Yesterday, the ICE cotton December contract settled at 69.21 cents per pound (0.453 kg), up 1.22 cents. The March 2024 contract settled at 70.91 cents, up 1.12 cents. ICE cotton closed higher yesterday due to short covering and a strong equity market. Short covering was seen at attractive lower prices.

The dollar index was stronger and crude oil witnessed a fall of more than 1.5 per cent. Both external factors were against US cotton, according to trade analysts.

Yesterday, the trading volume was 24,607 contracts, with 23,219 contracts cleared on Friday. Total open interest has increased for 18 consecutive sessions, adding 19,438 contracts, with a total of 228,121 contracts as of today, up 1,269 from Friday.

ICE data showed that as of July 26, the deliverable No. 2 cotton futures contract inventory was 28,745 bales, compared to 38,026 bales on the previous trading day, down by 9,281 bales.

The USDA reported that 49 per cent of the US cotton crop was rated good to excellent as of the week of July 28, down from 53 per cent the previous week and 41 per cent a year earlier. Cotton traders are preparing for upcoming market events, including policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, the US cotton export sales report, and the US jobs report on Friday.

On Tuesday, ICE cotton for December 2024 traded at 68.79 cents per pound, down 0.42 cent. Cash cotton traded at 62.51 cents (up 1.44 cents), the October contract at 67.61 cents (up 0.10 cents), the March 2025 contract at 70.50 cents per pound (down 0.41 cents), the May 2025 contract at 71.93 cents (down 0.27 cents), and the July 2025 contract at 72.70 cents (down 0.26 cents). A few contracts remained at the level of the last closing, with no trading noted today.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)