Cotton gains as dollar slips to 3-week low
- The dollar hit its lowest since March 23 against a basket of currencies, making dollar-denominated cotton cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
ICE cotton futures rose on Tuesday with the market finding some support from weakness in the dollar, which dropped to a three-week trough.
Cotton contracts for May rose 1.06 cent or 1.3pc to 81.20 cents per lb by 1:24 p.m EDT (1724 GMT). The price traded within a range of 79.84 and 81.47 cents a lb.
The dollar hit its lowest since March 23 against a basket of currencies, making dollar-denominated cotton cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
"The market has found a low in price (as) demand has still been good... The market will try to achieve slightly higher levels," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland, adding that forecasts for rain in West Texas would likely have a limited impact on the crop.
West Texas needs a lot more rain before it can plant cotton and that, along with even drier weather in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, could result in a tight market by the summer, Varner said.
The U.S. Agriculture Department's weekly crop progress report on Monday showed 8pc of the total 2021 cotton crop was planted in the week ending April 11, slightly above the five-year average of 7pc.
The natural fiber was also helped by a rebound in soybeans, corn and wheat futures and a rise in U.S. equities, which lifted sentiment.
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