Global cotton market witnesses steep decline in benchmark prices

The July NY/ICE futures contract plummeted from 93 to 77 cents per pound since early April. Similarly, the December NY/ICE futures contract, indicative of price expectations post-2024-25 harvest, saw a drop from 84 to 75 cents per pound. This sharp decrease in July prices has narrowed the gap between values for 2023-24 and 2024-25 deliveries to just a couple of cents, a stark contrast to the 15 cents per pound difference observed at the end of February, Cotton Inc said in the latest Monthly Economic Letter - Cotton Market Fundamentals & Price Outlook - May 2024.

The A Index decreased from 93 to 86 cents per pound. The Chinese Cotton Index (CC Index 3128B) also fell, dropping from 108 to 105 cents per pound in international terms. Domestically, Chinese cotton prices decreased from 17,200 RMB (~$2,377.56) per ton to 16,700 RMB (~$2,308.45) per ton, with the RMB remaining stable against the dollar at approximately 7.23 RMB/USD.

Indian spot prices for Shankar-6 quality cotton fell from 93 to 88 cents per pound. In domestic terms, prices decreased from ₹60,500 (~$724.43) to ₹57,500 (~$688.51) per candy, with the INR holding steady near ₹83 per USD. Similarly, Pakistani spot prices declined from 94 to 88 cents per pound, with domestic values decreasing from 21,500 (~$77.3) to 19,700 PKR (~$70.83) per maund, and the PKR stable around 278 PKR per USD.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)