By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

The cotton market was sharply higher Thursday as traders were not expecting USDA’s reduction in its August crop update. Last month’s cotton crop was pegged at 17.80 mb, while expectations for day’s report centered on 18.38 million bales. The actual number was 17.26 million, a 540,000-bale cut.

One bearish nuance was the reduction in exports, however, overall, domestic ending stocks fell 300,000 to 3.0 million bales. As a side note, the report was essentially friendly for corn and beans.

Friday the CFTC will issue its weekly commitment of traders report. At last count, managed-money funds were net long some 67,000 contracts. We are sure Thursday’s bullish action had that group buying more contracts.

A new poll says a majority of businesses (66%) indicate they can survive under current COVID-19 restrictions for more than a year. The survey comes as several cities and states are contemplating full-scale shutdowns or curfews.

To date, more than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and those who have been fully vaccinated are largely protected from the worst effects of the virus. According to the CDC, COVID-19 now poses a much greater a risk to those who haven’t yet received a shot.

Thursday, December settled 93.32 cents, up 1.10 cents, March ended at 92.48 cents, plus 1.82 cents and December 2022 ended at 83.02 cents, 1.49 cents higher; estimated volume was 40,111 contracts.