Fieldwork hampered in Southeast. Delta conditions varied. Stands made strong progress in the Rio Grande Valley. High winds delayed field activity in the Texas High Plains. Excellent growing conditions reported in Arizona. Cotton made normal progress in the San Joaquin Valley.
Cotton futures settled at a five-session low finish in most-active July and little changed in December in another round of slow trading Monday.
July fell 102 points to close at 92.23 cents, in the lower reaches of its 175-point range from up 28 points at 93.53 to down 147 points at 91.78 cents. The high was narrowly the highest intraday price since March 31. July has continued to encounter chart resistance in the 93.50 area.
December settled up three ticks to 82.74 cents, trading within only a 43-point range from 82.46 to 82.89 cents. It edged four ticks above last weekΆs high to a new intraday high for the move and settled within three ticks of a new high close. The July-December straddle traded as low as a 923-point inversion.
Volume totaled an electronically estimated 9,900 lots, against a final 9,432 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 1,428 lots or 15 percent.
On the crop scene, widespread shower activity had brought moderately heavy precipitation from Alabama to Virginia coming into last week, according to a weekly review by the cotton division of USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service.
Cool, cloudy and wet conditions hampered fieldwork and crop progress. Producers applied pre-plant herbicides and fertilizers to fields firm enough to support equipment, but many areas remained saturated.
Warm temperatures improved the planting situation in the North Delta. Scattered showers brought less than half-an-inch of rain to some areas. The Drought Monitor indicated soil moisture was generally adequate in cotton areas.
In the South Delta, nearly 2 inches of rain fell in Louisiana and portions of southern Mississippi. Dryness persisted in Northern Mississippi, where moderate drought conditions expanded.
Planting progressed under warm, sunny conditions in the Upper Coast and Winter Garden areas of Texas. Some replanting was underway in counties around Corpus Christi.
Stands made strong progress in the Rio Grande Valley. Some fields had received beneficial rainfall. Most fields were irrigated. Insect populations were on the rise and spot treatments were applied.
Planting neared completion in the Blackland Prairies, but thunderstorms and hail sporadically delayed field activities. Seedlings had begun to emerge.
Planting began in the northern High Plains, but high winds delayed field activity. Fields were readied and pre-plant irrigations continued.
Strong winds and low relative humidity prompted the issuance of a red flag warning for critical fire weather conditions until 9 p.m. CDT Monday for most of the High Plains and parts of the Rolling Plains. Patchy blowing dust is expected, whipped by winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour in western areas. Winds gusted to 55 mph to over 60 mph on Sunday.
Excellent growing conditions facilitated crop progress in Arizona. The crop was ahead of schedule and approaching the first pinhead square stage around Yuma. Some cotton seedlings were emerging in Central Arizona. Accumulated heat units ranked 14 days ahead of normal, according to the Arizona Extension Service.
Cotton made normal progress in the San Joaquin Valley. Rain and snow in February and March allowed the California Department of Water Resources to increase water allocations to 5% from zero for state water project deliveries. It was unclear when the additional water will be released.
Futures open interest increased 625 lots Friday to 172,166 lots, with MayΆs down 27 lots to 687, JulyΆs up 396 lots to 109,658 and DecemberΆs up 257 lots to 55,673. Certificated stocks grew 3,840 bales to 304,454. Awaiting review were 13,850 bales.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index were steady Monday morning at 94.20 cents. The premium to FridayΆs July futures settlement narrowed five points to 95 points.
The Forward A Index for 2014-15 also was flat, holding at 90.90 cents to leave the discount to the 2013-14 index at 3.30 cents and to nudge the premium to FridayΆs December futures close up six points to 8.19 cents.
