U.S. job creation remained robust on addition of 235,000 jobs in February. Cash online sales declined to 4,521 bales on The Seam.
Cotton futures ticked slightly lower in the early going Friday, with May confined within the previous-session range.
May hovered off 28 points at 77.54 cents, trading within a 75-point band from 78 to 77.25 cents on a volume of 3,557 lots. It posted the high on the opening overnight.
July ticked down 30 points to 78.59 lots on a turnover of 1,335 lots. December slipped 33 points to 75.16 cents on a volume of 364 lots.
In the news, the pace of job creation remained robust in February as low unemployment drove up worker pay, evidence of continued health in the U.S. labor market that likely cleared the way for the Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates next week, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 235,000 in February from the prior month, the Labor Department said. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.7% last month as both workforce participation and employment rose.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected 197,000 new jobs and a jobless rate of 4.7% in February.
In outside markets, U.S. dollar index futures traded down 0.225 to 101.630 following the monthly jobs report, while Dow Jones futures traded up 99 points and S&P futures up 11.50 points.
Crude oil gained 62 cents to $49.90, Brent crude added 69 cents to $52.88 and April gold dropped $1.30 to $1,201.90. May corn was down 0.3%, May soybeans 0.5%, May Chicago wheat 0.2% and May Chicago wheat 0.1%.
Earlier, Asian stock markets were mostly higher, up 1.48% in Japan’s Nikkei 225, 0.2% in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and 0.3% in South Korea’s Kospi but down 0.13% in China’s Shanghai Composite Index. In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 0.56% and France’s CAC 40 up 0.59%. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.59%.
Zhengzhou cotton futures retreated further in China and prices settled 200 to 300 yuan lower on the China National Cotton Exchange. MCX cotton futures were weak in India.
In ICE cotton futures Thursday, May settled on a slight loss around midrange after rallying from a four-session low to above Wednesday’s high.
The May-July spread traded from 89 to 109 points carry and widened 13 points to settle at a 107-point July premium on a volume of 5,373 lots. The inverted July-December straddle traded from 331 to 417 points and narrowed 18 points to close on a 340-point July premium on 3,840 lots.
In cash online trading, overall sales declined to 4,521 bales from 8,971 bales on The Seam. Prices fell to a gross averaged of 71.50 cents from 74.04 cents. Premiums over loan repayment rates rose to a gross 20.66 cents from 20.43 cents.
The Cotlook A Index of world values was unchanged at 87.10 cents, widening the premium over the prior-day May futures settlement six points to 9.01 cents.
