Old-crop July cotton was unable to take advantage of the continued collapse of the U.S. dollar Wednesday. Most other commodities closed higher.

July cotton lost 1.15 to close at 80.17 while new-crop December gained 0.12 to 74.46. July corn finished 3 3/4 cents higher as July soybeans dipped 1/2 cent and July Chicago wheat gained 2 3/4 cents for the day. The U.S. dollar index was 0.72 lower at 97.64. June gold was $24.00 higher at $1,260.40 while July silver gained $0.120 and July copper slipped $0.0085.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 372 points lower at 20,606. June crude oil was $0.34 higher at $49.00. The June distillates (heating oil) contract gained $.0186 while June RBOB gasoline fell $.0038 and June natural gas was $0.026 lower.

From a technical point of view, old-crop July cotton is following up last weekΆs bullish outside week with what looks to be a spike top. The contract lost more than 1 cent again Wednesday as the noncommercial side of the market continues to bail out of recently added long positions. Cotton market bulls will likely find WednesdayΆs action disappointing given its early rally and continued collapse of the U.S. dollar.

Most other commodity markets were able to benefit from buying interest due to the latter. New-crop December held together better, posting a modest rally despite light commercial selling. Still, the December contract holds an inverse to the March, with deferred new-crop spreads mixed.