ICE cotton futures jumped more than 1 percent on Friday on dry weather concerns in West Texas, the top US producing region, and as the US dollar tumbled on disappointing economic data. "West Texas, which is the largest concentrated area has become very hot and dry over the last month and they need some relief very quickly," said Louis Rose, an independent cotton trader and consultant with Risk Analytics in Memphis, Tennessee.
"There is a surprisingly strong Chinese market, which keeps selling its Reserve cotton at a furious pace at higher and higher prices, indicating that Chinese demand may still be underestimated," Plexus Cotton said in a note. China's mills are urging the government to release more cotton from state reserves, as supplies tighten due to fewer quotas for low-tariff imports and growing demand for local yarn.
The December cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled up 1 cent, or 1.37 percent, at 74.04 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 71.68 and 74.1 cents a lb. Cotton prices rose nearly 2 percent this week. The dollar index was down 1.24 percent. The dollar dropped on Friday after data showed the US economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter, while the Japanese yen soared after the Bank of Japan's stimulus plans underwhelmed investors.
The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was up 1.00 percent. The most-active CBOT November soybeans rose 25 cents to $10.03 per bushel and CBOT December corn finished up 4 cents at $3.42-3/4 per bushel. Speculators cut their net long position in cotton futures and options by 823 lots to 80,971 lots, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.
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