Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

The cotton market started out the new week checking out last week's highs, but then speculative selling sent prices into the red. Although traders still have concerns over the drought gripping West Texas, falling outside markets undermined cotton's earlier advance.    

Monday afternoon USDA will issue its crop ratings data. The readings are expected to show the U.S. crop worsened last week.    

On Wednesday, new CPI readings will be issued. That data should give traders a bit more clarity about the central bank's next move at its policy meeting in September. Traders are now pricing in the likelihood of a three-quarter-point hike. That would be the third consecutive increase of that amount. Headline CPI, which includes energy and food, is expected to dip to 8.7% in July, from a 40-year high of 9.1% in June.    

Flash floods in Pakistan, caused by abnormally heavy monsoon rains, have killed some 550 people in late July. Government agencies and the army have set up aid and relief camps in flood-hit regions and were working to help relocate families and provide food and medicine.    

On Friday, USDA will update its monthly supply-demand numbers. Last report showed a million bales decline in production, but nearly an equal offset decline in exports.    

For Monday, December closed at 95.59 cents, down 0.54 cent, March 2023 finished at 93.33 cents, down 0.47 cent and July 2023 settled at 90.19 cents, 0.24 cent lower; estimated volume was 14,309 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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