Cotton dips, taking cues from weaker grain markets, favorable weather outlook

ICE cotton futures retreated on Monday, tracking weakness in grain markets, while forecasts for some potentially beneficial rain in top-cotton producing West Texas added further pressure.

Cotton contracts for May fell 1.84 cent, or 2.2pc, to 80.56 cents per lb by 1:22 p.m EDT (1722 GMT), having risen to their highest since March 24 in the previous session.

Prices traded within a range of 80.43 and 82.59 cents a lb.

Weighing on sentiment was a drop in U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures.

"Besides that (weaker grain markets), there is a bit of rain in forecasts for West Texas and they definitely need rain in terms of getting the crop in the ground (but) overall that could be adding pressure (on cotton) as that would lead to a possibly larger than expected crop," said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management associate with StoneX Group.

Market participants are now eyeing a weekly federal crop progress report due later in the day.

Cotton's fundamentals, with strong exports and consumption globally, coupled with possible lower production, are supportive of higher prices in the longer-term, Thomen added, noting that prices could remain range-bound in the near-term.

Speculators cut net long positions in ICE cotton futures by 3,164 contracts to 53,932 in the week to April 6, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.