Cotton futures experienced losses of 57 to 95 points as of midday Thursday, with May contracts trading at 67.76 cents, July at 69.73 cents, and December at 72.07 cents. In contrast, crude oil prices rose by $2.73 to reach $99.05, while the US dollar index dropped by 0.393 to 99.480.
The latest Export Sales report revealed that a total of 196,691 running bales (RB) of cotton were sold for the week ending March 12, marking a decline of 27.64% compared to the same week last year. New crop sales reached a marketing year high of 122,221 RB, while shipments fell to 273,926 RB, a 26% decrease from the previous week. ICE certified cotton stocks also decreased by 1,149 bales to 115,640 bales as of March 18.
