By Keith Brown, DTN Cotton Correspondent 

The cotton market ended Thursday slightly higher. After Wednesday’s nearly limit-up move, strong overnight buying emerged from net-short speculators and bargain-buying hedgers.

Yet, about midday, the triple-digit rally stifled as sellers came out in force. Soon prices were sent reeling to unchanged and then lower, before posting its slightly higher close. Initially, the market was helped higher by USDA’s positive export sales data.

Friday, May cotton enters its delivery period. In this crazy coronavirus-era, it will be interesting to see how that event unfolds. Certificated stocks, which are bales already prepped for delivery, stand about 27,000 bales or 270 contracts.

July cotton entered Friday up 3.00 cents on the week, 2.00 cents higher on the month, but still down 14.00 cents on the year.

May cotton closed at 56.88 cents, up 0.60 cent, July finished at 56.37 cents, up 0.23 cent and December settled at 58.15 cents, up 0.47 cent. Estimated volume was 37,500 contracts.