ICE cotton futures rose on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar and gains in oil prices, while investors awaited the outcome of US-China trade talks. The most active cotton contract on ICE Futures US, the March contract, settled up 0.27 cent, or 0.39 percent, at 70.13 cents per lb. The contract traded within a range of 69.53 and 70.39 cents a lb.
"While there has been no change in the bearish fundamentals or in the US-China trade war, cotton was helped by rising oil prices and a US dollar, which lost a bit of ground today," said Gabriel Crivorot, analyst at Societe Generale in New York. The dollar index was down 0.2 percent. A weaker greenback makes commodities priced in dollars, such as cotton, less expensive for holders of other currencies.
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, with Brent hitting its highest level this year. Rising oil prices increase the cost of synthetic fibers, making cotton more appealing. Talks to defuse the tariff dispute between the world's two largest economies moved to a higher level as US-China negotiations progressed in Beijing ahead of the March 1 deadline.
A US government weather forecaster said on Thursday that weak El Niño conditions were present, and there was about a 55 percent chance the weather pattern would prevail through the Northern Hemisphere spring this year. Total futures market volume fell by 14,554 lots to 45,845. Data showed total open interest fell 481 to 241,475 contracts in the previous session. Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of Feb. 13 totaled 126,681 480-lb bales, unchanged from the previous session.
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