Cotton contracts closed mostly higher Monday, up 5 to 29. Nearby May was the only contract to close lower, down 16.

Repetitive headlines made their way throughout the internet with the news story mentioned this morning regarding the Agricultural Development Bank of China taking the spotlight. The headlines caused export woes as China is expected to increase the pace of sales out of its reserve stocks. While this is bearish for cotton, we continue to gain support on tight supplies. Unfortunately for China, cotton prices are now trading at nearly half of what they originally purchased the crop for from the farmers. Hopefully, this may prevent them from unloading stocks in large quantities.

Newspapers in India are filled with concerns over crop conditions as theyΆve seen heavy rains and hailstorms lately. Any reports of damage to the cotton crop may be a supportive factor going forward so this should be watched closely. Supposedly, ten teams set out to assess damages and should be releasing results this week.

May saw an inside trading day with very light volumes, closing 16 points lower. WeΆve been caught in a decent 347-point range for the last seven trading sessions from 90.28 to 93.75 cents, which was the recent high for May since last summer. December tested 80 cents once again, unable to post new highs. May was, in fact, the only active contract to settle in the red due to liquidation pressure.

As fundamental information continues to thin, traders keep a closer eye on outside markets. The stock market was able to show some strength after the U.S. was finally hit with positive economic data, instilling the fact that recent weakness was temporary. This morning, factory output saw its largest gain in six months, rising .6% in February. Although this is affirmative data that our economy may be on its way to better days, we should take into consideration that January saw a large round of negative numbers and hefty declines in the stock market.

This may be a quiet week for cotton as we experience information deficiency. Going into overnight trade, support comes in on MayΆs 10-day moving average at 90.86. Unless we hear of some large sales, it will be hard to break this recent range. Some upcoming statistics for the cotton market to absorb will consist of ThursdayΆs export sales report, the USDAΆs Cotton Ginnings report on March 25 and the 2014/2015 Prospective Plantings Report on March 31.