U.S. upland sales of 311,700 RB slowed from the prior week’s marketing year high and upland shipments slipped to 218,400 RB. Cash online grower sales fell to 12,793 bales and business sales dropped to 1,809 bales on The Seam.
Cotton futures ticked slightly lower Thursday, remaining within the narrow trading range established prior to USDA’s weekly export sales report.
March hovered off 22 points at 71.25 cents, just off the low of its 45-point range from 71.65 to 71.20 cents on a contract volume of 2,591 lots. May dropped 17 points to 71.47 cents, trading within a 39-point band from 71.85 to 71.46 cents on a turnover of 440 lots.
Net upland export sales for shipment this season of 311,700 running bales during the week ended Thursday dropped 23% from the prior week’s marketing year high but were up 16% from the four-week average.
Sales went to 19 countries, led by Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey. Gross sales were 375,300 RB and cancellations were 63,700 RB. Commitment reductions were reported for Colombia and Mexico. Net sales of 66,000 RB for next season were for Mexico and Malaysia.
Upland shipments of 218,400 RB dropped 5% from the prior week’s marketing year high but rose 48% from the four-week average. Shipments went to 23 countries, headed by Vietnam, China, Mexico, Indonesia and Colombia.
Net Pima sales for this season of 64,000 RB rose 51% from the previous week and 31% from the four-week average. Sales went to seven countries, topped by China, Peru, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Shipments of the extra-long staple cotton of 16,700 RB were up from 8,000 RB the previous week and 43% from the four-week average. The primary destinations were China, Pakistan, India and Mexico.
In outside markets, March U.S. dollar index futures jumped 1.185 to 102.915, while Dow Jones futures gained 23 points and S&P futures 1.50 points. Crude oil shed $1.04 to $50, Brent crude lost 50 cents to $53.40 and February gold fell $31.80 to $1,131.90. March Corn was down 0.4%, January soybeans 0.2%, March Chicago wheat 0.6% and March Kansas City wheat 0.8%.
Earlier, Asian stocks were mixed, up 0.1% in Japan’s Nikkei, down 1.8% in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and 0.7% in China’s Shanghai Composite Index but flat in South Korea’s Kospi. India’s Sensex added 0.1% and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 dropped 0.7%. European stocks also were mixed, down 0.3% in Britain’s FTSE 100 but up 0.6% in Germany’s DAX and 0.6% in France’s CAC 30.
China’s Zhengzhou cotton futures eased and prices mostly fell on the China National Cotton Exchange. India’s MCX cotton futures were higher and local prices firm as arrivals increased.
In ICE cotton futures Wednesday, March fell late in the session as the dollar surged on Federal Reserve Board news and closed an inside day with a moderate loss.
The March-May switch traded from 11 to 24 points carry and widened a point to settle at 17 points on a volume of 1,820 lots. May-July traded from an inverted 24 to 21 points and gained eight points to close at 24 points on 6,36 lots, while July-December’s inverted difference widened 16 points to settle at 215 points on 472 lots.
In cash online trading, grower-to-business sales fell to 12,793 bales from 21,949 bales on The Seam. Prices slipped to an average of 68.88 cents from 69.26 cents. Premiums over loan repayment rates were little changed at 14.59 cents, compared with 14.61 cents.
Business-to-business sales dropped to 1,809 bales from 3,272 bales on prices averaging 68.49 cents, down from 70.96 cents, and premiums of 19.42 cents, up from 15.72 cents.
The Cotlook A Index of world values gained 25 points to 80.70 cents, narrowing the premium over the prior-day March futures settlement by 10 points to 8.66 cents.
