Cotton Finishes Modestly Lower
Some Georgia gins increased estimates. Harvest virtually completed in the Delta. Eighty percent of the Oklahoma crop harvested. Classing totaled 1.587 million bales at Lubbock and 975,275 bales at Lamesa.
U.S. cotton futures settled lower for the third session in a row Monday, extending the downturn from last weekΆs climb to a new high for the move.
Spot March closed down a modest 33 points to 63.38 cents, finishing below last weekΆs low and just below the midpoint of its 93-point range from up 20 points at 63.91 to down 73 points at 62.98 cents. It was its lowest close since Nov. 30.
May finished down 34 points to 64.15 cents, while December 2016 closed down 47 points to 64.69 cents.
Volume rose to an estimated 18,272 lots from 15,874 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 15,874 lots and EP 34 lots. Options volume totaled 5,665 calls and 5,087 puts.
Sunny weather helped soft soils to firm and harvesting to advance at a rapid pace in the lower Southeast during the week ended Thursday, USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service reported in a weekly cotton review.
Despite the drying conditions, however, low-lying fields remained wet in some areas of Alabama. Ginning continued uninterrupted. Some gins in Georgia hiked their crop estimates owing to higher-than-expected yields.
In the Carolinas and Virginia, fieldwork advanced at a rapid pace early in the period before light rain and drizzle interrupted fieldwork in some localized areas at midweek. Producers made good progress in drier fields where cotton was worth harvesting.
Wet areas in North Carolina may be abandoned if drier conditions donΆt allow pickers to enter fields in the weeks ahead, reports indicated. Fieldwork neared completion in Virginia.
Harvesting was virtually completed and ginning rapidly winding down as producers worked to complete fall fieldwork in the North Delta. Field operations had been mostly concluded for the winter in the South Delta, though a small acreage remained unharvested in Mississippi and Louisiana.
South Texas producers prepared fields ahead of spring planting in ideal conditions. Eastern Texas producers finalized harvesting and remaining modules were transported to gins. Kansas producers gradually resumed harvesting as a warming trend dominated the weather.
In Oklahoma, sunny, warm conditions prevailed but soils remained too wet from recent rainy weather to support equipment. About 80% of the cotton was off the stalk, reports indicated.
Producers returned to the fields and moved closer to final harvesting in the West Texas Plains. Harvesting is expected to be completed by the end of December and ginning by the end of January, reports indicated.
Classing for the season at the High Plains offices totaled 1,587,298 bales at Lubbock and 975,275 bales at Lamesa, reaching an estimated 53% and 60% finished, respectively. A year ago, classing stood at 1,274,304 bales at Lubbock and 578,802 bales at Lamesa.
The Abilene facility had graded 316,025 bales of West Texas cotton for the season, up from 278,991 bales a year ago.
Futures open interest fell 1,271 lots Friday to 195,912, with MarchΆs down 2,603 lots to 142,349 and MayΆs up 452 lots to 29,531. Cert stocks were unchanged at 65,247 bales.
