Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

The cotton market climbed up and down as if on a ladder Thursday. One moment it was higher, then lower, then higher and finally moderately lower again. Traders are battling the idea of a super-short crop versus a very overbought technical situation. Thus, the two-sided action.   

The U.S. dollar posted new highs for its current run Thursday. Wednesday, Fed Minutes reinforced the notion that even higher rates were forthcoming. The central bank will meet in September and traders are now expecting a three-quarter point hike at that time.    

Crude oil prices were higher Thursday amid lower U.S. inventories, and expectations that Russian production will decline late year. Wednesday, the EIA reported domestic crude stocks fell by 7.1 million barrels versus expectations for a 275,000-barrel drop.    

Heading into Friday's trade, December cotton is up 4.27 cents on the week, up 16.18 cents on the month and is up 22.09 cents for the year.    

For Thursday, December closed at 112.70 cents, down 0.84 cent, March 2023 finished at 109.76 cents, down 0.51 cent and July 2023 settled at 102.40 cents, 0.16 cent lower; estimated volume was 24,978 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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