Cotton conundrum

New York cotton for December stood in negative territory too, failing to extend the upward momentum of the last session, and indeed finding the 50-day moving average at 69.54 cents a pound tricky to stay above.

The market's lack of stability the last few sessions has got investors asking a few questions.

"Has the market found support from mills, or are specs just playing the ranges and getting longer hoping to make a move in the December contract?" asked Ecom, after the 1.5% move upwards in the last session.

The trading house added that "as far as we see it, if the US crop can get off the field without any major hiccups then the specs are in trouble. In this case we would expect to see 66 cents a pound.

"However, if we see storms during picking and the October USDA Wasde report reflects heavy damage data [from hurricanes Harvey and Irma] then the specs may just make their money back."