ICE cotton futures still under selling pressure

ICE cotton eased slightly on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains as traders and speculators continued to sell amid forecasts of plentiful supplies and concerns about dwindling demand, with little mill buying to support prices. More stability in other markets, including corn as relentless selling subsided, provided some relief too, although traders were eyeing the next technical support level at 66 cents. That would set a fresh two-year low.
The benchmark December cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled down 0.11 cent, or 0.2 percent, at 67.64 cents a lb. Volumes were lower than recent sessions, with just under 12,500 lots traded. "(Cash) price is still under pressure from managed-money selling despite the pickup in physical business," said INTL FCStone analysts. "We believe prices will eventually move lower as speculators build into a significant net short position." Decent rains in Texas, the United States' biggest growing state, continued to boost expectations for a healthy 2014/15 crop and kept prices under pressure. Low prices attracted bargain hunting from foreign mills, which are buying on a hand-to-mouth basis.