Cotton futures settled marginally lower in the nearby month on Monday as the market consolidated while awaiting release of a pair of reports at the end of the week, analysts said. Benchmark March cotton on ICE Futures US slipped 0.03 cent to finish at 96.31 cents per lb, dealing from 95.90 to 97.26 cents. It was an inside day since the range was within Friday's 94.12 to 97.86 cents band.
"It's holding up here well," said Mike Stevens, an independent cotton analyst in Louisiana. Traders said cotton market players were apparently waiting for release of the US Agriculture Department's monthly supply/demand report on Thursday at 8:30 am EST (1330 GMT). Stevens said the market will be looking for possible reductions in US 2011/12 cotton production. Other dealers think there may also be adjustments in world consumption.
The trade is also looking forward to an annual survey by the National Cotton Council on potential US cotton plantings this year. A Thomson Reuters survey showed American farmers are expected to reduce cotton plantings by some 10 percent to nearly 12 percent, to around 13.002 million-13.242 million hectares.
Open interest in cotton, an indicator of investor exposure in the market, rose 8.71 percent on the week to 182,078 lots as of February 3, ICE Futures US data showed. Volume traded on Monday stood at over 24,400 lots, more than two-thirds above the 30-day average, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.
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