Rising cotton prices, yuan hurt textiles sector

BEIJING - Soaring cotton prices in China, together with appreciation of the yuan, have put tremendous pressure on the textile and clothing industry and may lead to further industrial consolidation, analysts said on Thursday.

September-delivery cotton traded on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, one of the four major exchanges in China, jumped to a record 34,870 yuan ($5,299) per ton on Feb 17.

In the international market, cotton prices surged by 28 percent to $4,927 during the six-week period that ended Feb 18.