December cotton closed higher again Friday, making it five-in-a-row in a week that will long be remembered for the destruction brought by Hurricane Harvey.

December cotton closed up 0.95 at 71.88 while March was up 0.89 at 71.00. December corn finished down 2 1/2 cents while November soybeans were up 4 1/4 cents and December Chicago wheat was up 1/4 cents. The September U.S. dollar index was 0.15 higher at 92.78 while December gold was up $8.00 at $1,330.20. December silver was up 0.22 and December copper was up $0.0205.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 68 points lower at 22,016. October crude oil was up $0.01 at $47.24, October heating oil was down $.0004, and October RBOB gasoline was down $.0392. October natural gas was up $0.022.

Comments:

December cotton closed up 0.95 Friday and was up 3.73 cents on a week dominated by devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey in southeastern Texas. It was the highest close in over two months and, obviously, turned the trend higher. Even cotton bales already harvested were not safe from this weekΆs flooding and it will likely be months before the market gets a good handle on the extent of this weekΆs damage.

As mentioned in DTNΆs Weekly Cotton Comments, USDAΆs latest Crop Progress report showed open bolls as a percentage of cotton crops in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi at 17%, 43%, 15%, and 23%, respectively. It is still over a week away, but Hurricane Irma is the next storm watched as a possible threat to the Atlantic Coast.

This weekΆs storm has thrown a wrench into USDAΆs supply and demand estimates and some reduction of supplies may be coming in the WASDE report on Sept. 12, but more adjustments are likely to follow in later months. Outside commodity markets were mostly supportive for cotton prices Friday, even though the September U.S. dollar index showed a modest gain, up 0.15. Certified ICE cotton stocks were down 180 bales as of Aug. 31 to 9,293. The Cotlook ΅AΆ Index was up 0.60 at 80.90.