Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

In a roundabout move, the cotton market shed its bearish attitude of Monday to reveal a more positive outlook Tuesday. Some of its two-sided trading this week relates to delivery preparations for Wednesday, and China COVID-19 concerns. However, with most of the negative news essentially "outed," the market saw bargain buying and short-covering ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.    

On Monday, cotton did fall to its lowest price level in more than two weeks, with the front two months closing limit down. Traders worry about future Chinese demand, as large areas of Beijing and several other cities were closed due to spikes in COVID-19 infections. However, it is thought that somehow, someway, China must emerge from its self-imposed lockdowns or suffer irreparable damage to its economy.    

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

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

For Tuesday, December closed at 83.22 cents, up 2.06 cents, March 2023 finished at 82.42 cents, up 2.64 cents and July 2023 settled at 80.78 cents, 2.22 cents higher; estimated volume was 34,109 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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