By Keith Brown DTN Cotton Correspondent 

Cotton barely scratched out a lower close Tuesday as its range was tight and its volume was moderate. The market is experiencing some end-of-the-month position squaring, but also is awaiting other market-moving news. That fresh news could come in the form of Thursday’s weekly sales and exports report, or November 8’s supply-demand, or the U.S.-China trade talks in the middle of November.

To some degree, we think all three events have captured the market’s attention. Thus, until some exciting news hits the trade, the market is content to trade its current tight range.

As calendar October begins to fade away, it is up nearly 4.00 cents for the month. A positive October will affect the national crop revenue insurance program. That is, to our understanding, an average of the monthly prices is taken and applied to a similar average against a spring month, we think February, to determine annual pay rates.

The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on interest rates Wednesday at 2 p.m. It is expected rates will be cut by one-quarter point. President Trump has been jawboning the fed for some time to lower rates. A hope is lower rates will equate to a weaker dollar. However, the fed is keeping watch on the negative rates that are emerging around the world.

Tuesday, December cotton closed at 64.72 cents, down 0.07 cent, March finished at 65.77 cents, down 0.01 cent and December 2020 ended at 67.34 cents, up 0.16 cent. Estimated volume was 28,314 contracts.