Cotton futures rallied from a triple-digit loss below lows of the prior two sessions to finish little changed in benchmark December Monday.

December closed off three points at 66.15 cents, in the upper quarter of its 143-point range from up 26 points at 66.44 to down 117 points at 65.01 cents. It consolidated after posting three weekly gains in a row.

Volume increased to an estimated 15,500 lots from 13,053 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 5,361 lots or 41% and EFP 89 lots. Options volume totaled 529 calls and 1,060 puts.

Boll setting has neared completion throughout the Southeast and bolls cracked open in the earliest planted fields, says a weekly review by the cotton division of USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service.

Producers continued scouting primarily for stink bugs. Sporadic infestations of corn earworms and fall armyworms were reported at treatable levels in isolated areas of Georgia.

Widespread day-to-day showers totaling around an inch of rainfall brought relief to dry fields and improved crop conditions in Alabama. Scattered rainfall in the Florida Panhandle and South Georgia measured less than a quarter-inch but was welcome. Dryland fields had begun to show signs of drought stress and center pivots were operating. Similar variable wet weather prevailed in the Carolinas and Virginia.

Hot, mostly dry conditions helped the crop to advance in the North Delta and to push many fields to the cutout stage in the South Delta. Parts of the Missouri Bootheel got nearly 2 inches of beneficial rainfall. Pressure from insect pests, particularly fall armyworms, varied widely in the North Delta. Fields also were treated for plant bugs and spider mites. No significant boll shedding was reported.

Light rain fell in Central Mississippi and the rest of the South Delta remained dry. Bollworms and fall armyworms were treated in Mississippi. Many fields in Louisiana were beyond the point of requiring additional treatments.

Producers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas harvested yields of 2.5 to five bales per acre in irrigated fields. Some dryland cotton that received timely growing season rain averaged 3.5 bales per acre. The harvest reached an estimated 50% completed. Ginning was in full swing. Harvesting began in the Upper Coast.

The Corpus Christi classing office graded 84,601 bales in the week ended Thursday to boost the seasonΆs total to 178,205, up from 44,428 bales a year ago. Cotton tenderable on futures contracts totaled 80.1% for the week and 76.4% for the season.

In the West Texas Plains, beneficial rain fell early in the reporting week around Abilene, Ackerly and San Angelo. Rains were spotty and left some fields with standing water. Dryland cotton in Lubbock County experienced heat stress under hot, sunny days. Some stray showers brought welcomed moisture but more rainfall was needed. Fields were heavily flowered and setting bolls.

Cotton areas in western and Central Arizona received a quarter to half an inch of rainfall. Higher elevation cotton fields in the Safford Valley got about an inch. Defoliation and harvesting continued around Yuma. Ginning was set to begin around Sept. 3.

The San Joaquin Valley crop made good progress under hot, dry conditions. No significant insect pressures were reported.

Futures open interest gained 530 lots Friday to 13,053, with DecemberΆs down 566 lots to 111,103 and MarchΆs up 331 lots to 44,695. Cert stocks were unchanged at 83,309 bales.

World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index were unavailable because of a holiday in the United Kingdom.