Dollar, stocks gained. Classing slowed but reached 1.03 million RB, up from 980,553 a year ago. Rain stalled field activities in South Texas. Many West Texas producers expected to wait on freeze. Sunny skies prevailed in the Southeast and Delta. Active harvesting reported in Central Arizona. More growers began defoliating in California.
Cotton futures fell below lows of the prior five weeks Monday amid favorable weather conditions across most of the U.S. Cotton Belt.
December settled down 88 points at 67.57 cents, barely off the low of its 125-point range from up 35 points on the overnight opening at 68.80 cents to down 90 points at 67.55 cents. It printed its lowest intraday price since Aug. 25 and finished on its lowest close since Aug. 21.
The market had been unable to sustain a bounce last week on inclement weather in the Texas High Plains. March lost 76 points to close at 67.02 cents, trading within a 102-point range from 68.03 to 67.01 cents.
The U.S. dollar gained and stock markets climbed amid a surge reported in manufacturing activity. The Institute for Supply Management said its reading of U.S. factory activity rose to a reading of 60.8 last month, highest since May 2004, from 58.8 in August.
Volume increased to an estimated 23,620 lots from 14,951 lots the prior session when spreads accounted for 4,715 lots or 32%, EFP 27 lots and EFS 20 lots. Options volume rose to 3,821 lots (2,038 calls and 1,783 puts) from 1,559 lots (746 calls and 813 puts).
U.S. upland classing dipped to 122,869 running bales during the week ended Thursday from 147,385 the prior week, according to the latest weekly figures from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
This brought the total for the season to 1.03 million RB, 1.009 million of which came from Texas. Tenderable cotton accounted for 78.6% for the week, down from 82.1% the prior week, and 86.7% for the season. A year ago, classing totaled 204,097 RB for the week and 980,553 for the season, 73.4% of which was tenderable.
Classing among states included 14,169 RB for Louisiana, 4,922 for Mississippi, 1,671 for Georgia and 1,066 for Arkansas. Eighty-three gins submitted samples for classing, up from 64 gins the prior week.
Failure of conditioning equipment at the Corpus Christi classing facility resulted in cotton from that area being graded at Memphis, Tenn., and Rayville, La., while repairs are made.
Moderate rainfall interrupted field activities in South Texas at midweek. Some gins in the Rio Grande Valley have completed their seasons. All ginning activity was expected to be completed by mid-October.
Harvesting had reached the halfway mark in the Blackland Prairies. Defoliants and boll openers continued to be applied. Ginning continued uninterrupted. Round bales accumulated on gin yards.
Logistics continued to feel the impact of Hurricane Harvey. Ginned bales had begun to accumulate on gin yards because of a lack of trucks for transportation to warehouses.
Rainy, cool conditions had producers in the West Texas Plains hoping for a quick return to sunny, warm weather to help mature the crop. Bolls had opened in many fields ahead of the rains. Some producers have applied harvest-aid chemicals, but many are expected to wait for a killing freeze to prepare the crop for once-over stripping. Ginning was expected to begin mid-to-late October in the southern Plains.
In the Southeast, fieldwork and harvest activities continued under mostly sunny, ideal weather. In Georgia, modules had begun to arrive at gin yards and ginning had begun on a limited scale. Producers may use airplane defoliation in fields where plants remain twisted and tangled from Hurricane Irma winds. This would avoid boll loss from sprayers rolling through fields and knocking bolls off laid-down plants.
Continued hot, dry weather prevailed in the North Delta. The crop made excellent progress under an extended period of favorable weather, particularly above-average temperatures. Defoliation gained momentum.
Clear skies and high temperatures persisted in the South Delta. Defoliation and harvesting expanded under ideal weather and a backlog of modules accumulated on gin yards.
In the West, ginning continued at Yuma and harvesting was active in Central Arizona. Defoliation began at Safford. More producers began defoliating in California’s San Joaquin Valley and harvesting began in Merced County.
Futures open interest edged up 176 lots to 232,964 on Friday, with December’s down 111 lots to 132,754 and March’s up 223 lots to 69,345. Certified stocks increased 840 bales to 3,860.
Source: Agfax