DTN Closing Cotton            10/19 13:33

   Cotton Lingers Sideways Amid Harvest

   Cotton prices edge higher as harvest, exports, and oil drive trade


Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market spent the Monday session trading "flat to nowhere."  With 
one eye on crude oil and the other on harvesting efforts, traders are somewhat 
squaring with their positions.

   At 4p.m. Monday, the USDA will release its Crop Progress data. The previous 
report had the U.S. crop rated 34% good/excellent, a slight uptick in its 
condition, while harvest was pegged at 31% versus a five-year average of being 
29% complete.

   Crude Oil is sharply higher Monday despite President Trump's loosening 
duties on Russian energy buyers. November Crude is set to expire tomorrow and 
between Iran, Ukraine/Russia, and the inventory drawdown caused by Hurricane 
Isaias, traders are running the market higher. 

   This Thursday, the USDA will issue its weekly exports-sales report. 
Highlights from last week's data saw combined seasonal net sales of 154,074 
bales, which was below the 221,128 bales of last week. Cumulative sales for 
2026/2027 reached 45% of USDA's forecast versus a five-year average of 54% for 
this point in the marketing year. 

   The six-to-ten-day forecast calls for much above normal temperatures for 
most of the country, Rainwise, Texas should see above to much-above chances, 
while the Delta and the Southeast are showing much-below odds.  

   For Monday, December closed at 80.13 cents, up 13 points, March 2027 
finished at 83.43 cents, plus 19 points, and July 2027 settled at 85.56 cents, 
15 points higher. Monday's estimated volume was 34,047 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




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