The latest data from American Cotton Corporation show that in the past month, all international benchmark cotton prices have risen, with China cotton prices rising the most.

　　 According to the November "Cotton Market Fundamentals and Price Outlook", the December contract price of New York futures rose from 67 cents per pound to the highest price at the end of October of 72 cents per pound. Cotton prices have recently fallen back to 70 cents per pound.

　　 The report shows that in the past month, the US Cotlook Cotton Price Index (Cotlook AIndex) has risen from 73 cents per pound to 76 cents per pound.

　　Calculated at international prices, the China Cotton Index rose from 88 cents per pound to 100 cents per pound. Calculated at domestic prices, the price of cotton has risen from RMB 12,900 (equivalent to US$1965) to RMB 14,500 per ton.

　　 China's cotton price increase is partly due to speculative forces. Speculators will trade for a number of reasons and provide some potential explanations, including limited access to high-quality cotton fiber by Chinese factories, climate issues, and concerns about the unofficial ban on Australian fiber.

　　 The latest report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that global cotton production will shrink slightly in 2020/21 (reduced 158,000 bales to 116.1 million bales), and estimated factory usage (reduced 158,000 bales to 114.1 million bales). Brazil's 2019/20 harvest increased (increase of 330,000 bales to 13.8 million bales), and small changes in historical figures prompted an increase in global cotton stocks at the beginning of 2020/21 (increased by 378,000 bales to 99.6 million bales).

From a national perspective, the largest increase in output in 2020/21 is estimated to include Australia (an increase of 400,000 bales to 2.5 million bales), China (an increase of 250,000 bales to 27.5 million bales), and Uzbekistan (an increase of 150,000 bales to 3.5 million bales) ).

　　 The biggest decline is estimated to be Pakistan (down 800,000 bales to 5 million bales) and Turkmenistan (down 110,000 bales to 900,000 bales). Despite a series of hurricanes, the U.S. cotton production has basically not changed much, with a slight upward revision (an increase of 47,000 bales, and the U.S. harvest is estimated to be 17.1 million bales).

　　 At the same time, the global cotton trade forecast will be revised upwards (an increase of 605,000 bales to 42.8 million bales).