Cotton futures ended slightly higher Thursday in another round of switch trade from investors moving large positions in the spot contract before it goes into delivery in three weeks, brokers said.
The New York Board of Trade's December cotton contract went up 0.40 cent to end at 49.18 cents per lb, trading from 48.40 to 49.35 cents. March rose 0.45 to 53.27 cents. The rest gained 0.48 to 0.85 cent.
"This huge open interest (in the December contract) is unbelievably burdensome," said Mike Stevens, an analyst for brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana.
He added that about 70 percent of the total volume traded in the cotton pit has been in the switch. Open interest in the December contract fell 2,837 lots to 99,057 contracts as of November 1 while interest in March rose 1,356 to 57,974 lots.
The December contract goes into first notice on November 22 which is right in front of the US Thanksgiving holiday. The contract expires on December 6. On a fundamental level, cotton prices have come under pressure due to more than ample supplies of fibre coming at a time when global demand, particularly from top consumer China, has gone down over the past few weeks.
Analysts said whatever outright activity there was in the cotton pit came from speculators who bid the market higher after it had sustained losses over the past few sessions. There was little reaction to the weekly export sales report from the US Agriculture Department.
USDA said total US cotton sales amounted to 118,800 running bales (RBs, 500-lbs each), against trade belief it would range from 75,000 to 200,000 RBs. Last week, sales hit 225,800 RBs. US cotton shipments of previously booked orders reached 116,600 RBs, from 137,200 RBs in last week's report.
Broker Flanagan Trading Corp sees resistance in the December contract at 49.30 and 50 cents, with support at 48.75 and 48.05 cents. Floor sources said final volume hit around 20,000 to 25,000 lots, from the prior tally of 26,065 lots. Open interest in the cotton market fell 1,111 lots to 184,242 lots as of November 1.