DTN Closing Cotton            04/02 13:32

   Cotton Trades a Rocky Road 

   The cotton market seesawed between positive and negative prices Thursday 
amid the wild gyrations seen in the energy complex. 

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market seesawed between positive and negative prices Thursday 
amid the wild gyrations seen in the energy complex. May crude oil posted a new 
contract high Thursday, reflecting President Trump's comments about bombing 
Iran "back into the Stone Age." Otherwise, cotton traders saw great export 
sales and are now anticipating Friday's reports, although the cotton futures 
market is closed for Good Friday.   

   Highlights from Thursday's weekly export sales included net sales of 371,500 
bales for the 2025-26 marketing year and net sales of 117,300 for 2026-27 for a 
total of 488,800. It was the greatest sales number since Feb. 12. Cumulative 
sales for 2025-26 have reached 88% of USDA's forecast versus a five-year 
average of 99% for this point in the marketing year.

   Friday, CFTC will issue its Commitments of Traders report. At last count, 
CFTC reported managed-money funds were net-short some 33,000 positions, way 
below their record bearish peak of 81,000-plus contracts. The report will be 
issued at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

   Also Friday, the Labor Department will release its jobs numbers for March. 
For that jobs report, traders are heavily focused on a potential rebound in 
hiring, with forecasts aiming between 55,000 to 70,000 new non-farm jobs added. 
While February saw a surprise contraction, the market anticipates a slight 
stabilization with unemployment holding near 4.3%-4.4%.

   All U.S. markets will be closed Friday for the Good Friday/Easter holiday. 
The next DTN cotton market report will be on Monday.

   For Thursday, July closed at 73.05 cents, up 11 points; December 2026 closed 
at 74.98 cents, minus 10 points; and March 2027 finished at 75.84 cents, 21 
points lower. Thursday's estimated volume was 91,124 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




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