Cotton futures were down 3 to 36 points in the 2026 contracts on Friday, with deferred contracts up 8 to 32 points. May was 146 points in the green this week. Crude oil was up $2.67 on the day to $98.81, with the US dollar index up $0.237 to $99.295.
Commitment of Traders data showed specs liquidating a large portion of their net short position in the week ending on 3/17, cutting it by 26,549 contracts. That was the largest Tuesday/Tuesday reduction to a net short position on record and took the net short to 40,205 contracts.
Export Sales data has total cotton export commitments at 9.354 million RB, which is down 9% from last year. That is 83% of USDA’s forecast and lags the 96% average pace from the last 5 years. Shipments at 5.303 million RB are 5% below a year ago and 47% of the USDA export estimate, behind the 52% average shipping pace.
The Seam showed sales of 3,286 bales on March 19, averaging 65.60 cents/lb. The Cotlook A Index was steady on Thursday at 79.35 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks were unchanged on 3/18, with the certified stocks level at 115,640 bales. The Adjusted World Price was raised by 2.72 cents to 54.22 cents/lb on Thursday.
May 26 Cotton closed at 67.31, down 36 points,
Jul 26 Cotton closed at 69.33, down 28 points,
Dec 26 Cotton closed at 71.96, down 3 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.
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