Cotton futures hit ICEs new ceiling

ICE cotton futures surge by the exchange's new daily limit of 7c, hitting $1.7486/pound, up 4.2% on the day. Last week, ICE announced it would broaden the daily trading limits from a minimum of 4c to 7c in the current price range above $1.7001.

As to why, Penson Futures senior cotton analyst Sharon Johnson mused, "The extremely high number of limit moves since last fall may have played a role as exchange officials were looking for a way to decrease if not prevent cotton  from locking limit and not trading." (leslie.josephs@dowjones.com)

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2011 11:59 ET (16:59 GMT)

(Source: http://www.agriculture.com/news/crops/cotton-futures-hit-ices-new-ceiling_2-ar14489)