Planting progressed rapidly in the Southeast. Rain eliminated dry areas in the Delta. Cotton fruited heavily in the Rio Grande Valley. Prospects greatly improved for stand development in the Texas Plains, but more rain will be needed. Crop made good progress in the West.
Cotton futures traded on both sides of unchanged and rallied in the late going to settle higher and near the sessionΆs highs Monday.
Spot July closed up 21 points to 86.48 cents, in the upper quarter of its 107-point range from up 44 points at 86.71 to down 63 points at 85.64 cents. It finished in the green for the third session in a row and at its highest close since May 22.
December settled up 59 points to 78.06 cents, also in the upper quarter of its 138-point range from down 60 points at 76.87 to up 78 points at 78.25 cents. It rallied after falling to its lowest intraday price since Feb. 27.
Volume quickened to an estimated 32,500 lots from 26,616 lots the previous session when spreads totaled 12,666 lots or 48%, EFP 248 lots and EFS 82 lots. Options volume totaled 2,670 calls and 2,616 puts.
Planting progressed rapidly across the Southeast as mostly clear, sunny conditions prevailed from North Alabama to Virginia, said a report Friday by USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service.
However, fieldwork remained delayed in portions of South Alabama as scattered thunderstorms brought around three-quarters of an inch to an inch of unwanted precipitation to areas still saturated from excessive rainfall. Producers evaluated fields for replanting as seedling emergence suffered owing to the wet conditions and flooding.
In Georgia, producers also assessed fields for either spot or complete replanting because of “skippy” stands in hard-crusted areas. Light to moderate thrips pressure was reported in the Carolinas and Virginia; foliar sprays were applied as needed.
Rainfall accumulations of up to 2 inches were reported in most of the North Delta, eliminating most zones of abnormal dryness in the cotton areas of Arkansas and Missouri.
Around an inch of rain fell in most of the South Delta late in the week, helping to replenish topsoil moisture in zones of moderate drought in western Louisiana. The crop made good progress. Fields were treated for thrips in Louisiana and also with herbicides to control weeds.
Moisture conditions improved dramatically in Central Texas, and planting was expected to get underway in dryland areas where producers had been waiting for rain. Planting neared completion in the Winter Garden and surrounding areas.
Cotton fruited heavily in the Rio Grande Valley. Fields in the Upper Coastal Bend were treated for thrips. The crop made good progress.
Heavy rains in the West Texas Plains greatly enhanced prospects for good germination and acceptable stand development, but cotton specialists quickly pointed out that the extended drought was by no means broken and more moisture would be required for economical yields.
The Arizona crop continued to make good progress under hot, dry conditions. No significant insect pressure was reported. Cotton was rated mostly fair to excellent.
Cotton in the San Joaquin Valley showed good stands and expanding leaf area on young plants. Insect pressure from thrips was light, but some fields were treated for mites.
Futures open interest dropped 710 lots Friday to 188,579, with JulyΆs down 1,562 lots to 100,085 and DecemberΆs up 119 lots to 76,409. Cert stocks declined 790 bales to 417,031. There were 2,877 newly certified bales, 3,667 bales decertified and 1,143 bales awaiting review.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index held steady at 90.70 cents Monday morning. The premium to FridayΆs July futures settlement narrowed 12 points to 4.43 cents.
Forward A Index values for 2014-15 fell 100 points to 85.65 cents, widening the discount to the 2013-14 index by a corresponding margin to 5.05 cents and the premium to FridayΆs December futures close by nine points to 8.18 cents.
