Annual Cotton Council planting intentions survey mailed to growers. Producers took advantage of mid-December rally to fix on-call prices on a net 1,733 lots of 2012-13 cotton, CFTC data showed.
Cotton futures climbed to a new high close for the move for the third consecutive session in holiday-shortened trading Wednesday.
Spot March gained 66 points to settle at 77.06 cents, its highest close since Sept. 7 after trading from unchanged at 76.40 to 77.07 cents. May added 61 points to 77.58 cents, July gained 59 points to 78.11 cents and December 2013 edged up 23 points to 79.01 cents.
Volume totaled an estimated 9,500 lots, against 8,303 lots on Monday when spreads totaled 1,452 lots or 18% and EFS 77 lots. Options volume totaled 5,068 calls and 2,281 puts.
With a sharp reduction in U.S. cotton acreage expected in 2013, the National Cotton Council has undertaken its annual effort to measure producersΆ early planting intentions.
The council has mailed upland and extra-long staple or Pima survey forms to producers across the Cotton Belt. The survey, conducted to aid with industry planning and policy deliberations, provides the basis for the economic outlook presented to delegates during the NCCΆs annual industry-wide meeting.
Survey results, always eagerly awaited, will be announced during the joint meeting of NCC program committees on Saturday, Feb. 9, in Memphis.
To enhance survey accuracy, producers are encouraged to respond by the Jan. 16 deadline. The survey has been distributed through a combination of regular mail and e-mail with the intention of reaching all the nationΆs cotton farms.
Meanwhile, producers fixed prices on a net 1,733 lots of 2012-13 on-call cotton week before last when the market rallied to as high as 75.53 cents, basis March, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. This cut their unfixed position through July to 15,730 lots.
The CFTC report, released last week, showed producers reduced their open March call position by 1,837 lots to 9,229, increased MayΆs by 130 lots to 681 and trimmed JulyΆs by 26 lots to 5,390.
Unfixed 2012-13 mill holdings rose by a net 992 lots to 34,670, reflecting a dip of four lots to 16,719 in March, a hike of 712 lots to 8,408 in May and an increase of 284 lots to 9,543 lots in July. Mill fixations on dips have contributed to support.
Futures open interest fell 941 lots Monday to 166,099, with MarchΆs down 1,211 lots to 121,922, MayΆs up 40 lots to 22,884 and JulyΆs up 171 lots to 13,940. Cert stocks were unchanged at 81,185 bales. Awaiting review were 11,030 bales.
The Cotlook A Index of world values was unavailable because of the Boxing Day holiday.
