DTN Closing Cotton            06/18 13:43

   Cotton Market Trades Sideways to Lower Before Holiday Weekend

   The cotton market was essentially sideways to lower today, as few wanted to 
press the upside over the three-day holiday weekend. 

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market was essentially sideways to lower today, as few wanted to 
press the upside over the three-day holiday weekend. In addition, Tropical 
Storm Arthur seems to be taking a more northeasterly track toward Montgomery, 
Alabama, and then over to the Atlanta area, before reemerging into the Atlantic.

   Highlights from today's cotton exports included net sales of 177,098 bales 
for the 2025/26 season year and 188,395 for 2026/27 for a total of 365,493. 
This amount was below last week's tally of 505,721 bales, but was the second 
highest since March 26. Cumulative sales have reached 104% of USDA's forecast 
versus a five-year average of 111% for this point in the marketing year.

   The market will be closed Friday for the Juneteenth holiday. The ICE futures 
will reopen the following Sunday night at 9 p.m. EDT.

   The CFTC's Commitment of Traders update will be released on Monday. Also, 
other USDA reports will be delayed a day due to the holiday.

   The 6- to 10-day forecast (June 23-27) shows slightly above-normal 
temperatures for the Texas Panhandle, but has normal readings across the Delta 
and the Southeast. Rainwise, Texas and the northern Delta look to have slightly 
above-normal chances for precipitation, while the Southeast shows near-normal 
opportunities.

   On June 30, USDA will issue its Planted Acres report. Some analysts are 
expecting greater 2026 acres due to the spring rally to 88.00 cents. Also worth 
noting is the March Intentions were higher than expected.

   For Thursday, July closed at 76.05 cents, off 85 points; December closed at 
79.67 cents, minus 12 points; and March 2027 finished at 81.05 cents, down 4 
points. Thursday's estimated volume was 52,168 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at [email protected]




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