ICE cotton futures registered the biggest one-day percentage loss in more than two weeks in thin trading on Friday, but the natural fiber also marked its first weekly gain in four weeks. "The market is somewhat stuck in neutral because the strength of the US dollar has sort of captivated cotton's attention," said Keith Brown, principal at cotton brokers Keith Brown and Co in Moultrie, Georgia.
"The market is figuring out if the dollar has topped out now or if it is going to move higher." The US dollar edged lower against a basket of major currencies on Friday, but still held near 14-year highs touched after Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting, with profit-taking halting the greenback's rally.
March cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled down 0.63 cent, or 0.88 percent, its biggest one-day percentage fall since December 1, at 71.04 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 70.9 and 71.69 cents a lb. ICE cotton was up 0.3 percent for the week, its first weekly rise since the week ending November 18. Total futures market volume rose by 1,699 to 16,159 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 1,098 to 253,930 contracts in the previous session. The dollar index was down 0.19 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was up 0.50 percent.
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