March cotton futures were sharply lower in Friday’s abbreviated session as speculators liquidated their longs, while producers book or rolled out of spot December cotton. Additionally, in preparation for December’s Monday delivery, there was a hefty amount of position squaring across the board. Friday’s estimated volume was 26,500 contracts.

The cotton market also was bearishly influenced by a lower Dow Jones, another collapse in crude oil, and new strength in the U.S. dollar. Even improved weekly sales and export data Friday morning from USDA failed to stem the selling tide.

Of course, next week the market will see the start of the G-20 meeting on Friday, running through December 2. The anticipated meeting between the U.S. and China has been hyped so much, that it must yield a positive outcome, lest the cotton market, as well as many others, sustain another broken heart. We understand from both sides that preliminary meetings have been occurring and going well. However, some of that hoopla may be for public show.

Spot December settled at 7492, down 159; March was 7722, down 156; and December 2019 was 7635, down 53 points. Week-over-week, December cotton was down 120, and March was off 145 points.