Cotton futures finished marginally higher on Friday on buying by small investors as players adjusted positions while waiting for a government crop report due out next week, brokers said. The key December cotton futures on ICE Futures US rose 0.36 cent to settle at $1.1388 per lb, dealing from $1.1313 to $1.16. Volume traded stood around 8,300 lots at 2:43 pm EDT (1843 GMT), some 60 percent below the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed.
"The specs are waiting for a signal, any signal," said Mike Stevens, an independent analyst in Louisiana. That signal may well come from the monthly supply/demand report of the US Agriculture Department, which is due out next Tuesday, and the USDA's weekly crop progress report being released on Monday. Cotton futures barely reacted to the weak US jobs report, which hit financial markets during Friday's session.
The market also did not react to the weekly USDA export sales report, which total US cotton sales surprising the trade by hitting 430,500 running bales (RBs, 500-lbs each), from 39,400 RBs in last week's report. Analysts said most of that cotton sold is likely done by a major merchant and was quickly discounted by the trade.
Technically, dealers said the December contract is trying to keep itself above $1.13 and consolidate around that level. Traders said the market is still monitoring conditions in Texas and the debate in the trade will now turn to how much of the US cotton crop would be harvested in the fall.
Heavy rains brought some relief to drought-stricken Texas over the last week, but more is needed to help the region escape the historic that has gripped the area for months. Open interest in the ICE futures cotton market stood at 139,714 lots as of July 7, ICE Futures US data showed. Volume traded on Thursday stood at 12,875 lots, it added.