The US cotton market had a tepid reaction to a key government crop report on Thursday as some traders said the estimate for US 2011/12 cotton production was too high. USDA forecast US 2011/12 cotton production at 16.55 million (480-lb) bales, up from 16 million estimated last month and above a Reuters survey which pegged it at an average of 15.29 million bales.
World cotton ending stocks for 2011/12 were raised, while production and consumption were cut. On the surface, traders said the numbers should have been bearish, but the key December cotton contract on ICE Futures US rose 0.45 cent to 98.25 cents per lb at 10:48 am EDT (1448 GMT). "It's square one," he said of the US cotton estimate."(What the market is) telling us is its fully discounted."