Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said on Friday it would delist all currently listed world cotton futures contract months as of the start of trading on Monday, and would defer listing any new contract months. ICE did not provide reasons for the delisting. "The exchange will continue to consult with market participants regarding the possibility of re-listing the contract for trading in the future," ICE said in a statement.
The world cotton contract debuted in November 2015, after years of lobbying from merchants as ICE's cotton No. 2 futures contract only allows for delivery of US cotton. The world cotton contract had nine delivery points in the United States, Australia, Taiwan and Malaysia, according to the ICE website. But it never gained traction. There were literally no trades in the world cotton contract since early December 2017 and the trading volumes before that were negligible.
ICE continued to invest in growing the ICE Cotton No. 2 futures contract, said Damon Leavell, a spokesman for the exchange."Volume and open interest continue to rise into 2017. Based on customer feedback we are reviewing the world cotton contract's original terms, and how we might improve its usefulness to the global cotton trade," the spokesman said. Market volume in the US cotton futures totalled 38,400 lots as of Friday. ICE cotton futures fell to more than two week lows on Friday after the government lowered US export outlook for the new crop with a stronger dollar further weighing on the prices of the natural fiber.