Cotton futures settled softly Thursday due to steady speculative and options-related sales as weakness in other commodities weighed on fiber contracts, brokers said.
The New York Board of Trade's July cotton contract fell 0.72 cent to finish at 50.75 cents a lb, moving from 50.65 to 51.62 cents. New-crop December shed 0.68 to 55.01 cents. Distant months lost 0.10 to 0.90 cent.
"We're just trying to confirm if we'd made a bottom here," said Sharon Johnson, cotton expert for First Capitol Group in Atlanta, Georgia.
She said the weak tone of other commodity markets as reflected in the fall of the Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodity index and likely end-of-the-month liquidation by some speculators placed cotton under further pressure.
Analysts said the cotton market did not really provide any inspiration to cotton although it may have encouraged further attempts to build a base near its recent lows.
The US Agriculture Department said in its weekly export sales report that total US cotton sales reached 336,000 running bales (RBs, 500-lbs each), from sales last week of 202,900 RBs and trade belief it would range from 100,000 to 200,000 RBs.
US cotton shipments of previously booked orders hit 374,400 RBs, same as last week and compared to trade belief it would run from 350,000 to 500,000 RBs.
As usual, the main buyer of US cotton is China with 258,700 RBs sold and 235,400 RBs of US cotton shipped to the Asian giant.
Dealers said there was no reaction to news about China's rate move since it affects other industries and not cotton. "It doesn't look like something that would affect their ability to pick up cotton," one said.
Brokers Flanagan Trading Corp sees resistance in the July cotton contract at 50.80 and 51.60 cents, with support at 50.10 and 49.60 cents.
Floor dealers said final trading volume was estimated at 12,500 lots, from the prior count of 18,098 lots. Open interest rose 2,678 lots to 144,873 contracts as of April 26.
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