ICE cotton futures shed over 2 percent on Tuesday in their biggest one-day loss in nearly eight months after a US government report showed improving new crop conditions and energy and commodity markets weakened. The cotton prices fell on the better-than-expected US crop condition report, said Louis Rose, independent cotton trader and consultant with Risk Analytics in Memphis, Tennessee.
The market also factored in profit-taking and weakness in oil and commodity markets, he said. Nearly 54 percent of the US crop was in good to excellent condition, weekly US Department of Agriculture data showed on Monday. The December cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled down 1.6 cent, or 2.42 percent, at 64.39 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 63.96 and 66.46 cents a lb.
The dollar index was up 0.54 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was down 0.68 percent. China's cotton imports dropped 51.6 percent in May from the same month last year to 80,000 tonnes, according to official customs data released on Tuesday. Oil prices fell 2 percent on Tuesday as investors took profit from a two-day rally fuelled by speculation Britain will stay in the European Union, paring some losses after rebels sabotaging Nigeria's crude exports denied a one-month cease-fire agreement.