May closed down 4.5% from MondayΆs high. Traders expected to look to USDAΆs weekly export sales-shipments report for some guidance.
Cotton futures skidded to a second day of losses Wednesday, retreating from moderate earlier gains to finish near session lows.
Most-active May lost 98 points to close at 86.37 cents, its lowest finish since Feb. 5. It settled just off the low of its 169-point range from up 59 points at 87.94 cents to down 110 points at 86.25 cents.
May, which fell through trend-line support on Tuesday, closed down 407 points or 4.5% from its intraday high for the move on Monday. Funds-specs liquidated longs after a big buildup in recent weeks.
Maturing and thinly traded March closed off 85 points to 85.37 cents, July shed 114 points to 85.95 cents and December dropped 74 points to 76.77 cents.
Volume slowed to an estimated 20,800 lots from 27,201 lots the previous session when spreads totaled 5,532 lots or 27% and EFS 572 lots. Options volume totaled 4,432 calls and 2,949 puts.
Traders now are expected to look for some guidance to USDAΆs weekly report on U.S. export sales and shipments to be released at 7:30 a.m. CST on Thursday. May futures during that reporting week ranged from 89.63 to 87.46 cents intraday and from 89.48 to 87.65 on a closing basis.
Cumulative all-cotton sales for 2013-14 have reached 9.078 million running bales or 89% of the USDA export forecast, up from 84% of final shipments at the corresponding point last season.
Shipments through the last report as of Feb. 13 stood at 5.063 million running bales, 50% of the estimate, with 23 weeks left in the marketing year. A year ago, shipments were 46% of final shipments.
Leading buyers in statistical bales, according to a National Cotton Council tabulation, have included China, 2.128 million or 23%; Turkey, 1.915 million, 20%; Mexico, 1.135 million, 12%; Vietnam, 878,000, 9%; and Indonesia, 627,000, 7%. China a year ago had booked 4.394 million or 41%.
Contrary to widespread expectations for an increase, USDA left its 2013-14 export estimate unchanged this month at 10.5 million SB, down 2.5 million from last year because of sharp reductions both in the available U.S. supply and foreign import demand.
Upland sales for shipment this season have slowed four weeks in a row and were 70,500 running bales during the week ended Feb. 13. The four-week average is 212,600 RB. Shipments were 324,500 RB in the last reporting week and have a strong four-week average of 330,950 RB.
Futures open interest fell 1,596 lots Tuesday to 164,131, with MayΆs down 1,766 lots to 103,391 and JulyΆs up 173 lots to 103,391.
Certificated stocks grew 1,343 bales to 255,006 bales. There were 1,700 newly certified bales, 357 bales decertified and 3,995 bales awaiting review.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index fell 200 points Wednesday morning to 93.65 cents. The premium to TuesdayΆs May futures settlement narrowed five points to 6.30 cents.
