Cotton Creeps Higher

The cotton market is ever so gingerly higher Friday morning ahead of a long holiday weekend. Traders continue to assess the positive aspects of USDA’s January WASDE, as well as Thursday’s strong export sales.

The market will be closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. However, trading will resume at 9 p.m. EST Monday night as part of Tuesday’s session. Thus, there will be no DTN commentary this Monday.

Friday at 3:30 p.m. EST, the CFTC will update its Commitments of Traders information. Last Friday’s numbers showed managed-money funds had net bought some 1,300 positions, reducing their net carry to 47,700 contracts.

Traders are still waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds President Trump’s tariffs. Supposedly, a ruling will be announced soon. However, if the tariffs are invalidated, the Trump administration says it has other “legal options” to keep them in place. 

Chart support for March cotton stands at 64.40 cents and 64.00 cents, with resistance hovering about 65.25 cents and 65.80 cents. Friday morning’s estimated opening volume is 6,645 contracts.

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