U.S. upland classing increased to 402,652 running bales this week to boost the total for the season to 10.892 million RB, 89% of the USDA crop estimate. Index funds began rebalancing.

U.S. cotton futures finished an inside-range day marginally lower Friday, settling with its fifth consecutive weekly loss in spot March.

• March closed down three ticks to 61.40 cents, near the low of its 59-point range from 61.31 to 61.90 cents. It rallied from the early morning low to the high, retreated back to the low as U.S. equities slipped from earlier gains and bounced modestly into the close.
• March lost 188 points for the week and hasn’t registered a weekly gain since Dec. 4, though a couple of those losses have been for only two to three ticks.
• May settled down six points to 62.06 cents, while December eased off two ticks to close at 62.95 cents and finish down 177 points for the week.
• Volume slipped to an estimated 31,159 lots from 41,439 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 10,810 lots or 26% and EFP 187 lots. Options volume totaled 6,293 calls and 8,224 puts.

On the crop scene, U.S. upland classing increased to 402,652 running balesduring the week ended Thursday from 190,674 RB the previous week, according to the latest USDA figures.

This brought the upland total for the season to 10.892 million RB, 89% of the USDA RB crop estimate. A year ago, upland classing totaled 14.015 million RB, 92% of the final production.

Tenderable cotton improved to 54.4% for the week from the crop year low of 45.6% the prior week and totaled 55.9% for the season, down from 70.0% a year ago and still one of the lowest amounts in years.

Classing at the Texas High Plains offices of Lubbock and Lamesa increased to a combined 242,648 RB, including 155,203 RB and 87,445 RB, respectively. The total was 60% of the U.S. upland classed for the week.

For the season, 2.262 million RB has been classed at Lubbock and 1.322 million at Lamesa for an area total of 3.584 million. The USDA last month estimated the High Plains crop at 4.03 million statistical bales.

An additional 24,701 RB of West Texas cotton was classed at Abilene, boosting the seasonΆs total there to 465,389 RB.

The Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. estimated that about 5% of the High Plains cotton acreage remained unharvested when Winter Storm Goliath dumped more than 11 inches of snow at Lubbock just after Christmas and up to 20 inches in the northwestern PCG area.

Informa Economics, Memphis-based analytical firm, has estimated U.S. all-cotton production at 13 million SB, sources said earlier this week. The USDA last month projected 13.03 million SB.

Meanwhile, rebalancing of index fundsΆ portfolios to take account of price moves in the last year got underway Friday and is to continue through Thursday. Expectations that index-tracking funds will sell some cotton to meet target weights may have contributed to increased trading activity this week.

Futures open interest rose by 1,175 lots Thursday to 186,384, with MarchΆs up 47 lots to 121,501 and MayΆs down 354 lots to 31,653. Cert stocks declined 107 bales to 64,142.