Cotton closes higher, posting weekly gains

Cotton futures closed higher on Friday, with front-month contracts gaining 82 to 86 points.

The May contract ended the week up 82 points, while March futures expired. Support came from external markets, as crude oil rose by 69 cents per barrel and the US dollar index fell by $0.173.

Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed speculative traders increasing their record net short position in cotton futures and options by 11,504 contracts as of 4 March, bringing the total to 79,957 contracts.

Meanwhile, USDA figures indicated total cotton export commitments at 9.852 million running bales, down 6 per cent year-on-year, but 96 per cent of the department’s full-year forecast.

Thursday’s online auction from The Seam saw 2,961 bales sold at an average price of 59.94 cents per pound.

The Cotlook A Index climbed by 50 points to 75.45 cents per pound. ICE-certified cotton stocks rose by 55 bales to 14,488 bales, while the USDA cut its Adjusted World Price (AWP) by 201 points to 51.88 cents per pound.

Attribution: Nasdaq

Subediting: Y.Yasser