EUR/US$: 1.1539
U.S. Cotton: Mixed Session Tuesday, December at a New Four-Week Low
Barchart: Cotton futures were mixed on Tuesday, with the thin, nearby October contract up 46 points to 81.10 cents while other months fell 3 to 17 points; December settled at 84.48 cents/lb (-7) and March at 86.99 cents (-13). The Cotlook A index fell 205 points on Monday to 96.15 cents, and the Adjusted World Price was down 441 points on the week at 69.51 cents/lb. ICE certified stocks were unchanged at 38,462 bales.
Source: Barchart
U.S. Cotton: Third Straight Lower Session for December, Oil and Bond Yields in Focus Ahead of the Fed
Calcot: December cotton settled at 84.48 cents/lb on Tuesday, down 7 points and a fresh four-week low, its third straight lower session even as the pace of decline slowed; most contracts fell 3 to 17 points, while thin nearby October and the back months rose. Dec closed below its 10-, 20-, and 40-day moving averages for a second consecutive session, something it hadn't done since late July. Open interest has fallen only 3,972 contracts over the last eight sessions even as Dec dropped 700 points, suggesting specs and trade are still mostly shuffling positions rather than liquidating. China's ZCE futures fell for a ninth time in ten sessions, though the gap with ICE has narrowed — a ten-session net loss of 6.1% for ZCE's January contract versus 9.3% for ICE December. China's State Reserve auction fell just short of a sell-out for the second time, moving 7,754 of 8,017 tonnes offered (97%), bringing cumulative sales to about 336,267 tonnes. U.S. stock indexes fell for a sixth session in seven, as a stronger-than-expected August jobs report and escalating Middle East tensions — including a strike that shut down Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline — pushed crude oil up 4.4% to a sixth straight contract high and sent the 10-year Treasury yield to 5.04%, its highest since 2007. The combination of higher energy costs, inflation, and a solid labor market made Wednesday's 25-basis-point Fed rate hike a near certainty.
Source: Calcot
Greece: Greek-Chinese Contacts on Cotton-Sector Cooperation
Ypaithros: The President of the Panhellenic Union of Cotton Ginners and Exporters met with China's Economic and Commercial Counselor in Athens to explore cooperation in the cotton sector. The talks highlighted the EUCOTTON initiative promoting European cotton's quality, sustainable cultivation, and supply-chain transparency, with both sides describing the meeting as positive and agreeing to keep developing institutional and business ties between Greek and Chinese cotton trade.
Source: Ypaithros
U.S. Cotton: How Bold Was the Summer Rally?
Yahoo Finance (Darin Newsom): December cotton's summer rally now looks like a classic seasonal move — up nearly 25% from a June low of 75.17 cents to an August high of 93.74 cents, in line with the contract's typical 3-9% July-August rally followed by a 3-7% pullback into October. Speculative funds swung from a record short of 65,632 contracts in October 2025 to a record long of 155,316 in February, and were still net long 102,389 contracts by mid-May. Commercial traders sold heavily into the rally, widening the Dec-March spread from a 0.5-cent carry in mid-May to 2.5 cents by September. With funds still holding near-record long positions and commercial selling continuing, Newsom sees room for the seasonal downtrend to keep running.
Source: Yahoo Finance
China: Textile Firms Shift to Full Value-Chain Investment Abroad
CCFGroup: Chinese chemical-fiber and cotton-textile companies are shifting their overseas expansion strategy from relocating single factories to building full value-chain operations spanning raw materials to finished goods, according to a review of 12 investment cases from the first nine months of 2026. Chemical-fiber firms continue to favor Southeast Asia, integrating refining, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and garment production, while cotton-textile investors are increasingly targeting North Africa and the Middle East — Egypt for the Suez Canal Economic Zone and its trade agreements, Morocco for its proximity to Europe and tariff advantages.
Source: CCFGroup
China: Cotton Production Falls 3.5%, CCA Survey Shows
CCFGroup: A China Cotton Association survey of 1,965 growers across 10 provinces and Xinjiang found most of the crop had entered the boll-opening stage in August with generally stable conditions. National planting area fell 3.9% year-on-year to 43.054 million mu, while yield rose 0.5% to 166.2 kg/mu; total production is forecast at 7.154 million tons, down 3.5%. Xinjiang, which produces 95.9% of China's cotton, held yield flat at 173.8 kg/mu despite intensifying bollworm and aphid pressure in late August, while the Yangtze River basin saw production fall 14.3% due to typhoon-related waterlogging; Gansu was a bright spot, up 11.1%.
Source: CCFGroup
U.S. Cotton: Macro Backdrop Ahead of the Fed, Apparel Imports Stay Weak
Textile Focus: The Federal Reserve's September 16 meeting comes with core PCE inflation stuck near 3.3% since March, well above its 2% target, while U.S. job growth rebounded to 162,000 in August and unemployment held at 4.1% — the longest stretch below 5% since 1948. Wage growth slowed to 3.1% year-on-year, trailing inflation, and consumer confidence slipped to 89.4. Garment spending rose 2.8% year-on-year but underperformed overall retail growth, while apparel CPI was flat in July after a June dip, leaving clothing prices about 4% higher than a year ago. Cotton-dominant apparel import volumes fell 11.4% year-on-year in July, extending a 12-month decline of 7.9% that points to continued caution among sourcing buyers. Separately, of two Section 301 investigations launched in March, the one into forced-labor practices has already produced tariff action, while findings on excess capacity remain pending and could trigger further tariffs.
Source: Textile Focus
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