ICE cotton futures closed nearly unchanged in light trade on Friday after hitting more than five-week highs in the previous session, posting their second straight week of gains. The December cotton contract on ICE Futures settled down 0.09 cent, or 0.13 percent, at 68.8 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 68.31 and 69.25 cents a lb. "The majority of the merchants are short physical and are very hesitant to sell more cotton before securing any," said Anestis Arampatzis, risk management consultant with INTL FCStone. "On the other hand the farmers are unwilling to fix at these levels while the market is focusing on the crop development across the world."
Prices hit more than five-week highs on Thursday as better-than-expected weekly export sales data from the US government suggested higher demand for the natural fibre. December futures posted gains for the second straight week, up about 0.6 percent. Widespread flooding in India's western industrial state of Gujarat has killed more than 120 people and paralyzed infrastructure, officials said on Friday, with tens of thousands of cotton farmers also suffering heavy damage.
Recent downpours have hit cotton and millet in Gujarat and Rajasthan, where farm experts now fear pest infestations. "Early estimates suggests some 30 percent of that province's cotton and peanut crops are lost, and may have to be resown," said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co in Moultrie, Georgia. Total futures market volume fell by 13,057 to 10,210 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 433 to 216,493 contracts in the previous session.