Cotton futures jumped to a three-week high as U.S. exports climbed, signaling ample global demand continues to outpace supplies.

In the week ended Dec. 2, U.S. shipments of upland cotton jumped 21 percent to 323,356 bales from a year earlier, the Department of Agriculture said. The price climbed the most allowed by ICE Futures U.S. The fiber has surged 80 percent this year, heading for the biggest annual gain since 1973.

"That's a big shipment number," said Keith Brown, the president of Keith Brown & Co., a brokerage in Moultrie, Georgia. "These numbers are healthy."

Cotton futures for March delivery jumped the exchange maximum of 4 cents, or 3 percent, to settle at $1.3595 a pound in New York, the highest since Nov. 16. The price reached a record $1.5195 on Nov. 10.

"The market is intact to the upside," and prices may rise to $1.38 next week, Brown said.

source:Bloomberg