ICE cotton futures gained more than 1 percent on Tuesday to settle higher for the fourth time in the past five sessions, supported by buying pressure ahead of the March contract fixation expiry. The March cotton contract on ICE Futures US rose 1.08 percent, the biggest one-day percentage gain since January 23, to 74.94 cents per lb.
"There are a lot of open fixations and time is running out on March fixations. That is helping the market in going up," said Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus Cotton.
"Mills needs to fix before the March contract fixation deadline expires, which happens in about three weeks. The longer they wait the more dangerous the market becomes for these fixations," Egli added.
The market was also supported by a weaker US dollar, which tumbled on Tuesday and was on course for its worst month since March after President Donald Trump and his trade adviser commented on the value of foreign currencies.
A firmer dollar curbs demand for commodities priced in the greenback by making them more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The March cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled up 0.8 cent, or 1.08 percent, at 74.94 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 74.10 and 75.13 cents a lb.
Total futures market volume rose by 887 lots to 30,142 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 1,469 contracts to 274,167 contracts in the previous session.
The dollar index was down 0.84 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was up 0.40 percent.
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