Cotton futures closed higher Friday on speculative buying as players tweaked positions before release of a government production report next week, brokers said.
The New York Board of Trade's May cotton contract rose 0.33 cent to finish at 53.97 cents a lb, moving from 53.65 to 54.40 cents. July gained 0.40 to 55.85 cents, with the rest flat to up 0.28 cent.
"It's pure evening up," said Frank Weathersby of brokers Affinity Trading in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
He added futures got a mild boost from news that a Chinese trade delegation will be signing deals this weekend in Memphis, Tennessee, to buy 500,000 (480-lb) bales of US cotton from the US MidSouth area and Texas.
Industry officials said the cotton has not been shipped but some cotton sources said they are mulling whether the cotton has already been bought.
The Chinese delegation will be signing the deals on Saturday in Memphis, Tennessee, the main commercial centre for cotton trade in the country.
Futures moved higher from the opening bell as investors engaged in last-minute adjustments in their positions before release of the monthly supply/demand report from the US Agriculture Department.
Traders said they do not expect any major surprises to come out of the report since most of the industry is looking at weather conditions among farms in the US cotton belt.
Switch business was also done in the cotton pit as players moved positions out of the May contract before the delivery period begins on April 24.
Open interest in the May contract fell 1,223 lots to 70,259 lots as of April 6 while interest in the July contract rose 1,861 to 42,467 lots.
Brokers Flanagan Trading Corp sees resistance in the May cotton contract at 54.10 and 54.85 cents, with support at 53.80 and 53.30 cents.
Floor dealers said final trading volume was estimated at 29,000 lots, up from the prior count of 15,183 lots. Open interest rose 1,664 lots to 138,659 contracts as of April 6.