DTN Closing Cotton            05/15 13:52

   Cotton Market Closes Slighter Lower Friday

   After holding a limit-down trade all morning, the cotton market finally 
eased up and closed slightly lower.

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   After holding a limit-down trade all morning, the cotton market finally 
eased up and closed slightly lower. The massive selling was thought to have 
been triggered primarily from the market's technical overbought condition, but 
also by traders' belief the Trump/Xi trade summit didn't produce any 
new-purchase commitments for U.S. agricultural products. Lastly, Thursday's 
weekly exports were the lowest this year.

   Today at 3:30 p.m. EDT, the CFTC will update its Commitment of Traders data. 
 Last week, the managed-money funds bought some 12,000 positions, lifting their 
net-long carry to 51,184 contracts. The all-time record bullish record stands 
at 108,788 contracts.

   The U.S. dollar was higher for the fifth consecutive session today. There 
are expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates in the 
coming months. The most recent CPI and PPI reports signaled renewed inflation 
concerns.

   Crude oil was markedly higher today after comments from President Trump that 
he was "losing patience with Iran." Traders took that as an indication that the 
U.S. would soon be renewing the U.S./Iran war.

   The current U.S. Drought Monitor showed fractional improvement in the 
current general drought now gripping the Cotton Belt. The current reading is 
97% drought; previous reading 87%.

   On Monday, USDA will issue its weekly crop progress data. Last week, the 
2026 crop was reported at 29% planted compared to its five-year average of 28% 
complete.

   For Friday, July closed at 80.61 cents, off 333 points; December closed at 
81.89 cents, minus 251 points; and March 2027 finished at 82.53 cents, down 253 
points. Friday's estimated volume was 131,400 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at [email protected]




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