Classing for season reached 886,067 bales, up from 359,485 bales a year ago. Rain slowed module movement in Texas. Mills priced 656 on-call December lots last week. Outstanding upland loans rose by 30,733 bales.

Cotton futures settled on the plus side Friday after establishing the sessionΆs broadened range in lively overnight dealings.

Benchmark December closed up 49 points to 61.89 cents, just above the prior-day high but in the lower half of its 206-point range from down 21 points at 61.19 to up 185 points at 63.25 cents. March settled up 42 points to 61.46 cents.

For the week, December lost 250 points and March dropped 283 points. Maturing October — its open interest was only four lots coming into the session — settled up 99 points on the day to 62.48 cents.

A strong rally in ChinaΆs Zhengzhou cotton futures may have contributed to the overnight jump in U.S. futures. Talk circulated that procurement of new-crop cotton has begun in China and that reserve sales will be suspended.

Volume totaled an estimated 22,700 lots, against 22,640 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 7,393 lots or 33% and EFP 71 lots. Options volume totaled 3,987 calls and 5,638 puts.

On the crop scene, U.S. upland cotton classing of 163,583 bales during the week ended Thursday boosted the total for the season to 886,067 bales, up from 359,485 bales a year ago.

Cotton tenderable on futures contracts increased to 76.9% from 72.7% the previous week and was up from 51% last year.

Classing overall slowed slightly from the prior weekΆs 166,378 bales because of a slowdown at Corpus Christi to 149,687 bales from 165,525 bales. Grading of cotton from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi nearly offset the dip in Texas.

Rainfall in the Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend interfered with field activities and slowed the transportation of modules to gins. Harvesting and stalk destruction were delayed until fields firmed enough to support equipment.

Classing for the week included 1,224 bales at Dumas, Ark.; 3,036 bales at Macon, Ga.; and 9,636 bales at Rayville, La.

Producers on the Texas High Plains welcomed a return of sunshine on Friday and forecasts for mostly favorable conditions for fiber maturation during the week ahead. A slight chance for showers and thunderstorms is forecast for the Lubbock area Monday night and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on-call pricing in December last week of 656 lots on the mill side and 488 lots on the producer side reduced their unfixed positions there to 9,337 and 17,568 lots, respectively, according to the latest call data reported by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The unfixed producer position thus outweighed that of the mills by a ratio of 1.88:1. The net call difference widened 168 lots to 8,231 lots, which was 7.8% of DecemberΆs declining open interest.

In the March through July contracts, mills added a net 49 lots to nudge their open position in those deliveries to 34,805 lots and producers priced 374 lots to cut theirs to 6,133 lots.

Separately, U.S. upland loans outstanding rose by 30,733 bales during the week ended Sept. 22 to 88,827, USDA figures showed.

Entries were 64,662 bales and repayments were made on 33,929 bales. The loans outstanding were all Form G issued to marketing cooperatives or loan servicing agents.

Futures open interest edged up 14 lots Thursday to 182,648, with DecemberΆs down 887 lots to 101,926 and MarchΆs up 365 lots to 61,153. Cert stocks remained at 18,545 bales.

World prices as measured by the Cotlook A Index were flat Friday morning at 70.15 cents. The premium to ThursdayΆs December futures settlement widened 17 points to 8.75 cents. For the week, the index fell 335 points.