Cotton futures settled sharply lower Tuesday amid ongoing strength in the dollar index, beneficial rains in India and extended declines in Chinese cotton prices.

Benchmark December lost 126 points to close at 65.31 cents, its lowest finish since Aug. 19 and in the lower quarter of its 131-point range from down 21 points at 66.36 to down 152 points at 65.05 cents. It held above last weekΆs low of 65.01 cents but sustained its largest one-day closing loss since July 24.

December inverted to a three-point premium over March after settling Friday at a 44-point discount.

Volume quickened to an electronically estimated 22,500 lots from a final 18,540 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 5,711 lots or 31% and EFP 256 lots.

Dryland cotton continued to struggle under hot, dry conditions in the West Texas Plains last week, according to a review by the cotton division of USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service.

Some fields reached early cutout and some square loss was reported. Dryland fields that received rainfall during spotty showers progressed. Some bolls had begun to open. Irrigated fields advanced.

Temperatures soared to a record high 104 degrees on Monday at Lubbock, breaking the old date record of 99 degrees set in 2013, after hitting 100 degrees on Sunday, tying the date record set in 1930.

Mostly hot, dry conditions prevailed during the reporting week throughout Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Georgia. Producers applied growth regulators to the rapidly maturing crop. Target spot fungal disease flared in areas where hot, humid conditions existed the previous week, but hot, drier air helped to curb its development.

Scattered thunderstorms early in the period brought around half an inch to 2 inches of rainfall to portions of the eastern Carolinas and Virginia. Producers in the Carolinas welcomed the beneficial moisture, which relieved dry conditions.

Dryland fields in the North Delta wilted owing to hot weather and some boll shedding was reported. Crop protection regimes were concluded on early-planted fields, while late-planted cotton continued to receive treatments for bollworms and fall armyworms as needed.

Light rain fell in isolated areas of Louisiana, while the rest of the South Delta remained dry. Bollworms and fall armyworms were treated in a few fields in Mississippi.

The Delta got rain over the weekend and additional near-term scattered showers and thunderstorms were forecast.

Harvesting gained momentum around Yuma, Ariz., where modules accumulated in fields. No ginning was reported. The crop made good progress in Central Arizona.

Cotton also made good progress and approached cutout in the San Joaquin Valley. Some bolls cracked open.

Elsewhere, beneficial rains fell in key cotton areas of India over the weekend. Planting climbed to a record high 12,250,500 hectares (one hectare equals 2.471 acres) as of Aug. 28, according to official data, more than a million hectares above a year ago. The previous record was 12.178 million hectares in 2011-12.

Futures open interest dipped 306 lots Friday, with DecemberΆs up 147 lots to 111,718 and MarchΆs down 491 lots to 47,748. Cert stocks fell 84 bales to 70,987.

World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index held steady at 75.30 cents Tuesday morning, inching the premium to FridayΆs December futures settlement up a point to 8.73 cents.