 million bales, the agency said.

Prices jumped 13 percent this week, the biggest weekly gain since early December.

Futures may climb to $2 a pound, Judith Ganes-Chase, a Katonah, New York-based commodity consultant, said, without specifying a time frame. After that, the fiber may be vulnerable to a drop, she said.

?We will see a huge increase in planting globally because of the way cotton has run up, and that will gradually start pressurizing prices,? she said.

U.S. cotton farmers will increase acreage by 14 percent this year, the National Cotton Council said on Feb. 5.

Orange-juice futures for March delivery was unchanged at $1.6525 a pound in New York. The most-active contract lost 4.3 percent this week.

Arabica-coffee futures for March delivery fell 2.9 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $2.5495 a pound on ICE. In London, robusta- coffee futures for May delivery fell $4, or 0.2 percent, to $2,255 a ton on NYSE Liffe.