Cotton futures saw a slight dip on Friday, with prices remaining steady to 7 points lower in the front months. The March contract was down 85 points for the week, reflecting some bearish sentiment in the market. In contrast, crude oil futures experienced a $1.95 per barrel increase, closing at $61.31. The US dollar index also saw a decrease, dropping $0.871 to $97.305.
USDA Export Sales data revealed a strong week for cotton sales, with 412,457 RB of cotton sold in the week ending on January 15. This marked a marketing year high, with Vietnam emerging as the largest buyer, purchasing 220,700 RB. Additionally, 38,600 RB were sold to Bangladesh. Export shipments were also robust at 187,776 RB, another marketing year high. Vietnam remained the top destination with 62,300 RB, followed by Pakistan with 45,900 RB.
Commitment of Traders data showed managed money in cotton futures and options increasing their net short position by 1,580 contracts as of Tuesday, bringing the total to 51,952 contracts. NASS Cotton Ginnings data indicated that 732,950 RB of cotton were ginned from January 1 to January 15, bringing the marketing year total to 12.695 million RB.
The Thursday online auction from The Seam reported sales of 62.43 cents/lb on 16,726 bales. The Cotlook A Index remained unchanged on January 22 at 74.55 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks also stayed steady on 1/22, with the certified stocks level at 10,422 bales. The Adjusted World Price was updated to 50.99 cents/lb on Thursday afternoon, down 18 points from the previous week.
Closing prices for cotton futures on Friday were as follows: Mar 26 Cotton closed at 63.81, down 7 points; May 26 Cotton closed at 65.48, down 1 point; Jul 26 Cotton closed at 66.97, unchanged.
It is important to note that all information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. The original article was published on Barchart.com and the author, Austin Schroeder, did not have any positions in the securities mentioned at the time of publication.
