Cotton Attempts to Recover

The cotton market is somewhat higher Wednesday, after its disastrous break on Tuesday. In that action, March cotton posted a new life-of-contract low and low close. No finger can be pointed at one single cause, but a major concern is that global fiber demand continues to be weak.

USDA will issue another catch-up export sales report Thursday, covering the week ended Nov. 27. The most recent release, last Monday, showed 2025-26 net sales were 148,000 bales, with Vietnam as the top buyer at 46,700 bales. For the 2026-27 season, sales were 3,100 bales, and shipments were 120,800 bales. 

Overnight, crude oil has jumped more than 2% after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Previously, oil prices had settled near five-year lows as progress was seen in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. A part of that deal would be to ease Western sanctions on Moscow, freeing up more oil supply.

New inflation numbers will be out in Thursday’s CPI Report. Traders will parse its numbers for clues as to what could be the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates. Expectations call for November month-over-month to be 0.2% and November year-over-year to be at 3.0%

Daily chart support for March cotton stands at 62.90 cents and 62.00 cents, with resistance hovering about 64.00 cents and 64.40 cents. Wednesday morning’s estimated opening volume is 11,345 contracts.

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com or by calling (229) 890-7780.