Cotton Finishes Mixed as March Dips
Harvest advanced in drier areas of the Southeast. Massive weather system blanketed the Delta. Crop on the High Plains estimated 75% harvested. Larger cotton acres intended in the Desert Southwest. Increase also could be seen in the San Joaquin Valley if water available.
U.S. cotton futures closed mixed in lackluster dealings Monday, with March finishing an inside-range session slightly in the red.
March settled down 14 points to 64.57 cents, in the upper third of its 71-point range from up seven points at 64.78 to down 64 points at 64.07 cents.
Maturing December, where the last trading day is Tuesday, settled down 83 points to 62.40 cents. May closed flat at 65.28 cents, while December 2016 edged up nine points to 65.59 cents.
Volume slipped to an estimated 25,800 lots from 27,620 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 6,880 lots or 25% and EFP 21 lots. Options volume totaled 3,651 calls and 3,684 puts.
Mostly sunny to partly cloudy conditions prevailed in Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Georgia most of the reporting week and harvesting advanced where soils were firm enough to support equipment, USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service reported Friday.
However, progress was slow in Alabama and the wettest areas of Georgia. A slow-moving cold front brought scattered rainfall to much of the lower Southeast late in the period, interrupting fieldwork.
Producers faced difficult decisions in areas where low-lying fields have remained wet and lint quality and yields have continued to decline.
In the Carolinas, sunny conditions early in the period allowed harvesting to advance in dryer areas. Producers in South Carolina expected crop quality to remain poor to fair as they navigated damp fields and harvested salvageable areas. Producers in the Carolinas also considered abandonment in the wettest areas.
A massive weather system laden with moisture blanketed the Delta mid-period, dumping accumulations up to 8 inches over several days in the North Delta. Field operations had mostly concluded for the season and few, if any fields, remained to be harvested. A few larger gins expected to complete operations by Tuesday.
Rainfall accumulations of up to 2 inches were reported in the South Delta. Ginning operations were virtually completed.
Widespread rainfall in the Texas Blackland Prairies continued to delay final harvesting and ginning. Reports indicated some gins planned to delay operations until the middle of December after all modules are delivered. Ginning continued in the Winter Garden.
Producers had harvested about 75% of the Texas High Plains crop, according to the Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. Some returned to the fields last week following rain, ice and snow in late November, but others appeared unlikely to resume harvesting until this week.
Ginning progressed steadily in Arizona. Growers intend to increase 2016 plantings by 20% to 30%, sources said. Prices have declined for such competing crops as wheat and hay. Reports indicated growers in New Mexico and the El Paso area also plan to increase cotton acreage. Depressed silage prices offered by dairies may help make the switch to more cotton.
Producers in the San Joaquin Valley also may plant more cotton in 2016 if irrigation water is available. Californians are hopeful that the forecasted El Nino will build upon the Sierra Nevada Mountains snowpack. Tomato contracts termed not viable following record California crop.
Futures open interest expanded 3,977 lots Friday to 190,353, with DecemberΆs down three lots to seven, MarchΆs up 3,779 lots to 143,901 and MayΆs up 67 lots to 26,486. Cert stocks grew 120 bales to 65,302.
