Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

The cotton market was anywhere from limit down to sharply lower Monday amid new COVID-19 fears thundering out of China. Over the weekend, large sections of Beijing were in a "voluntary lockdown," but other megacities were as well. China's zero-COVID policy is making life extraordinarily difficult for the population and is -- in all likelihood -- doing irreparable damage to her economy. Thus cotton, copper, and crude oil were all lower Monday, while the U.S. dollar was higher.    

This afternoon USDA will update progress on the 2022 harvest. Traders are anticipating an "8-handle" on the gathering pace. The report is out at 4 p.m. EST.    

Wednesday will start the delivery period for spot December cotton. It will last through December's expiration of Dec. 7. Tuesday is the last day to exit any spot positions.    

Thursday's export sales report has been delayed to Friday as part of the Thanksgiving observance. In addition, there will be only an abbreviated session on Friday for futures trading.    

For Monday, December closed at 81.16 cents, down 4.00, March 23 finished at 79.78, minus 4.00, and July 23 settled at 78.56, 3.46 lower. Monday's estimated volume was 35,940 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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