By Keith Brown DTN Cotton Correspondent 

December cotton ended the month of September and the third quarter on a slightly positive note, but it did not supplant its larger negativity. For the month, December cotton finished some 2.00 cents higher, but for the quarter, the market was off well over 5.50 cents. Tuesday, the market enters the fourth quarter with its 2019 harvest yet to unfold.

Monday afternoon USDA will issue its latest crop condition and harvest data. Last week, the 2019 crop was only 11% gathered, which, at that time, meant about 89% of a 22 million bales crop remains to be gathered.

The next crop data to be revealed will be USDA’s October Supply-Demand Report on October 10. The September report saw sharp decline in production and exports, keeping U.S. Carryout well above 7.0 million bales.

China reported her official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 49.8 in September from 49.5 in August. It was the fifth month in a row with a reading below 50.0, which suggests contraction in the sector. China’s September PMI report did come in slightly above market expectations.

This past weekend marked the 17th consecutive weekend demonstrations occurred in Hong Kong. It was thought to be the worst protests to date. To that end, it has been revealed China has quietly doubled the number of troops it already had in Hong Kong.

Monday, December cotton closed 60.83 cents, down 0.07 cent, March ended at 61.55 cent, down 0.08 cent and December 2020 settled at 63.95 cents, up 0.14 cent. Monday’s estimated volume was 24,107 contracts traded.