Volume in cotton futures traded on Zhengzhou’s Commodity Exchange has picked up significantly this year, part of China’s effort to expand its commodity markets. This is interesting because price action this year has been contained in a relatively small but well-defined trading band. We see this as part of the initial stages of what ought to turn into a new bull market, which started with last year’s almost record low. Note how the top of the Ichimoku cloud has helped edge the candles higher over the past five weeks and we may manage a weekly close above trend-line resistance. This would confirm an imminent rally to the first measured target at 17,000 yuan (US$2,604) per tonne.