DTN Closing Cotton            07/17 13:40

   Cotton Tries to Grab Hold But Closes Lower  

   The cotton market closed moderately lower Friday, amid end-of-week position 
squaring. 

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market closed moderately lower Friday, amid end-of-week position 
squaring. Traders remain wary of U.S. growing conditions, poor technical 
action, the general economy, and of course the U.S./Iran War. Already this 
week, the market has seen poor export sales, declining apparel sales, and some 
potential improvement in the weather forecasts. 

   Friday at 3:30 p.m. EDT, the CFTC will update its Commitments of Traders 
information. Last week saw the managed-money funds had net-bought some 7,100 
positions, further enhancing their net-long carry to 39,106 contracts.

   On Monday, China will supposedly auction bales from her state reserves. This 
move is being done to rotate certain seasonal storage and to feed her own 
textile mills. 

   Also on Monday, USDA will update the condition of the 2026 crop. Of late, 
the good-to-excellent readings have been slipping. The highest point was 54%, 
but last week it was 44% for the national crop.

   The U.S. dollar held steady Friday but nonetheless is poised for a weekly 
decline as the latest U.S. inflation data was benign. That reading encouraged 
some traders to cut their bets on imminent rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. 
Of course, escalating attacks in the Middle East can quickly change all things 
financial.

   For today, December closed at 78.63 cents, down 67 points; March 2027 
finished at 80.01 cents, minus 69 points; and July 2027 settled at 80.61 cents, 
63 points lower. Friday's estimated volume was 40,829 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.