By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

Cotton finished markedly lower Monday but did pare its deepest losses. At one time the market was off nearly 400 points, overwhelmed by Monday morning’s general commodities retrenchment. That massive decline came on the reported news that a Ukrainian-Russian cease-fire was in the works.

In addition, a COVID-19 outbreak in China had the government closing the port facilities in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Traders ultimately felt the China ports situation would self-recover in time.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the FMOC will meet to discuss interest rates. Based on recent Wall Street polling there is a 99.99% chance of, at least, a quarter-point rate hike on Wednesday. That announcement will come at 2 p.m. EDT.

USDA announced Monday that it will support additional fertilizer production for American farmers to address rising costs and increase competition. The Agency said it will make available $250 million through a new grant program this summer to support independent, innovative and sustainable American fertilizer production to supply American farmers.

Moreover, USDA plans to launch a public inquiry seeking information regarding seeds and agricultural inputs, fertilizer, and retail markets.

Monday, May Cotton settled at 118.77 cents, down 2.26 cents, July ended at 115.12 cents, down 1.67 cents, and December finished at 102.22 cents, 2.02 points higher. Monday’s estimated volume was 26,402 contracts.