Market rallied off a quick dive to session lows when USDA released its weekly export sales-shipments data. Reports on soaring housing starts and plunging weekly jobless claims noted.
Cotton futures rallied from early morning lows to close up 68 to 125 points in 2016-17 marketing year contracts Thursday, with most-active March settling above highs of the previous 13 weeks.
March finished up 85 points to 72.54 cents, its highest close since Aug. 9. It reversed off a 186-point loss at 69.83 cents — below the prior-day low — to post a 106-point gain to 72.75 cents.
December, with first notice day now three trading sessions ahead, led the gains on a close at 73.38 cents, near the high of its 251-point range from 70.98 to 73.49 cents. It widened its settlement premium over March to 84 points.
Contracts settled mixed beyond July 2017, down 33 to up 35 points, with December 2017 finishing up the most at 70.91 cents.
Volume rose to an estimated 55,813 lots from 47,963 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 22,949 lots or 48%, EFP 218 lots and EFP 210 lots. Options volume totaled 11,178 calls and 2,222 puts.
The market jumped from a quick dive to session lows touched when USDA reported a 10-week high in U.S. weekly export sales but a marketing year low in shipments.
Net U.S. all-cotton export sales for shipment this season of 220,300 running bales, up from the prior weekΆs 181,800 RB, boosted 2016-17 commitments to 6.786 million RB.
Upland sales rose to 214,400 RB, up 27% from the prior week and 7% from the four-week average, and were to 19 countries, led by Turkey, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Commitments of upland and Pima combined were up 2.616 million bales or 63% from year-ago bookings and were 58% of USDAΆs export forecast. A year ago, commitments were 47% of final 2015-16 exports.
All-cotton shipments of 110,300 RB, down from 151,100 RB the previous week, nudged the total for the season up to 2.468 million RB.
Despite the slowdown, shipments widened the lead over exports a year ago by 49,000 RB to 918,000 and were 21% of the USDA estimate, compared with 17% of final 2015-16 exports at the corresponding point last season.
Upland shipments of 98,000 RB, down 27% from the week before and 24% from the four-week average, were headed for 22 countries. The leading destinations were Mexico, China, Vietnam, Turkey and South Korea.
To achieve the USDA forecast, shipments need to average roughly 241,400 RB a week over the remaining 38 weeks of the marketing year, while sales averaging approximately 127,700 RB would match the export estimate.
Upland sales for shipment next season of 900 RB, down from 15,600 RB the previous week, brought 2017-18 commitments to 450,600 RB, down from 598,400 RB in forward bookings a year ago.
U.S. reports showing housing starts soared by 25.5% in October, the fastest pace since August 2007, and the latest weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest since 1973, a new sign of a robust jobs market, may have lent support to talk of improving consumer demand prospects. Positive technical factors also were supportive.
Futures open interest rose by 6,736 lots to 245,932 lots Wednesday, with DecemberΆs down 4,821 lots to 18,801 and MarchΆs up 9,151 lots to 168,388. Cert stocks grew 523 bales to 48,082. There were 963 newly certified bales and 440 bales decertified.
