Keith Brown DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst    

The cotton market was steeply lower Monday as traders continue to sell the bearish trend. The market continues to fear a strong U.S. dollar and poor Chinese demand, which are providing a bearish one-two punch.    

This afternoon, USDA will publish its weekly Crop Progress report. Most likely it will show the 2022 harvest is more than 50% complete. That level is often considered a milestone and can serve as an inflection point for a turnaround. The data is out at 4 p.m. EDT.    

Tuesday and through Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will meet to discuss interest rates and publicly announce any changes. There seems to be a divide among the Fed governors as to whether the central bank should continue to press rates to the upside or slack off and give the economy time to digest their actions.    

Over the weekend, Russia pulled out of the Ukraine Grain Agreement, which will halt the shipments of grains out of the Black Sea. The Chicago grains are sharply higher, but ultimately this situation could positively affect cotton.    

For Monday, December closed at 72.00, down 11, March 23 finished at 71.64, minus 43, and July 23 settled at 71.98, 38 lower. Today's estimated volume was 52,033 contracts.    

Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com 

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