The cotton market sold off sharply amid yet another meltdown in the Dow. The financial markets continue to dial in the longer-term effects of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike on Wednesday. Certainly, the increase should support a higher U.S. dollar.

However, towards midafternoon, as the Dow was paring some of its losses, news that President Trump would reject the Senate’s spending bill because it lacked border wall funding, really sent the Dow into a nosedive, falling nearly 700 points lower. Cotton naturally could not attract any buyers.

Of course, the cotton market has its own troubles with a stagnating economy, the trade war with China, and a strong U.S. dollar. Although weekly sales were better Thursday, China still canceled. Overall, the cash market is slow, and rain continues to hamper some areas still engaged in harvest For example, Georgia, the number two producer, may have as much as 20% of its crop in the fields. Still, spot March futures posted a new harvest low Thursday, blanking out its previous Oct. 1 low.

Friday, the Commerce Department will release its third quarter GDP data. Expectations call for a 3.5% growth year-over year.

March cotton settled at 75.06 cents, down 1.65 cent, July ended at 77.70 cents, down 1.43 cent, and December 2019 finished 75.28 cents, off 1.05 cent.

Thursday’s estimated volume was a hefty 41,200 contracts.