NEW YORK, Sept 1: Cotton futures finished on Friday sharply higher for the second day in a row, as speculative players took heart from the implications of strong demand from the US Department of Agriculture’s weekly export sales data, traders and analysts said.

In addition, speculators had pared long cotton positions since the declines off the multi-year highs hit in mid-July.

Cotton futures found their bottom when they reached a near 3-month low on Monday, and speculators saw Thursday’s healthy sales data as a strong buy signal, traders said.

The New York Board of Trade’s key open-outcry December cotton contract settled with a 1.90-cent gain at 60.97 cents per lb, and reached its highest level since Aug. 10 at 61.80.

The session low was 60.35 cents, well over the previous session high.

March cotton jumped 2.11 cents to end at 64.31 cents. Other contracts settled 1.90 to 2.10 cents higher.

The cotton market will be shut Monday along with other commodity and financial markets for US Labour Day.—Reuters