Cotton futures experienced a midday trading shift, with March contracts down 3 points to 63.72 cents/lb, while May contracts rose 3 points to 64.87 cents/lb, and July contracts gained 5 points to 65.91 cents/lb. In parallel, crude oil futures increased by $1.30 per barrel to $57.84, and the US dollar index fell by $0.312 to 97.94.
The USDA’s Export Sales report indicated that, for the week ending December 4, a total of 153,266 running bales (RB) of cotton were sold, marking a three-week high but a decrease of 10.19% compared to the same week last year. Additionally, shipments recorded a marketing year low of 101,577 RB. The Adjusted World Price dropped to 49.99 cents/lb, a decline of 40 points from the previous week.
As of December 19, the online auction from The Seam reported sales of 18,183 bales at an average price of 59.38 cents/lb. CFTC data showed a reduction of 4,774 contracts in managed money’s net short positions, bringing the total to 55,013 contracts.
