Hard freeze forecast for much of the Texas High Plains is expected to facilitate once-over stripper harvesting. U.S. weekly export sales report could include any business concluded at the Sourcing Summit.
Cotton futures settled with gains of 100 to 144 points in 2016-17 marketing year contracts Wednesday, again led by spot December on its highest close since Aug. 8.
December finished up 144 points to 72.13 cents, near the high of its 191-point range from down 32 points at 70.37 cents to up 159 points at 72.28 cents. The intraday high topped the highs of the prior seven weeks. Four trading sessions now remain before first notice day.
March advanced 121 points to close at 71.69 cents, trading within a 166-point range from 70.12 to 71.78 cents, while December 2017 gained 47 points to settle at 70.56 cents.
Volume slipped to an estimated 47,963 lots from 55,994 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 34,408 lots or 61%, EFS 2,559 lots and EFP 233 lots. Options volume totaled 5,810 calls and 4,689 puts.
A hard freeze forecast by Saturday in much of the Texas High Plains cotton area as the coldest air of the season settles into the area is expected to facilitate once-over stripper harvesting.
However, while the low is forecast at 27 degrees in the Lubbock area, the temperature around Seminole to the southwest is expected to go no lower than 33 degrees.
The first fall freeze expected for many locations compares with the normal date of Oct. 31 at Lubbock where the latest on record is Nov. 23, 2003 and the earliest on Oct. 7, 1952.
Warm, dry and windy conditions will bring elevated to critical fire weather conditions to portions of the area Thursday. A fire weather watch has been issued for 24 counties on the High and Rolling Plains, including Lubbock, from late Thursday morning through early Thursday evening.
Harvesting has resumed under sunny skies this week, though some areas remained too wet following rains that interrupted fieldwork and slowed ginning last week. Industry estimates indicated 35% to 40% of the crop was harvested prior to the wet weather.
Producers were generally pleased with yields and quality, especially with staple lengths, which averaged 36.43 on 617,985 bales classed at Lubbock through Thursday, 36.12 on 301,606 bales at Lamesa and 36.45 on 184,330 bales — including cotton from Oklahoma — at Abilene.
Meanwhile, the U.S. weekly export sales-shipments report on Thursday could include any business concluded at Cotton Council InternationalΆs ninth biennial Sourcing USA Summit.
The report, set for release by USDA at 7:30 a.m. CST, will be for the week ended last Thursday, a period in which spot December futures ranged from 67.70 to 70.11 cents with settlements from 68.45 to 69.20 cents.
Upland sales were 168,800 running bales the previous reporting week and have averaged 199,700 RB the last four weeks, well ahead of the pace needed to match USDAΆs 2016-17 export estimate. Shipments have lagged, however, with the four-week upland average at 129,300 RB.
The Sourcing Summit, which ended a three-day meeting on Nov. 7 at Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., attracted some 415 delegates from 31 countries. The assembly represented 16% of global cotton use.
Futures open interest dropped 574 lots Tuesday to 239,196, with DecemberΆs down 8,716 lots to 23,622 and MarchΆs up 7,455 lots to 159,236. Cert stocks were unchanged at 47,559 bales.
