Cotton futures rose slightly on Wednesday as a persistent short covering rally and outlook for tight near-term supplies offset a broad downtrend in commodities amid a stronger dollar. Cotton is trading on its own right now, said Louis Barbera of ICAP Cotton. "The big spec (short) position hasn't gone anywhere."
The front-month May contract on ICE Futures US settled up 0.02 cent, or 0.03 percent, at 58.39 cents per lb, after touching a high of 58.58 cents. The dollar index was up 0.42 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was down 2.19 percent. The front month May contract on ICE Futures US has been trading higher than the July and December contracts for about a month. A backwardation, with nearby prices at a premium to those further out, is often seen as a sign of tight nearby supplies.