U.S. all-cotton 2016-17 commitments reached 62% of USDAΆs export estimate and shipments totaled 24%. Commodity Credit Corp. lending rates for December announced.
Cotton futures punched to a three-session high in benchmark March, held on a downswing above the prior-day low and settled on a moderate loss Thursday at its lowest finish since Nov. 15.
March closed down 68 points to 70.90 cents, near the low of the dayΆs 138-point range from up 55 points at 72.13 cents to down 83 points at 70.75 cents. It finished just above its 18-day moving average.
Maturing December lost 66 points to settle at 71.80 cents, while December 2017 slipped 40 points to finish at 69.50 cents.
Volume increased to an estimated 23,250 lots from 19,092 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 5,639 lots or 30% and EFP three lots. Options volume totaled 2,154 calls and 2,326 puts.
Net U.S. all-cotton export sales of 207,200 running bales during the week ended last Thursday for shipment this season, down from 259,200 RB the previous week, boosted 2016-17 commitments to 7.253 million RB.
Talk circulated that the sales may have included some business concluded at Cotton Council InternationalΆs recent Sourcing USA Summit for which paperwork wasnΆt completed in time for inclusion in the prior USDA weekly report.
Commitments — outstanding sales of 4.495 million RB plus shipments — were 2.517 million RB ahead of year-ago bookings and were 62% of the USDA export forecast. A year ago, commitments were 53% of final exports. Sales averaging around 121,900 RB a week would match the export estimate.
All-cotton shipments of 145,800 RB, up slightly from 144,300 the prior week, hiked the seasonΆs total to 2.758 million RB, widening the lead over exports a year ago by 55,000 RB to 1.017 million RB, a steady 58%.
However, shipments continued to lag well behind the weekly average needed to achieve the USDA estimate, now roughly 246,700 RB. Still, shipments were 24% of the USDA projection, compared with 20% of final 2015-16 exports at the corresponding point last season.
No fresh sales were reported for next season, leaving 2017-18 commitments at 494,700 RB. The lag behind forward bookings a year ago widened slightly to 144,500 RB.
Separately, USDAΆs Commodity Credit Corp. announced interest rates for December. The CCC borrowing rate-based charge for December is 0.750%, up from 0.625% in November.
The interest rate for crop year commodity loans less than one year disbursed during December is 1.750%, up from 1.625% in November.
Futures open interest expanded 1,062 lots Wednesday to 256,545, with DecemberΆs down 280 lots to 711, MarchΆs down 142 lots to 183,932 and MayΆs up 1,122 lots to 38,824.
Certificated stocks grew 1,205 bales to 53,698. There were 1,293 newly certified bales and 88 bales decertified. Awaiting review were 958 bales at Memphis.
