Cotton prices are up 41 to 66 points as we get to finish off the first half of the calendar year. Futures tried to be bullish earlier in the week but settled 65 to 76 points lower on Thursday following disappointing weekly export sales numbers.  The outside factors were in theory supportive, with the US dollar index futures down 119 points and crude oil up 92 cents/barrel.

Export Sales data from this morning showed just 90,595 RB of cotton sold in the week that ended on June 20, an 11-week low. New crop sales were down to a 3-week low at 67,595 RB. Exports are starting to stall out, with the lowest weekly total reported since late November at 141,019 RB.

Friday will be busy, with the June Acreage report released by NASS. Traders are estimating on average a 156,000 acre increase to cotton acreage from the March Intentions report at 10.829 million acres. The range is from 10.5 to 11.2 million acres.

The ICE certified cotton stocks were down 48,750 bales on June 26 at 48,812 bales. The Cotlook A Index was up 175 points on June 26 at 85.20 cents/lb. The USDA Average World Price (AWP) rebounded from the previous week decline, up 1.58 to 58.23 cents per pound. It will be in effect through July 4.  Because of the holiday, the next AWP, FCA, CCA and LDP rate announcement from FSA will be on Friday, July 5 at 8 AM EDT. 

Jul 24 Cotton  closed at 72.02, down 68 points, currently unch

Dec 24 Cotton  closed at 74.58, down 76 points, currently up 49 points

Mar 25 Cotton  closed at 75.99, down 76 points, currently up 46 points
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler 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.