REUTERS: ICE cotton scales one-year peak on lower China output estimates
REUTERS: ICE cotton scales one-year peak on lower China output estimates

REUTERS: ICE cotton scales one-year peak on lower China output estimates

A- A+

Sept 1 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures hit their highest in more than a year on Friday en route to a second straight weekly gain, on estimates of lower production from top buyer China and some concerns of a limited hit to the crop in Georgia from storm Idalia.

* Cotton contracts for December CTZ3 rose 1.86 cents, or 2.1%, at 89.68 cents per lb by 11:47 a.m EDT (15:47 GMT), after touching its highest since Aug. 29, 2022, at 89.83 cents.

* The contract was bound for a 2.8% weekly rise.

* Prices jumped on fears that "supply is being threatened", said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co, in Georgia. "The crops will come in smaller as you get into harvest across the northern hemisphere."

* But, "about 20-15% of the Georgia crop is open, so we didn't really lose any cotton. We could lose the plant, but we'll just have to see if that happens or not," Brown said.

* Chicago wheat, soybeans and corn also climbed as traders watched out for updates on U.S. crop conditions before harvest. GRA/

* While some of the strength has been attributed to reported damage to the Georgia crop from recent storm Idalia, most of it seems to be due to lower production estimates for China this season, Rose Commodity Group said in a note on Wednesday.

* China'scotton production was lowered to 5.9 million metric tons on reduced planted area for 2023/24, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Beijing.

* In India, too, the cotton area was slightly smaller, at 12.3 million hectares, farm ministry data showed.

* The natural fiber market also drew support from higher oil prices, which make cotton-substitute polyester more expensive. O/R

Reporting by Daksh Grover and Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai


Source: Reuters

Tags

newsletter

Subscribe to our daily newsletter