EUR/US$: 1.1537
U.S. Cotton: Prices Slip Wednesday Under Outside Pressure as Fed Hikes Rates
Barchart: Cotton futures were steady to 66 points lower on Wednesday, led down by the front-month October contract; December settled at 84.36 cents/lb (-12) and March at 86.89 cents (-10). As widely expected, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25%, while signaling another hike could come before year-end. The Seam reported an average sale price of 80.51 cents/lb on 2,380 bales Tuesday. The Cotlook A index fell 150 points on September 15 to 96.15 cents, and the Adjusted World Price was down 441 points on the week at 69.51 cents/lb. ICE certified stocks fell 532 bales on September 15 to 37,930.
Source: Barchart
U.S. Cotton: Fourth Straight Lower Close as Fed Hikes Rates, Middle East Tensions Spread
Calcot: December cotton settled at 84.36 cents/lb on Wednesday, down 12 points for a fourth straight lower close and an 11-session net loss of 878 points since its August 31 contract high of 93.14 cents; today's range traded inside Tuesday's, and Dec closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time in two months. Open interest held near record highs at 380,206 contracts. China's ZCE futures fell for a tenth time in eleven sessions, though the gap with ICE continues to narrow — an 11-session net loss of 6.8% for ZCE's January contract versus 9.4% for ICE December. China's State Reserve auction sold 7,332 of 8,011 tonnes offered in its 43rd sale, bringing cumulative sales to about 343,599 tonnes. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75%-4.00%, its first hike since July 2023, and signaled another increase is possible this year as Chair Kevin Warsh declined to rule out further tightening; U.S. stocks fell for a seventh session in eight on the news. August retail sales jumped 1.2%, well above expectations, and import prices rose 0.7% (+7.0% year-on-year), while the 10-year Treasury yield closed just above 5% for the first time since 2007 and the dollar index gained for a sixth straight session. Middle East tensions continued to spread, with Saudi Arabia striking Houthi targets in Yemen as the group pushed further along the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, though crude oil posted its first loss of the week after Saudi Arabia rerouted shipments through Oman to work around damage to its East-West pipeline.
Source: Calcot
China: Xinjiang's "Smart" Cotton Fields Cut Costs, Lift Yields
China Daily: A 200-hectare "super cotton field" in Yuli county, Xinjiang, is run by just two operators using digital smart-agriculture systems that automate about 75% of the planting-to-harvest cycle, with autonomous drones completing field inspections in half a day versus three days manually. The approach has cut input costs — water, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor — by 22% while lifting yields 8%, and has already been replicated across roughly 133,000 hectares in Xinjiang. The region produced 6.16 million tonnes of cotton in 2025, up 8.4% and accounting for 92.8% of China's total output. Nationally, technology contributed more than 64% of agricultural output growth in 2025, crop-farming mechanization reached 76.7%, and the country's agricultural drone fleet surpassed 300,000 units.
Source: China Daily
U.S. Cotton: Great American Cotton Plan Puts Demand at the Center
Cotton Grower: On the Cotton Companion podcast, National Cotton Council Vice President Robbie Minnich said the USDA's four-pillar Great American Cotton Plan — covering demand, trade, domestic manufacturing, and grower support — reflects a message the industry has been pushing to the administration and Congress: that building demand and stronger markets reduces growers' reliance on farm programs and economic assistance, even as a strong safety net remains important. Minnich pointed to consumer-awareness efforts such as the "Plant Not Plastic" campaign, which he said is resonating especially with younger consumers who are more attentive to fiber content and read labels before buying.
Source: Cotton Grower
Global: EURATEX Welcomes Von der Leyen's EU Address, Warns on Industrial Urgency
EURATEX: The European textile industry body welcomed President von der Leyen's State of the Union address, praising her recognition of unfair trade practices, the push to cut regulatory burden through a "pact against gold-plating" with member states, a new European Instrument for Strategic Enablers for defense (which EURATEX says should include technical and defense textiles), deeper EU-Canada ties, and a new Mediterranean Youth Skills and Jobs initiative. But it warned that industrial competitiveness received "comparatively limited attention," arguing Europe cannot build a strong defense or lead the green and digital transitions on a weakening industrial base. EURATEX pointed to the EU's €1 billion-a-day trade deficit with China and called for faster trade-defense measures — including stronger customs enforcement and import monitoring for textiles — plus dedicated textile-industry funding in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework.
Source: EURATEX
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