Cotton futures rallied over 2 percent to one-month highs for their biggest one-day gain in two months on Thursday, as strong US export sales data prompted fresh buying, offsetting concerns about a growing global surplus. The data came a day after the US Department of Agriculture cut its inventory forecast for the current season to end-July next year due to lower output in Texas, where adverse weather is hurting yields.
After rising more than 2 percent to 61.63 cents, the most-active March cotton contract on ICE Futures US closed up 0.91 cent, or 1.5 percent, at 60.48 cents a lb. It was the market's best day since October 6. Prices were on track for their best weekly performance since September. "The export numbers were very good, especially the shipments," said Sharon Johnson, a cotton specialist with KCG Futures in Roswell, Georgia, noting that buy-stops helped lift the front-month to a one-week high of 61.08 cents. Data showed net upland sales of 199,200 running bales for 2014/15, up almost a fifth from the previous week, and driven by buying from Indonesia, which bought 77,000 bales. Certified cotton stocks continued to decline, falling 1,707 bales to 45,709 bales.
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