US upland cotton sales should ease in the weekly USDA export sales report as the pace of business slows with the season entering its last few weeks, brokers said Wednesday.
Combined old-crop and new-crop US upland cotton sales will range from 80,000 to 150,000 running bales (RBs, 500-lbs each), versus 152,900 RBs reported last week.
"It usually comes by this time of the year, especially with the marketing year (August/July) running out in a few more weeks," said a broker in the US Southeast.
The focus is on shipments of previously booked orders of US cotton, according to the dealers.
They expect US cotton shipments to hit between 300,000 and 400,000 RBs, up from 188,700 RBs last week, largely because of funds made available from a government marketing program designed to spur US cotton exports.
Analysts will also be looking at the pace of Chinese purchases. According to USDA, the Chinese have so far bought 4.801 million RBs of US upland cotton, well above the 1.700 million RBs at this time last year.
In its May USDA monthly supply/demand report, it pegged US cotton exports in 2003/04 at a record 13.8 million (480-lb) bales.