Cotton Falling with Weak Export Sales Data

Green cotton boll via shutterstock

Cotton futures are 85 to 91 points lower at midday, following a second week of poor export sales data. The dollar index is adding some pressure, up 270 points. Crude oil futures are up $3.50/barrel t midday on escalating tensions in the Middle East as the world awaits Israel’s response to Iran. That has thus far provided very little spillover support to the cotton market. 

Export Sales data showed a slight improvement, with US exporters selling 95,847 RB in the week that ended on September 26. The top buyer was Vietnam of 29,100 RB, with 25,400 RB sold to Pakistan. Export shipments were tallied at 107,071 RB in that week, which was back up from the week prior. Of that total, 26,800 RB was headed to Pakistan, with 15,000 RB to Mexico, and 11,300 RB to Vietnam.

The Seam reported 3,241 online cash cotton bale sales on Wednesday, averaging 69.05 cents/lb. ICE cotton stocks were unchanged on October 2, leaving 265 bales of certified stocks. The Cotlook A Index was down 40 points on October 2 at 84.85 cents/lb. The USDA Adjusted World Price (AWP) was raised by 223 points last Thursday to 61.06 cents/lb. It will be updated later today.

Dec 24 Cotton  is at 72.49, down 91 points,

Mar 25 Cotton  is at 74.51, down 87 points,

May 25 Cotton  is at 75.76, down 85 points


On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.