By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

The cotton market was lower Wednesday as speculators and hedgers rolled out of the spot month to sidestep the March delivery period. In addition, there was a selloff in the grain complex. To some degree, the first week of February is synonymous with producers selling their crops out of the grain bins and the warehouses to generate cash flow, hence the pressure on the markets.

Thursday morning, USDA will issue its weekly export-sales report. Of course, China is on holiday so it remains to be seen if it will be a major participant. However, during times of China’s absence, other countries have at times taken up the slack.

In its highly anticipated meeting, OPEC+ decided to return to producing its 400,000 barrels per day until March. The move was expected by energy analysts and marks a continuation of the group’s strategy to gradually increase production.

Wednesday, March cotton settled at 126.33 cents, down 1.00 cent, July ended at 119.86 cents, down 0.71 cent and December finished at 102.95 cents, 0.52 cent higher; estimated volume was 40,249 contracts.