Traders eyed track of Hurricane Matthew. U.S. cotton classing reached 980,553 RB, up from 563,691 a year ago. Harvesting gained momentum in the lower Southeast and the Delta. Classing slowed in Texas. Open weather prevailed in the far West.

Cotton futures staged an outside-range reversal to the upside Monday, rallying from an early morning dip and a test of the prior-session low to settle above FridayΆs high in benchmark December.

December closed up 44 points to 68.52 cents, near the high of its 146-point range from down 88 points at 67.20 to up 58 points at 68.66 cents, a four-session high finish. This marked the first time in seven sessions it has traded above the previous-day high.

March added 47 points to settle at 69.01 cents, while December 2017 gained 48 points to finish at 69.37 cents.

Traders kept an eye on the track of Hurricane Matthew, projected by the National Hurricane Center to be off the coast of South Carolina as a Category 2 storm by Saturday. Open questions remained on MatthewΆs potential impact on the U.S. East Coast, forecasters said.

Volume slowed to an estimated 16,656 lots from 20,798 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 5,239 lots or 25% and EFS 588 lots. Options volume totaled 4,158 calls and 2,134 puts.

U.S. upland cotton classing increased to 204,097 running bales during the week ended Thursday from 137,901 the previous week and 157,118 in the corresponding week last year, according to USDA figures.

Cotton classed for the season rose to 980,553 RB from 563,691 RB a year ago and amounted to 6.5% of the September upland production estimate. Tenderable cotton accounted for 73.4%, up from 64.7% a year ago when 3.8% of the final upland crop had been classed.

Mostly fair to sunny conditions prevailed across the lower Southeast during the reporting week, with daytime highs in the upper 80s to mid-90s, USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service reported in a weekly review Friday.

Picking gained momentum as defoliation expanded in Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Georgia. Scouts observed bacterial blight in South Georgia. Producers were concerned but specialists expected limited or even negligible yield loss in many areas. Modules accumulated on gin yards and ginning quickened.

The Carolinas and Virginia experienced partly cloudy to overcast conditions, with cool daytime temperatures in the low 70s to mid-80s. Widespread thunderstorms brought several inches of rain to parts of the coastal Carolinas, Virginia and central North Carolina. Harvesting was underway in North Carolina, but locally heavy rain delayed fieldwork.

Defoliation, picking and ginning rapidly gained momentum in the Delta. Classing receipts were steadily building at the Dumas, Memphis and Rayville facilities.

In the North Delta, dryland yield reports have varied from 200 to 700 pounds per acre. Yields of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds have been reported in some irrigated fields and up to 1,500 pounds in isolated instances. Observers have estimated overall average yields from dryland and irrigated fields in the South Delta of 900 pounds.

Classing in Texas slowed to 99,755 RB from 118,882 the prior week. The state total reached 850,463 RB, compared with 477,732 a year ago. Rain across the Blackland Prairies, Upper Coast and southern Texas interfered with harvesting. Low seed quality was reported in the Upper Coast and some lint was stained from rainfall.

Clear, sunny conditions returned and fields quickly dried in the West Texas Plains following untimely rainfall Sept. 24-25. Some areas got upward of 4 inches of rain. Hail damaged cotton in Lynn County. Crop stages varied from about 3% open bolls to harvesting. Ginning began. Producers pondered economical strategies to defoliate and manage regrowth.

Harvesting continued uninterrupted at Yuma and a couple of gins began processing cotton early in the period in Central Arizona. Cotton rapidly approached cutout at Safford, Ariz., and in New Mexico and around El Paso.

Open weather allowed defoliation to gain momentum in the San Joaquin Valley. Harvesting was active in Tulare County. Modules were sighted in fields and on gin yards. No ginning was reported.

Futures open interest declined 2,290 lots Friday to 247,884, with DecemberΆs down 2,354 lots to 158,430 and MarchΆs down nine lots to 55,575. Certificated stocks increased 428 bales to 32,501.