Cotton prices are up 7 to 14 points so far on Friday morning. Futures closed Thursday 36 to 67 points lower, following a second week of poor export sales data. The dollar index added some pressure, up 285 points. Crude oil futures were up $3.86/barrel on the day on escalating tensions in the Middle East as the world awaits Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack. That failed to provide spillover support to the cotton market. 

Export Sales data showed a slight improvement, with US exporters selling 95,847 RB in the week that ended on September 26. The top buyer was Vietnam of 29,100 RB, with 25,400 RB sold to Pakistan. Export shipments were tallied at 107,071 RB in that week, which was back up from the week prior. Of that total, 26,800 RB was headed to Pakistan, with 15,000 RB to Mexico, and 11,300 RB to Vietnam. Export commitments of shipped and unshipped sales are 5.055 million RB, which is down 13% from the same time last year. It is also 46% of the USDA export projection, behind the 58% average selling pace

The Seam reported 3,241 online cash cotton bale sales on Wednesday, averaging 69.05 cents/lb. ICE cotton stocks were unchanged on October 2, leaving 265 bales of certified stocks. The Cotlook A Index was down 40 points on October 2 at 84.85 cents/lb. The USDA Adjusted World Price (AWP) was trimmed by 25 points today to 60.81 cents/lb. It is good through next Thursday.

Dec 24 Cotton  closed at 72.73, down 67 points, currently up 14 points

Mar 25 Cotton  closed at 74.8, down 58 points, currently up 10 points

May 25 Cotton  closed at 76.05, down 56 points, currently up 7 points