Lead month snapped an eight-session losing streak. U.S. weekly export sales-shipments report awaited as weather watch continues.
Cotton futures settled mixed Wednesday as traders awaited U.S. weekly export sales-shipments data and continued to watch weather forecasts for rain in the West Texas Plains.
Spot July closed up 29 points to 89.29 cents, trading within a 170-point range from down seven points at 88.93 to up 163 points at 90.63 cents. It topped highs of the prior two days in the early morning, fell to a few ticks in the red and closed in the lower quarter of the range.
July came into the session having posted eight consecutive lower closes and four straight lower lows and lower highs.
December closed off four ticks to 81.88 cents, trading within a 99-point range from up 79 points at 82.71 to down 20 points at 81.72 cents. It slipped after also moving above its highs of Monday and Tuesday.
Volume totaled an estimated 17,200 lots, against 17,254 lots the previous session when spreads totaled 5,596 lots or 32%, EFP 176 lots and EFS 47 lots. Options volume totaled 3,648 calls and 3,952 puts.
Traders will see whether lower prices boosted export business when USDA releases export sales-shipments data at 7:30 a.m. CDT Thursday for the week ended May 15. Some increased sales are expected for both marketing years.
July futures prices ranged from a high of 93.71 to a low of 90.10 cents during the reporting week and on a closing basis from 92.36 to 90.36 cents, with a five-day settlement average of 91.13 cents, down from 93.73 cents the prior week.
Comparable prices for December posted a range for the week from 84.07 to 82.17 cents and closed from 83.71 to 82.62 cents for a settlement average of 83.25 cents, down from 84 cents.
Net upland sales for delivery this season fell to 34,000 running bales during the week ended May 8 from 63,800 bales the previous week, while sales for shipment next season slid to 12,100 RB from 150,600 RB.
Upland sales for the four weeks through May 8 have averaged 63,300 RB and shipments have averaged 214,100 RB.
The USDA this month cut its 2013-14 export forecast by 300,000 bales to 10.4 million 480-pound bales, citing a fall-off in recent sales, and projected 2014-15 shipments at 9.7 million bales on lower world demand.
Those estimates in statistical bales translate into running bales on average of about 10.088 million for 2013-14 and 9.409 million for 2014-15.
Futures open interest dipped 71 lots Tuesday to 189,224, with JulyΆs down 393 lots to 111,022 and DecemberΆs up 181 lots to 69,535. Cert stocks grew 11,252 bales to 424,750. There were 12,396 newly certified bales, 1,144 bales decertified and 4,468 bales awaiting review.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index were flat Wednesday morning at 92.15 cents. The premium to TuesdayΆs July futures settlement widened 15 points to 3.15 cents.
Forward A Index values for 2014-15 also were unchanged, holding at 89.45 cents to leave the discount to the 2013-14 index at 2.70 cents. The premium to TuesdayΆs December close widened 13 points to 7.53 cents.
