DTN Closing Cotton            05/22 13:49

   Cotton Market Rebounds After Hitting Fresh Lows

   The cotton market posted new lows for its move, before halting, gathering 
itself, and coming back to close only slightly lower on the day.

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   The cotton market posted new lows for its move, before halting, gathering 
itself, and coming back to close only slightly lower on the day. Traders were 
likely squaring positions ahead of the three-day Memorial Day holiday. 
Participants are keen to assess this afternoon's CFTC update and weekend 
weather. Next week will see most USDA reports delayed a day.

   Today at 3:30 p.m. EDT, the CFTC will update its Commitment of Traders data. 
Last week, the managed-money funds bought some 8,300 positions, lifting their 
net-long carry to 58,000-plus. The all-time bullish record, from 2018, stands 
at 108,788 contracts.

   The U.S. Drought Monitor showed that an area representing 97% of the U.S. 
crop was still experiencing drought as of Tuesday, unchanged from the previous 
week.

   Option expiration for the July contract is Friday, June 12. Then Spot July 
delivery commences on June 24 running through July 9.

   Cumulative sales for 2025/26 have reached 97% of the USDA forecast versus a 
five-year average of 106% for this point in the season.

   With the ICE futures under the 80-cent mark, the daily limit has reverted to 
three cents, up or down from the previous settlement.

   The ICE futures will be closed this Monday for the observance of Memorial 
Day. Trading will resume Monday night at 9 p.m. EDT.

   For Friday, July closed at 77.46 cents, down 56 points; December closed at 
79.33 cents, minus 40; and March 2027 finished at 80.19 cents, 39 points lower. 
Friday's estimated volume was 77,551 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.