Movement in cotton benchmarks around the world was mixed over the past month, according to a report by Cotton Incorporated. The March NY/ICE contract tested the upper limit of the range between 79 and 89 cents/lb that has held values since early November. After failing to break higher, prices retreated to levels near 85 cents/lb.

Prices for the December NY/ICE contract, reflecting market expectations for the 2023-24 crop year, continued to follow a gentle upward trend in the first half of January. In the second half of January and into early February, values flattened out at levels near 85 cents/lb. The A Index was relatively stable over the past month, trading on both sides of 100 cents/lb, as per the Cotton Market Fundamentals & Price Outlook - February 2023 by Cotton Inc.

Chinese prices represented by the China Cotton Index (CC 3128B) increased from early January to early February (from 101 to 107 cents/lb). In terms of RMB/ton, values rose from 15,200 to 15,900. The RMB was steady against the USD over the past month, near 6.78 RMB/USD.

Indian spot prices (Shankar-6 quality) decreased slightly over the past month, from 97 to 94 cents/lb. Values eased from ₹62,500 per candy to ₹61,500 per candy. The INR was traded close to 82 per USD over the past month.

Pakistani prices decreased from 106 to 97 cents/lb. In domestic terms, prices rose from 20,000 to 22,000 PKR/maund. The difference in price direction across currencies resulted from a significant weakening of the PKR against the dollar. The exchange rate swung from 228 to 275 PKR/USD between early January and early February.