Cotton futures were down 3 to 36 points in the 2026 contracts on Friday, with deferred contracts up 8 to 32 points. May was 146 points in the green this week. Crude oil was up $2.67 on the day to $98.81, with the US dollar index up $0.237 to $99.295.
Commitment of Traders data showed specs liquidating a large portion of their net short position in the week ending on 3/17, cutting it by 26,549 contracts. That was the largest Tuesday/Tuesday reduction to a net short position on record and took the net short to 40,205 contracts.
Export Sales data has total cotton export commitments at 9.354 million RB, which is down 9% from last year. That is 83% of USDA’s forecast and lags the 96% average pace from the last 5 years. Shipments at 5.303 million RB are 5% below a year ago and 47% of the USDA export estimate, behind the 52% average shipping pace.
The Seam showed sales of 3,286 bales on March 19, averaging 65.60 cents/lb. The Cotlook A Index was steady on Thursday at 79.35 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks were unchanged on 3/18, with the certified stocks level at 115,640 bales. The Adjusted World Price was raised by 2.72 cents to 54.22 cents/lb on Thursday.
May 26 Cotton closed at 67.31, down 36 points,
Jul 26 Cotton closed at 69.33, down 28 points,
Dec 26 Cotton closed at 71.96, down 3 points
