ICE cotton rose to a more than five-month high on Wednesday, boosted by a falling dollar and rising oil prices as speculators continued buying long positions amid low certificated exchange stock levels. The most-active May cotton contract on ICE Futures US rose 0.64 cent, or 1 percent, to settle at 65.55 cents a lb, after rising as high as 65.91 cents earlier in the session, the highest level for the second-month contract since September 17.
The dollar fell against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress the US Central Bank would not rush into raising interest rates. A weaker dollar boosts greenback-traded commodities by making them less expensive to holders of other currencies. Wednesday's gains were fuelled by further speculator buying, traders said, building on Tuesday's gains after three straight sessions of modest losses prompted them to re-enter the market.
"If the specs really want to push it, they can run it on up," said Louis Rose, an independent cotton trader and consultant at Risk Analytics in Memphis, Tennessee. Rose added that fibre's chart showed some technical buy signals, attracting investors, as the 50-day moving average for the second-month has surpassed the 100-day moving average. Gains in the crude oil market also contributed to the session's gains, said Jobe Moss, a broker with MCM Inc in Lubbock, Texas. Crude oil is a key ingredient in polyester, a synthetic fibre and alternative to cotton. Certificated stocks on ICE exchanges remained significantly lower than open interest in the March contract, reflecting the lack of available fibre for delivery on the contract, currently in its notice period, and the strength of the physical market, traders said.
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