The price of cotton has vaulted above the key $1 a pound level for the second time in history as worries about a shortage of the fibre prompted textile mills to scramble for supplies.

　　棉花價格有史以來第二次沖破1美元/磅大關。對供應緊缺的憂慮，正促使各紡織廠爭搶這種纖維。

　　Cotton futures for delivery in December have risen by almost 30 per cent since the beginning of August to reach $1.0198 a pound on Monday, the highest since 1995.

　　12月交割的棉花期貨自8月初以來累計上漲了近30%，周一觸及每磅1.0198美元，為1995年以來的最高位。

　　“It’s the second time since the Civil War cotton prices have gone over a dollar,” said Jordan Lea, president of the American Cotton Shippers’ Association, referring to the 1861-1865 war between US states. “It’s a relentless bull market.”

　　“這是美國內戰(zhàn)以來，棉花價格第二次漲到1美元以上。”美國棉花托運人協(xié)會(American Cotton Shippers’ Association)會長喬丹•利(Jordan Lea)表示，他指的是1861-1865年間的美國內戰(zhàn)。“這是一輪漲勢難擋的牛市。”

　　The rise in cotton prices has easily outpaced increases in more industrial commodities such as oil or copper. Tight supply conditions, exacerbated by losses in Pakistan, the world’s fourth-largest grower, after it suffered devastating flooding, have drawn hedge funds and other speculators to the New York cotton market.

　　棉花價格的漲勢，已輕松超越原油、銅等工業(yè)大宗商品的漲勢。全球第四大棉花種植國巴基斯坦發(fā)生重大洪澇災害，棉花產(chǎn)量銳減，加劇了全球棉花供應的緊張局面。而棉花供應吃緊，吸引對沖基金等投機者涌入紐約棉花市場。

　　The moves come as this year’s crop in China, the largest producer and importer, has been threatened by rain, said Gary Raines of brokers FC Stone. In India, the second-largest grower, the government has left traders guessing about the future of an export ban imposed this year.

　　與此同時，經(jīng)紀公司FCStone的加里•雷恩斯(Gary Raines)指出，全球最大的棉花生產(chǎn)國和進口國中國今年的棉花收成受到了雨水威脅。而在第二大棉花種植國印度，政府今年頒布實行的出口禁令，讓交易商們猜測未來政策走向。

　　The US Department of Agriculture projects the world ratio of inventories to consumption at the lowest in 15 years.

　　美國農業(yè)部預計，全球棉花庫存與消耗量的比率將降至15年來最低水平。

　　The US, the largest exporter, last week reported a surge in shipments to China, Mexico, Colombia and other mill centres. “Panic is such a dirty word, but perhaps it is at the root of the most recent 3 cents of gain,” Ron Lawson of Logic Advisors, a commodities researcher, told clients.

　　棉花出口量居全球之首的美國上周公布，美國對中國、墨西哥、哥倫比亞等紡織業(yè)大國的棉花出口出現(xiàn)大幅增長。大宗商品研究機構Logic Advisors的羅恩•勞森(Ron Lawson)告訴客戶：“恐慌這個字眼讓人不快，但它可能是近日棉花價格上漲3%的根源。”

　　Textile mills could begin to weave more polyester into fabrics. On China’s Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, cotton has gained 16 per cent this year, while the price of a polyester proxy has fallen more than 7 per cent.

　　紡織廠可能會開始在面料中采用更多聚酯纖維。在中國鄭州商品交易所，今年以來棉花價格上漲了16%，而聚酯原料PTA的價格則下跌了7%以上。