Cotton trade action is down 30 to 37 so far this morning. Futures were down 5 to 10 points across the nearby contracts on Monday, with bellwether December settling midrange for the day. Crude oil was down 40 cents per barrel to add some pressure via the synthetic fiber market. 

Monday afternoon’s Crop Progress report showed 81% of the US cotton crop squaring, 5% faster than the average squaring pace. NASS calculated that 42% of the crop was setting bolls, 8% above average. Condition ratings saw a boost this week, up 8% to 53% good/excellent, as the Brugler500 index rose 20 points to 339.

ICE cotton stocks were down 279 bales on July 19 from decertification, leaving 40,140 bales of cert stocks. The Cotlook A Index was back down 15 points on July 19 at 82.20 cents/lb. The USDA Average World Price (AWP) was raised 34 points to 56.42 cents/lb, last week and is in effect through next Thursday.

Dec 24 Cotton  closed at 70.67, down 3 points, currently down 37 points

Mar 25 Cotton  closed at 72.55, down 7 points, currently down 36 points

May 25 Cotton  closed at 73.92, down 8 points, currently down 34 points