Cotton futures dropped for the fourth straight session on Friday, to their lowest in more than two weeks, as persisting weak demand sent prices below a key technical level, sparking selling.
The most active July cotton contract fell 1.29 cents, or 2 percent, to settle at 63.29 cents a lb, after dropping as low as 63.26 cents a lb, the lowest since April 2. That was largest single-session loss since January 20.
Second-month cotton finished the week down 3.2 percent, its sharpest weekly decline in five months.
Front-month May cotton fell 0.72 cent, or 1.1 percent, to settle at 63.29 cents a lb.
The declines came as the July contract fell below its 200-day moving average of 64.49 cents a lb, prompting further selling.
The fiber's move above its 200-day moving average earlier this month had attracted a new wave of speculative buying.
"That's the one that got everyone excited on the upside, and that'll be the one that gets everyone disappointed on the downside," Ron Lawson, a partner at commodity investment firm Logic Advisors in Sonoma, California, said of the 200-day moving average.
A continued surge in certified stocks in ICE warehouses continued to weigh on prices, suggesting weak demand in the physical market. On Thursday, 4,855 bales were added to certified stocks for a total of 64,508 bales, according to the most recent ICE data.