Cotton Finishes Lower as Rally Attempt Fails

U.S. upland classing reached 1.21 million running bales. Harvest slowly expanded on the Plains and progressed rapidly in the Delta. Boll rot increased in Georgia. Ginning continued in the Far West.

Cotton futures finished in the red Monday after a modest rally attempt stalled shy of last weekΆs high as a strong U.S. dollar index and weak commodities weighed on sentiment.

Spot December settled down 61 points to 63.24 cents, in the lower half of its 111-point range from up 22 points at 64.07 — a three-session high — to down 89 points at 62.96 cents. March closed down 58 points to 63.12 cents.

Volume rose to an estimated 20,800 lots from 16,430 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 5,331 lots or 32%, EFP 15 lots and EFS 13 lots. Options volume totaled 3,236 calls and 3,030 puts.

U.S. upland cotton classing increased to 397,751 bales during the week ended Thursday from 239,056 bales the previous week, boosting the total for the season to 1,209,189 running bales.

Classing for the season amounted to 61.5% of the 1,965,601 bales graded for the season a year ago. The total was 9.7% of the upland crop estimate, compared with 12.9% of the final output graded at the corresponding point last season.

Cotton tenderable on futures contracts totaled 51.8% for the week, against 52.3% the previous week, and 57.9% for the season, down from 74.8% a year ago.

Classing of Pima increased to 7,255 bales for the week to raise the seasonΆs total to 10,567 bales, up from 8,492 bales last year.

Harvesting slowly expanded in the West Texas Plains as fields dried and firmed enough to support equipment following the prior weekΆs rainfall, USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service reported in a weekly cotton review.

Producers applied boll openers and defoliants in some areas, motivated by dryland yields. Irrigated fields are later maturing and havenΆt been harvested. More gins began operations, while others planned to open later this month or in early November.

Prices for secondary products, including cottonseed, encouraged some producers to plan for additional returns. Cottonseed prices were reported at $210 to $250 per ton and will be used mostly for bulk cattle feed.

Organic producers are waiting on a killing freeze to prepare the crop for harvesting. Organic cottonseed prices were reported at $700 to $730 per ton and will be used exclusively for organic dairy cattle feeds.

In the Southeast, harvesting advanced rapidly under ideal conditions in Alabama, but many fields were slow to mature because of a lack of heat units. In Georgia, boll rot and hard-locked bolls were increasing because of prolonged wet weather, and some fields will require an additional application of defoliants owing to regrowth.

Fieldwork and harvesting were slow to resume in the Carolinas as floodwaters receded and water-logged fields began to dry out. Concerns were voiced about lint quality deterioration and cotton stringing out. Seed sprouting in bolls was prevalent.

Harvesting progressed rapidly under near-ideal weather in the Delta. Producers in Missouri reported disappointing seed turnouts and reports indicated yields were lower than last year in most areas. Growers in Mississippi reported yields around 1,400 pounds in some irrigated fields.

Defoliation began around Safford, Ariz., and harvesting and ginning continued in Central Arizona. Modules accumulated in fields and on gin yards in the San Joaquin Valley.

Futures open interest edged up 264 lots Friday to 191,551, with DecemberΆs down 956 lots to 115,344 and MarchΆs up 1,049 lots to 56,443. Cert stocks increased 397 bales to 43,319.