By Keith Brown DTN Cotton Correspondent 

Lacking visible Chinese progress on the coronavirus, the cotton market kept its head down going into the President’s Day weekend. All U.S. financial and commodity markets will be closed on Monday. Moreover, the U.S. Government, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Postal Service will be closed as well.

Supposedly on Saturday, the NCC will report the results of its membership survey for 2020 acres. Already, the trade has seen a double-digit lower intentions number via a survey published by Cotton Grown Magazine in January, So, against that backdrop, plus the current wretched price for new crop cotton, expectations are for reduced acres as well.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported the worst apparel sales in 10 years. In addition to the hindrance caused by coronavirus, and just plain old influenza, the apparel industry was already facing a tough start to 2020. One retail think-tank is suggesting the ill-buying patterns are the result of the U.S. consumer clearly not prioritizing their buying of their goods and products, and not the result of an economic malaise or a lack of spending power.

However, the fact the nation is facing the second warmest winter in 29 years, consumers are buying fewer winter clothes to stock their closets. Thus, receipts at domestic clothing stores fell some 3.1% last month, the most since March 2009.

For the week, spot cotton went out 0.34 cent lower from last Friday. For Friday, March cotton closed at 67.41 cents, off 0.34 cent, July ended at 69.28 cents, down 0.22 cent and December finished at 69.06 cents, down 0.28 cent. Friday’s estimated volume was 48,536 contracts traded.