Cotton industry analysts said Friday they expect little, if any, changes to the monthly supply-demand report of the US Department of Agriculture next week. The USDA data is due at 8:30 am EST (1330 GMT) on Tuesday. "I'm not expecting any big shakes," said Jobe Moss, an analyst for brokers and merchants MCM Inc in Lubbock, Texas. "I think world consumption will decline further."
In its January monthly report, USDA cut its forecast for 2008-09 world cotton consumption to 109.84 million (480-lb) bales from 111.56 million in the preceding month. The steady fall in consumption basically confirmed the impact a global economic recession has had on cotton demand. "Tuesday's report should show few, if any, changes to the US (cotton) picture, and the same can be said, or something close to it, for the world outlook," Sharon Johnson, cotton expert for First Capitol Group in Atlanta, Georgia, said in a report.
Mike Stevens, an analyst for brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana, said the data may show more fine-tuning of Northern Hemisphere cotton crops. The analysts said that while players will keep an eye on the turmoil in other markets at a time of global recessions, they will also turn their attention to a survey on potential plantings by the industry group National Cotton Council. The NCC survey will be released after the cotton futures market closes next Friday.