ICE cotton futures jumped over 2 percent to the highest in over two years on Thursday, as prices broke through the key 75 cent level on a technical rally supported by concerns over weather. The market also factored in weekly export sales data from the US government, which showed net upland sales totalled 226,700 running bales of cotton for the week ended July 28 for the 2016/2017 marketing year, up 25 percent from the previous week.
The December cotton contract on ICE Futures US rose 1.56 cent, or 2.10 percent, at 75.85 cents per lb. at 1531 GMT. It traded within a range of 73.77 and 76.19 cents a lb., the highest for the second-month since June 2014. The surge in prices was mostly on technical buying and concerns over weather in India and Texas, said Michael McDougall, director of commodities for Societe Generale in New York.