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Contact:
Patricia Campbell
Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. (PFGBEST)
(312) 775-3411
By Sonja Elmquist
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Cotton prices fell the most in two weeks on bets that this month’s rally went too far. Orange-juice futures also declined.
From Feb. 5 to yesterday, cotton prices jumped 20 percent.
Exports from the U.S., the world’s biggest shipper, surged 93 percent in the first six weeks of 2010 from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We’re considerably overbought,” said Robin Rosenberg, a strategist at PFGBest Research, a futures broker in Chicago.
“Like a sprinter, cotton’s had one heck of a run. It’s cooling off today.”
Cotton futures for May delivery fell 0.61 cent, or 0.8 percent, to 79.16 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, the biggest decline since Feb. 5.
World cotton consumption is expected to climb 4.9 percent in the year ending July 31, the USDA said on Feb. 9. U.S. inventories may fall to the lowest amount since 2004, the agency said.
Orange-juice futures for May delivery fell 0.65 cent, or 0.5 percent, to $1.411 a pound. Earlier, the price reached $1.438, the highest level for a most-active contract since Feb. 2.
