Cotton Loses Ground Sixth Straight Session
Classing of cotton in the West Texas Plains reached 95,208 bales for the season, far behind 392,659 bales graded a year ago. Slight rain chances forecast for Lubbock area.
Cotton futures settled modestly lower Friday, finishing in the red for the sixth consecutive session on inside-range price action.
Spot December closed off 13 points to 79.08 cents, in the lower quarter of its 133-point range from up 93 points at 80.14 to down 40 points at 78.81 cents. It touched the session low in the late going and settled at the lowest close since Jan. 15.
March closed down 21 points at 80.59 cents. For the week, December dropped 403 points or 4.8% and March fell 363 points.
Volume slipped to an estimated 28,100 lots from 34,861 lots the previous session when spreads totaled 399 lots or 36%, EFP 399 lots and EFS 144 lots. Options volume totaled 9,047 calls and 13,623 puts.
Classing offices graded 58,540 bales from the West Texas Plains during the week ended Thursday, up from 30,283 bales the previous week. The regionΆs total for the season of 95,208 bales was far behind 392,659 bales classed through the corresponding period last year.
The weekΆs classing of 40,457 bales at Lubbock, 16,079 at Lamesa and 2,004 (from the Plains) at Abilene boosted the seasonΆs totals to 65,532, 24,803 and 4,873 bales, respectively. A year ago, totals for the season were 247,537 bales at Lubbock, 91,457 at Lamesa and 53,665 at Abilene.
Harvesting expanded, classing officials said, but some producers waited for additional nighttime frosts and freezes to facilitate plant dry-down and prepare the crop for stripping. Some producers in the northern High Plains delayed harvesting to allow the top bolls to open.
Industry people remained encouraged by the early crop quality. Color grades 21 (strict middling) and 11 (good middling) accounted for 92.4% of the cotton classed for the season at Lubbock, while leaf grades averaged 2.45, staple lengths 37.3, mikes 3.72, strength 31.14 and uniformity 79.99. Total bark was 20.9%.
Heavy rainfall in the Rolling Plains delayed harvesting last weekend and caused some flash flooding. No crop damage was reported. Some ginning was underway around San Angelo but some gins planned to begin operations on Nov. 1 after the electric meter is read.
Isolated showers and thunderstorms are forecast for tonight in the Lubbock cotton area and scattered showers again on Saturday. Chances for precipitation are listed at 20% tonight and 30% on Saturday.
Futures open interest declined 703 lots Thursday to 200,166, with DecemberΆs down 3,001 lots to 108,300 and MarchΆs up 1,904 lots to 69,143.
Certificated stocks grew 8,110 bales to 110,203. Cotton awaiting review totaled 47,901 bales, including 7,288 bales at Galveston, 13,794 bales at Greenville and 26,819 bales at Memphis.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index dropped 150 points Friday morning to 85.95 cents. The premium to ThursdayΆs December futures settlement narrowed two points to 6.74 cents. For the week, the index fell 400 points.
