Traders kept a wary eye on weather forecasts for the Texas Plains and on the projected path of Tropical Storm Cindy in the Gulf of Mexico.
Cotton futures settled mostly fractionally mixed across the board Tuesday as traders kept a wary eye on weather forecasts for the Texas High Plains and on the projected path of Tropical Storm Cindy in the Gulf of Mexico.
December eased seven points to close at 68.97 cents, just above the midpoint of its 78-point range from up 25 points at 69.29 cents to down 53 points at 68.51 cents. It opened overnight on what was to be the session high and bounced to 69.11 during the day.
July finished down four points at 71.35 cents, in the upper half of its 85-point range from 71.65 to 70.80 cents. Thinly traded October was an outlier, dropping 132 points to close at 69.04 cents. The other contracts settled down a tick to up four points.
Volume slowed to an estimated 22,860 lots from 27,879 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 11,181 lots or 40%, EFS 1,273 lots and EFP 22 lots. Options volume increased to 10,869 lots (7,670 calls and 3,199 puts) from 2,272 lots (859 calls and 1,413 puts).
A 10% chance for showers and thunderstorms is forecast to return Wednesday to the Lubbock area on the Texas High Plains, increasing to a 20% chance on Friday with slight chances lingering into early next week.
Chances in the Amarillo area are rated at 20% Tuesday and Wednesday nights, 20% Friday and 40% Friday night, then 20% to 30% through Monday. Rainfall in the favored areas could range from 0.50 of an inch to 1.5 inches, some weather models indicated. Some of the storms could pack hail and gusty winds.
Daytime high temperatures in the Lubbock area are forecast from the middle to upper 90s Tuesday and Wednesday, 101 degrees Thursday and Friday and then the low to upper 80s through Monday.
Rainfall has totaled only 0.58 inch this month at Lubbock, down from the normal of 2.04 inches. Since Jan. 1, precipitation has totaled 6.07 inches, compared with the normal of 8.25 inches and 6.27 inches last year.
Meanwhile, a tropical storm warning has been extended westward in the central Gulf of Mexico to cover an area from High Island, Texas, to the mouth of the Pearl River between Louisiana and Mississippi.
Cindy was expected to reach the Louisiana coast late Wednesday, move inland over western Louisiana and eastern Texas on Thursday, then take a northward and northeastward path to bring rains to the Delta and Southeast. Heavy rains and flooding were considered the main crop threats.
A tropical storm watch was in effect elsewhere on the Texas coast from west of High Island to San Luis Pass. South TexasΆ major cotton areas werenΆt expecting flooding rain and could use some moisture. No more than about 0.75 inch was expected.
Futures open interest continued to decline Monday, falling 6,704 lots to 208,350, with JulyΆs down 7,307 lots to 12,339, DecemberΆs up 474 lots to 159,616 and MarchΆs up 193 lots to 25,102. Open interest came into TuesdayΆs session down 25,721 lots from a week ago.
Certificated stocks continued to grow, increasing 2,348 bales to 480,461, largest since July 2013. There were 10,623 bales awaiting review, including 1,642 bales at Galveston and 8,951 bales at Memphis.
