Classing neared a million bales. Limited boll shed reported in Southeast. High yields achieved in Delta. Harvest half done in Central Texas. Ginning continued in Yuma. Harvesting hit full swing in SJV.
Cotton futures inched down a few ticks to settle at a new low close for the move in tight, inside-range dealings Monday.
Spot December settled down five points to 83.06 cents, near the midpoint of only a 60-point trading range from up 29 points at 83.40 to down 31 points at 82.80 cents. This was a new low close since Sept. 5. March eased seven points to 84.25 cents.
Volume slowed to an estimated 14,700 lots from 18,441 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 8,200 lots or 44% and EFP for 28 lots. Options volume totaled 2,207 calls and 11,088 puts.
U.S. all-cotton classing for the season reached 970,336 running bales as of Thursday, Oct. 17, only about 31% of the 3,161,698 bales graded through the corresponding period last season.
The USDA data underscored lateness of the crop. Classing for the season totaled 949,929 bales of upland and 20,407 bales of Pima. A year ago, USDA had classed 3,146,921 bales of upland and 14,777 bales of Pima.
Cotton tenderable on futures contracts totaled 53.8% for the season. Only three states — Kansas, Missouri and Virginia — hadnΆt submitted upland cotton for classing.
The USDA facilities had graded 533,559 bales of the upland Texas crop, about 56% of the U.S. upland cotton classed thus far. A little over 7% of the U.S. September crop estimate in running bales had been classed.
Limited damage was reported from hard-locked bolls and boll shed owing to excessive moisture in the Southeast, according to a review by the cotton division of USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service.
The crop was expected to benefit from near-term forecasts for sunny conditions and warmer temperatures.
Cool, cloudy weather mixed with light but steady showers hindered harvesting and defoliant effectiveness in the North Delta. An estimated 10% of the crop had been picked. Yields were somewhat better than expected. Producers were pleased with grades but concerned that the wet, humid weather was bound to have an adverse effect on quality.
Harvesting and ginning were in full swing in the South Delta. Growers with smaller acreages already had finished harvesting. Yields were at record levels in some areas and grades acceptable, but growers also were concerned that recent inclement weather would hurt grades.
Central Texas was about halfway through the harvest. Around a third of the gins in Oklahoma had begun operations. In the West Texas Plains, about a third of the gins have submitted samples to the Abilene, Lamesa and Lubbock classing offices.
In the Desert Southwest, ginning continued in Yuma and expanded into Central Arizona. Initial harvesting began in New Mexico and El Paso.
Temperatures in the low-to-mid-80s helped advance defoliation activities in the San Joaquin Valley. Harvesting and ginning were in full swing. Picking was nearly completed in Tulare County. Some merchants urged growers to roller-gin their Acala cotton.
Futures open interest fell 1,093 lots Friday to 203,461, with DecemberΆs down 1,926 lots to 117,159 and MarchΆs up 286 lots to 64,736.
Certificated stocks continued growing rapidly, rising 13,960 bales to 69,906 on a newly certified 14,303 bales and decertification of 343 bales. Awaiting review were 40,025 bales, including 6,208 bales at Galveston, 10,354 bales at Greenville and 23,463 bales at Memphis.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index fell 55 points Monday morning to 89.430 cents. The premium to FridayΆs December futures settlement widened 16 points to 6.29 cents.
