DTN Closing Cotton            05/06 13:33

   Cotton Market Closed Mildly Lower Wednesday

   The cotton market closed mildly lower after suffering a 250-point drop 
earlier today.

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market closed mildly lower after suffering a 250-point drop 
earlier today. The ICE market, among others, was jolted when the news of a 
possible peace deal between the U.S. and Iran hit global media. That 
possibility melted crude oil, thus, upending many outside markets. Yet late in 
the day, ICE cotton had greatly pared its losses.

   Spot May contract expired today at 81.71 cents. Its life-of-contract low was 
62.86 cents from Feb. 2, while its high was 81.23 cents per May 5. Now, July 
cotton stands as the sole remaining 2025/2026 old-crop contract.

   Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EDT, USDA will issue its weekly export sales data. 
Last week saw current season sales of 162,000 bales, up 36% weekly. Domestic 
shipments were 384,000 bales, plus 30%.

   On Friday, the CFTC will update its Commitment of Traders information. Last 
week, the report showed that the managed-money funds bought some 3,800 
positions, strengthening their net-long carry to 38,355 contracts.

   In general terms, most of the U.S. Cotton Belt is still under severe drought 
conditions. However, there was some relief seen this past weekend, and 
additional rains are forecasted for the U.S. Delta and the Southeast. 
Specifically, the weather maps for Thursday and Friday show rain/thunderstorms 
over the southeastern quadrant of Texas, the southern Delta and most of the 
Southeastern U.S.

   For Wednesday, July closed at 84.05 cents, down 75 points; December 2026 
closed at 84.76 cents, minus 51 points; and March 2027 finished at 85.51 cents, 
59 points lower. Wednesday's estimated volume was 76,456 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




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