Cotton futures experienced a decline of 3 to 36 points for the 2026 contracts on Friday, with May contracts showing a gain of 146 points this week. In related commodities, crude oil rose by $2.67 to $98.81, and the US dollar index increased by $0.237 to 99.295.
As of March 17, the Commitment of Traders report indicated that speculators reduced their net short position by 26,549 contracts, marking the largest weekly reduction on record and bringing the net short position to 40,205 contracts. Additionally, total cotton export commitments reached 9.354 million running bales, down 9% from last year and only 83% of the USDA’s forecast, with shipments at 5.303 million running bales, falling 5% year-over-year.
On March 19, The Seam reported sales of 3,286 bales at an average price of 65.60 cents per pound. As of March 18, ICE certified cotton stocks remained steady at 115,640 bales. The Adjusted World Price increased by 2.72 cents to 54.22 cents per pound. May 2026 cotton closed at 67.31, down 36 points; July at 69.33, down 28 points; and December at 71.96, down 3 points.
