US cotton futures closed mixed Monday with late investor sales pressuring new-crop contracts while tight deliverable supplies boosted the spot contract, analysts said. The key December cotton contract on ICE Futures US lost 2.07 cents to close at $1.3158 per lb, dealing from $1.3017 to $1.3496.
The spot July contract climbed 0.92 cent to settle at $1.5095 per lb. Total volume traded Thursday reached nearly 25,000 lots at 2:42 pm EDT (1842 GMT), some 40 percent above the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed. Mike Stevens, an independent analyst in Louisiana, said the market seems undecided as it "vacillated" on its next move.
Late investor sales depressed the market, as profit-taking again hit fibre contracts once the December contract approached the $1.35 area, dealers said. Texas cotton farmers said some showers fell over the weekend, but they were not enough to provide even some relief from one of the worst dry spells in Texas over the last century. The weather forecast for the state calls for more dry and hot weather through Friday, a report by forecaster Telvent DTN said.
Traders said they will be waiting for release later on Monday of the US Agriculture Department's weekly crop progress report to gauge the condition of Texas' cotton crop. Tight deliverable supplies for the July contract, which goes into delivery later this month, supported the spot month, the dealers said.