By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

Cotton traded both sides of unchanged Tuesday, as it deals with end-of-the-month and end-of-the-quarter position squaring, and ponders Wednesday’s USDA planting intentions. Currently, managed-money speculators have peeled back their huge net long standing. At one time they were roughly 80,000 contracts net long, but these days they are roughly down to about 58,000 contracts. Of course, even that last number is slightly dated.

Regarding acre intentions, on Tuesday morning the estimates have slightly altered. Currently, the average industry guess stands at 11.90 million, with a range of 11.40 million to 12.50 million acres. USDA’s 2021 acres indication first came in January at its Ag Forum. That estimate was 12.00 million.

The U.S. dollar continued in its upward tear Tuesday. In fact, the U.S. Dollar Index posted a four-month trading high Tuesday, with yields on the 10-year note at a 14-month high. It was one year ago, March 2020, that the Index was trading the 103-point level. From that peak, it plunged to a January 2021 low of 77.12 points. Since that time, the focus of traders has shifted away from inflation fears to that of rising interest rates. A 50% retracement of the dollar’s move can carry it back to the 96.50-point area.

Tuesday May cotton closed at 80.64 cents, up 0.15 cent, July settled at 81.75 cents, up 0.15 cent and December ended at 78.92 cents, up 0.27 cent; estimated volume was 21,759 contracts.