DTN Closing Cotton            05/02 13:50

   Cotton Continues Crumbling

   With a poor showing in its weekly export sales, plus heavy technical 
selling, the cotton market posted fresh lows for the current move. 

Keith Brown
DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst

   With a poor showing in its weekly export sales, plus heavy technical 
selling, the cotton market posted fresh lows for the current move. From the 
contract's April 1 high, prices have spilled nearly 1800 points, with zero 
"look-up". It is now thought that certain funds and speculators are pursuing 
"net short" positions. 

   USDA posted net weekly sales of 97,000 bales for the current season, way 
below the prior sales of 177,000. Thursday's shipments were also less. Upon 
being publicized Thursday morning, that data blunted the early recovery move.   

   Weather-wise the six-to-ten and the eight-to-fourteen-day forecasts call for 
above to much above normal temperatures across much of the U.S. Cotton Belt. 
With that, the updated U.S. Drought Monitor showed that only 8% of the U.S. 
Cotton Belt was in drought conditions compared to 9% last week.

   There were zero notices today against the Spot May contract. That contract 
expires on May 8.

   Friday, the Labor Department will issue its monthly jobs report. 
Expectations call for 243,000 new non-farm payrolls versus the previous number 
of 303,000.

   Heading into Friday's futures trading, July cotton is down 5.32 points on 
the week, down 2.85 points for the month, and is down 7.25 points on the year. 

   Thursday, July was 75.62 cents, down 0.89 cent, and December finished at 
74.18, 0.99 cent lower, and March 2025 was 75.62 cents, down 1.17 cents. 
Today's estimated volume was 43,108 contracts.

   Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com




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