By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

Cotton finished markedly higher Monday, influenced by outside spiking markets. The Dow Jones, energies, metals and the grains were all collectively higher Monday, as end-of-the-year squaring and padding of old positions unfolded among traders.

Monday afternoon, the CFTC will issue its commitment of traders update.

As 2022 approaches, it is worth noting that this particular bull market in cotton is 20 months old. It commenced, unbeknownst to traders, in April of 2020, with the massive low posted by the COVID-19 melt. Interestingly, the great 2011 market, which zoomed above $2 per pound, lasted some 28 months in duration. That is from November 2008 to March 2011. Naturally, others may have a different count.

Monday, March cotton settled at 112.28 cents, up 3.16 cents, July ended at 106.72 cents, up 2.42 cents and December ended at 91.94 cents, 1.23 cents higher; estimated volume was 18,205 contracts.