Cotton Prices Gain on Increased Chinese Imports; Orange Juice Declines

Cotton prices climbed to a 15-week high as China, the world’s biggest consumer, may increase imports. Orange juice declined.

China’s cotton buyers, who have used up their 2010 import quotas, can apply for supplemental permits, the National Development and Reform Commission said today. The nation should be able to refill inventories early next year after the Northern Hemisphere harvest, said Andy Ryan, a senior risk-management consultant at FCStone Fibers & Textiles in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Prices are rising as global imports are expected to rise,” said Tom Mikulski, a senior market strategist at Lind- Waldock, a broker in Chicago. “Everybody seems to be fixated with cotton these days.”

Cotton for December delivery gained 0.94 cent, or 1.1 percent, to 84.49 cents a pound at 9:57 a.m. in New York. Earlier, the price climbed to 84.68 cents, the highest level since April 29. The commodity is up 5.3 percent for the week, its fourth weekly advance in a row.

The U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, will ship 15 million cotton bales abroad in the year that began Aug. 1, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. China will import 12.5 million bales, up from last month’s forecast of 11.65 million, the USDA said.

Global consumption will total 120.9 million bales, up 2.7 percent from last season and higher than the July estimate of 119.7 million, the USDA said. World output is forecast at 116.9 million. A bale weighs 480 pounds, or 218 kilograms.

Orange-juice futures for September delivery fell 1.5 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $1.37 a pound in New York, heading for their second consecutive weekly decline.