Speculative longs trimmed but still sizable. Rolling from December expected to quicken. Net on-call difference widened 657 lots.
A modest rally attempt failed Tuesday as cotton futures slid to a new low for the move and closed with a modest loss just off the low.
Spot December settled off 31 points to 78.34 cents, lowest close on a continuation chart since Jan. 17. It traded within a 69-point range from up 33 points at 78.98 to down 36 points at 78.29 cents. March closed down 30 points to 80.15 cents.
The market, down eight sessions in a row, apparently remained vulnerable to speculative long liquidation. Deterioration in 69% of the crop remaining on the stalk in Texas, as reported by USDA, drew some attention.
Volume slipped to an estimated 20,400 lots from 22,840 lots the previous session when spreads totaled 10,066 lots or 44%, EFS 222 lots and EFP 57 lots. Options volume totaled 3,275 calls and 8,112 puts.
Speculative longs dipped but were still sizable in futures-options combined as of Oct. 8, according to delayed traders-commitments data reported by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The report was delayed by the government shutdown.
Trend-following funds shaved their net longs 885 lots from a week earlier to 45,409 lots. Their net longs as of Oct. 1 were the largest since Aug. 27. Index funds sold 298 lots to pare their net longs to 69,207 lots, while traders with non-reportable positions sold 3,552 lots to trim theirs to 5,254 lots.
Commercials bought a net 4,736 lots, adding 7,901 longs along with 3,165 shorts to reduce their net short position to 119,868 lots. In futures only, non-commercials cut their net longs by 0.8 of a percentage point to 26.2% of the rising open interest.
The December contract, where the bulk of the speculative position has been concentrated, hit a high of 87.78 cents before falling to 83.60 cents during the reporting week ended Oct. 8.
Separately, unfixed on-call holdings based in December edged up 137 lots to 22,234 on the mill side during the week ended Oct. 4 and dipped 520 lots to 8,338 on the producer side, CFTC reported. The net call difference thus widened 657 lots to 13,896.
Futures open interest edged up 382 lots Monday to 202,945, with DecemberΆs down 572 lots to 108,165 lots and MarchΆs up 678 lots to 71,800 lots. Rolling of positions from December is expected to quicken Wednesday as index fund rolls begin in earnest.
Certificated stocks grew 20,222 bales to 134,991 on 20,656 newly certified bales and decertification of 434 bales. Awaiting review were 32,792 bales, including 6,240 bales at Galveston, 10,355 bales at Greenville and 16,197 bales at Memphis.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index dipped five points Tuesday morning to 85.90 cents. The premium to MondayΆs December futures settlement widened 38 points to 7.25 cents.
