Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

The cotton market was starkly quiet Wednesday, lacking any direct positive fundamentals, as well as dopey outside markets. The Dow, the metals and the grains were generally lower, while the U.S. dollar did gain. The markets are heading into a three-day holiday -- Good Friday/Easter -- so there was more squaring being done Wednesday than any new sizable positions being added.    

The six- to 10-day forecast suggests normal to above-normal rain for Texas with higher temperatures. The Delta and the Southeast show below-normal rainfall, with higher temperatures.

The U.S. dollar was slightly higher Wednesday, as investors lightened their short-positions to book profits ahead of the all-important U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday. The underlying tone for the greenback is slanted bearish, as private sector job numbers affirmed a decline in openings. That data suggested that the Federal Reserve may not need to demonstratively raise rates much higher.    

To reiterate, this Friday, U.S. markets will be closed in observance of Good Friday/Easter. However, the Labor Department will still release its monthly jobs report in the morning. This number will play a key role as to the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates at its May meeting.    

Also Friday, CFTC's Commitments of Traders report will be released in the afternoon. At last count, the managed-money traders were net short some 23,475 contracts.    

Lastly, as a reminder, options on the May cotton futures expire on April 14 or Friday next week.   

 Wednesday, May 2023 finished at 81.07 cents, up 0.02 cent, July settled at 81.29 cents, down 0.09 and December 2023 ended at 81.62 cents, 0.12 cent lower. Estimated volume was 32,092 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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