NEW YORK: ICE cotton futures headed for a fourth straight weekly rise on Friday, bolstered by an upbeat US supply and demand report, although the natural fibre eased on the day on a stronger dollar.
Cotton contracts for December fell 0.51 cent, or 0.6%, to 87.70 cents per lb, by 12:54 p.m. EDT (1654 GMT), having earlier hit its highest since May 6 at 88.50 cents.
For the week, the contract was up 2.1%.
"Demand for cotton is at record levels (but) the US is going to have a ton of hurdles to overcome in the coming weeks between rains in (the) Delta, south Texas. ... While it should recover, our yield expectations have to be tempered," said Louis Barbera, partner and analyst at VLM Commodities Ltd.
The US Department of Agriculture in its June supply and demand report raised US export projections, cut US and world ending stock estimates, but kept production unchanged for the 2021/22 crop.
"The only negative factor is the dollar is up and wet weather has moved out of (the) Delta that will allow newly planted cotton to emerge and continue growing," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland.
The dollar firmed 0.6% against rivals, making cotton expensive for other currency holders. Market participants are now awaiting the acreage report at the end of the month for more clarity on the production estimates.
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