Dollar index futures gyrated in volatile range after Yellen speech. Mills priced 5,576 on-call lots last week. Classing rose to 315,988 bales for the season at Corpus Christi.

Cotton futures settled mixed Friday, down four points to up 22 points, with benchmark December finishing off a tick for the day and flat for week.

December closed at 68.03 cents, a bit below the midpoint of its 122-point range from down 44 points at the overnight low of 67.55 to up 73 points at 68.77 cents.

Nearby October eased four points to settle at 67.71 cents, March edged up five points to 68.36 cents and December 2017 gained 22 points to 67.83 cents. For the week, October gained 14 points, March dropped 40 points and December 2017 slipped 13 points.

Volume slowed to an estimated 16,895 lots from 18,854 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 4,940 lots or 26% and EFP 63 lots. Options volume totaled 3,621 calls and 2,496 puts.

U.S. dollar index futures initially swung in a volatile pattern after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen appeared to indicate in prepared remarks that the case for an increase in short-term interest rates has strengthened in recent months.

But Yellen, who spoke at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, stopped short of suggesting a hike could come as soon as September. Some traders believed she signaled that rates were likely to remain near historical lows over the next year or possibly longer.

Dollar index futures initially shot up to 95.020, skidded within 10 minutes to the dayΆs low of 94.200 and traded around the cotton close back up to 95.395, up 0.650 or 0.7% on the day and just off the high at the time of 95.410. The September contract closed last Friday at 94.483.

Meanwhile, mills priced 5,576 on-call lots in December last week and producers added 34 lots, according to the latest data reported by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The unpriced positions fell to 27,740 lots on the mill side and edged up to 14,588 lots on the producer side. This cut the net call difference by 5,610 lots to 13,152, which was 8.15% of DecemberΆs declining open interest, down from 10.51% a week earlier.

The millsΆ unfixed holdings outweighed those of producers by a ratio of 1.9:1, compared with 2.29:1 the previous week.

On the crop scene, the USDA classed 118,302 bales from the territory served by the Corpus Christi facility during the week ended Thursday, up from 112,238 bales graded the prior week.

This remained the only active classing office in the belt thus far. Classing for the season rose to 315,998 bales from 31 gins, up from only 46,788 bales graded through Aug. 27 last season.

Tenderable cotton accounted for 86.7% for the week, up from 82.3% the previous week, and totaled 85.4% for the season, down from 89% a year ago.

Prolonged rains have resulted in seed sprouting in mature cotton bolls in areas of Central and Southeast Texas, AgFax Media reported this week. Hard-lock bolls also have been reported.

Futures open interest declined 1,733 lots Thursday to 226,180, with DecemberΆs down 2,362 lots to 154,325 and MarchΆs down three lots to 47,962. Certificated stocks dropped 1,763 bales to 49,500.