Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst
The cotton market was materially lower Tuesday amid producer selling and the rising U.S. dollar. In addition, traders are squaring up for Thursday's weekly export sales, followed by the January WASDE.
This Thursday, USDA will update its supply-demand tables via its January WASDE. For the report, traders see U.S. production near 14.14 million bales compared with the 14.24 million bales reported in December. Exports are expected to be at 12.12 million bales from the 12.25 million seen in December. Ending stocks are expected at 3.5 million bales, equal to the 3.5 million in December. World ending stocks are expected near 89.46 million bales, slightly below December's 89.56 million bales.
In a speech delivered to Sweden's Riksbank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that stabilizing prices can require tough decisions that can be unpopular politically. He emphasized the need for the central bank to be free of political influence while it tackles persistently high inflation. The U.S. dollar was higher Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 2023 finished at 84.76 cents, down 1.46 cents, July settled at 84.76 cents, down 1.20 cents and December 2023 ended at 82.03 cents, 1.11 cents lower; estimated volume was 30,047 contracts.
Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com
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