Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

The cotton market traversed unchanged on the day during Wednesday's session before closing moderately lower. Traders were struggling as to whether to follow the market's basic fundamentals, which are negative, or the technicals, which are slanting positive. Thus, the market essentially closed flat.    

Target stores announced that profits fell by around 50% in its fiscal third quarter. The company waded through unwanted inventory, causing sales to slow ahead of holidays. The company also said it plans to cut up to $3 billion in total costs over the next three years.    

Retail sales jumped 1.3% for October. Sales were forecast to rise 1.2% last month. It was the biggest increase in eight months. Sales rose in almost every major retail segment in October. Yet, a big part of the increase in spending over the past year is due to inflation. Sales have risen 8.3% in the last 12 months versus a 7.7% increase in the cost of living. Traders are also anticipating Thursday's weekly export sales. Last week's net sales were 145,800 bales, with China as the top buyer of 57,300 bales.    

For Wednesday, December closed at 88.44 cents, down 0.30 cent, March 2023 finished at 86.76 cents, down 0.21 cent and July 2023 settled at 84.51 cents, 0.09 cent higher; estimated volume was 42,972 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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