NEW YORK: ICE cotton futures were primed for their third weekly gain in the past four weeks on Friday, propped up by a weaker dollar and stable demand. Cotton contracts for December were up 0.57 cent, or 0.6%, to 94.73 cents per lb, by 12:57 p.m. EDT (1657 GMT).
Demand is keeping cotton up today, but "the weather is really important going forward, the crop needs sun and we're not getting it. Any time the temperature dips below 60 degrees, the plant shuts down," said Louis Barbera, partner and analyst at VLM Commodities Ltd."
"Demand keeps going higher and once Vietnam opens back up, we are going to see the pent-up demand from those spinning mills start to kick up," Barbera added.
The dollar pulled back, potentially lifting demand for the natural fibre by making it less expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Market participants were also keeping a close watch on Hurricane Ida as it moves to the northern US Gulf of Mexico.
"Now, cotton is opening across the southern Mississippi River Delta, and the storm is not positive for producers across this region. Still, any damage will probably be minimal," Louis Rose, director of research and analytics at Tennessee-based Rose Commodity Group, said in a note.
The December contract has gone up about 1.7% so far this week, rebounding from the previous week's dip. This past week, "price action has been quite constructive, as several attempts to sell off have been thwarted. There is strong underlying support in the low 90s," Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus Cotton, said in a note.
Total futures market volume fell by 2,318 to 13,352 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 319 to 269,525 contracts in the previous session.