REUTERS: ICE cotton futures flat ahead of USDA's WASDE report
REUTERS: ICE cotton futures flat ahead of USDA's WASDE report

REUTERS: ICE cotton futures flat ahead of USDA's WASDE report

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Dec 6 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures were little changed on Wednesday, while focus shifted to the monthly crop supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) due later in the week.

* The second-month March contract CTc2 was flat at 79.66 cents per lb by 12:32 p.m. ET (1732 GMT) after hitting a more than one-week high earlier in the session.

* Investors await the release of the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, due on Friday, along with the weekly export sales data due on Thursday.

*"The U.S. dollar is slightly lower, supporting the market. Also, seeing some squaring up ahead of the WASDE report," said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co, in Georgia.

* The dollar .DXY, meanwhile, eased 0.1% from a two-week high, making the natural fiber less expensive for other currency holders. USD/

*Certified cotton stocks, which can be delivered against the contract, fell to 6,325 bales on Dec. 5, from their highest level in over two years at 87,770 bales on Dec. 1, according to ICE data.

* "The receiver of the deliveries against December contract has decertified them, which means they are probably going to ship them overseas and so that was seen as friendly for the cotton market," Brown added.

* In the grain market, Chicago wheat futures rose after a second large Chinese purchase of U.S. wheat in as many days boosted export prospects. Corn also extended gains this week, supported by wheat, while soybeans edged higher. GRA/

Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber


Source: Reuters

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