ICE cotton slips again on stronger dollar & Texas rains

10 Jul '24

2 min read

ICE cotton slips again on stronger dollar & Texas rains

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Insights

ICE cotton prices fell due to bearish market conditions driven by a large US crop, stronger dollar, weaker crude oil and favourable rains in Texas.
December contract settled at 70.55 cents per pound, while the March 2025 contract fell to 72.84 cents.
USDA report showed a decline in cotton growth rates, but recent rains dampened market sentiment.

ICE cotton dropped again yesterday in the absence of bullish momentum. The US cotton market remained bearish due to a large crop. A stronger dollar, weaker crude oil, and favourable rains in the Texas plains were the immediate reasons for the market's downturn. Traders are awaiting the upcoming USDA monthly supply and demand report due later this week.

Yesterday the ICE cotton December contract settled at 70.55 cents per pound (0.453 kg), down by 0.50 cent. The March 2025 contract was down 0.43 cents to reach 72.84 cents, according to trade analysts.

Crude oil recovered from lower levels and settled with a gain. An increase of 0.2 per cent in the dollar index made US cotton purchases unattractive for foreign buyers. Crude oil remained bearish and slipped more than one per cent, losing nearly 4 per cent from its recent high.

The USDA's weekly crop growth report released on Monday showed a decline in the growth rate of US cotton from 50 per cent to 45 per cent over the past week. This was a bullish factor as crop conditions deteriorated further. However, recent rain in the Texas plains dampened market sentiments.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported that speculators reduced their net short positions in ICE cotton futures and options by 7,848 lots to 38,744 lots for the week ending July 2.

Cotton traders are closely watching the USDA monthly supply and demand report due on Friday, which is expected to provide more insights into the market dynamics.

On Wednesday, ICE cotton for December 2024 traded 0.19 cents lower at 70.36 cents per pound. Cash cotton traded at 63.13 cents (down 0.36 cents), the October contract at 69.10 cents (down 0.03 cents), the March 2025 contract at 72.24 cents per pound (down 0.17 cents), the May 2025 contract at 73.65 cents (down 0.16 cents), and the July 2025 contract at 74.80 cents (down 0.15 cents).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)

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