DTN Closing Cotton            11/04 13:40

   Cotton Whips Higher  

   Cotton futures jump on the "Blue Wave," dollar weakness ahead of key reports.

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market was triple-digits higher Wednesday amid a sharply higher 
Dow Jones, sharply lower energies, and a weaker U.S. Dollar. Weirdly, so much 
of that strength was derived from the "Blue Wave" of the U.S. Midterms.

   Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EST, USDA will issue its weekly export sales. 
Highlights from the previous week's data showed combined seasonal sales tallied 
254,833 bales versus the prior 199,630. China was a major participant. 
Cumulative sales have reached 49% of USDA's forecast versus a five-year average 
of 57%.

   On Friday, traders will see a new monthly jobs report. Last month's report 
showed 65,000 new non-farm jobs were added to the economy. This month's guess 
is 29,000 jobs with an unemployment rate of 4.2%.

   Also, on Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will update 
the Commitments of Traders (COT) data. Last week saw the managed funds sell 
10,000-plus positions, reducing their net-long carry of 56,190 contracts.

   The U.S. Dollar was markedly lower Wednesday after the sweeping victory by 
Democrats in the U.S. Midterm. Investors now weigh the prospect of tighter 
AI regulation, and its potential drag on economic growth. Democrats captured 
majorities in both the Senate and the House, even prevailing in states that 
have long been conservative.

   For Wednesday, December closed at 78.11 cents, up 107 points, March 2027 
finished at 81.96 cents, plus 106 points, and July 2027 settled at 84.02 cents, 
97 points higher. Wednesday's estimated volume was 88,647 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




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