International Cotton Market

08-Mar-2025 08:10 AM

International Cotton Market
ICE cotton futures closed Friday’s session with gains of 82 to 86 points, showing strength in the forward months. May futures ended the week up by 82 points, while March futures expired today.
Support came from outside markets, where crude oil futures rose by 69 cents per barrel, and the U.S. dollar index weakened by $0.173.
According to CFTC data as of March 4, speculators increased their record net short position in cotton futures and options by 11,504 contracts. By Tuesday, their total net short position reached 79,957 contracts, setting a new record.
USDA export sales data indicates that total cotton export commitments have reached 9.852 million running bales (RB), which is 6% lower than last year. This accounts for 96% of the USDA’s export forecast and is 1% ahead of the average export sales pace.
On Thursday, The Seam online auction sold 2,961 bales at an average price of 59.94 cents per pound.
The Cotlook A Index increased by 50 points on March 6, reaching 75.45 cents per pound.
ICE certified cotton stocks grew by 55 bales on March 6, bringing the total to 14,488 bales.
On Thursday afternoon, the USDA lowered the Adjusted World Price (AWP) by 201 points to 51.88 cents per pound.