March reversed off new rally high. Moderate to locally heavy rainfall expected in the West Texas Plains in an unusual event for this time. Cotton Council has begun planting intentions survey.
Cotton futures settled with a slight loss in the benchmark March contract Friday after it had edged up to a new rally high.
Spot March settled off 18 points to 83.15 cents, near the low of its tight 82-point range from up 52 points at 83.85 to down 30 points at 83.03 cents. The high eclipsed TuesdayΆs high of 83.72 to mark the highest intraday price since Oct. 23.
March snapped a string of three consecutive weekly gains to finish with a weekly loss of seven points.
The May contract slipped 15 points to close at 82.91 cents, while July — the only winner — gained 13 points to 82.89 cents and December dipped 25 points to 76.96 cents.
Volume increased to an estimated 13,500 lots from 8,992 lots the prior session when spreads accounted for 2,717 lots or 30% and EFP for 66 lots. Options volume totaled 3,459 calls and 3,440 puts.
Moderate to locally heavy rainfall is expected Friday afternoon through Saturday morning in areas of the Texas High and Rolling Plains. Precipitation chances in the Lubbock area are rated at 60% during the afternoon, 90% tonight and 50% Saturday.
This is unusual for this region less than a week before Christmas, especially during periods of extended drought. Isolated thunder may be heard, forecasters say. The heaviest precipitation is expected in the Rolling Plains.
Precipitation for the year has totaled 12.10 inches at Lubbock, 6.75 inches below normal but up from 10.91 inches trough the corresponding period last year. The region is in the grips of a three-year drought.
Lubbock received only 5.86 inches of precipitation in the historic drought of 2011, lowest on records going back to 1911, and got 11.43 inches in 2012, compared with a 30-year average of 19.12 inches.
Winter precipitation typically is low in the semi-arid West Texas Plains, which accounted for 83% of the cotton acreage planted in Texas this year and 47% of the U.S. upland area.
Looking ahead, the National Cotton Council is surveying growers for their 2014 planting intentions. This is done annually to aid with industry planning and policy deliberations. Individual responses are anonymous and confidential. Responses have been requested by Jan. 17.
Results will be announced during the joint meeting of program committees on Feb. 7 at the councilΆs annual convention in Washington. The council survey is widely respected as an early reading of the prospective U.S. cotton acreage.
Futures open interest grew 798 lots Thursday to 167,732, with MarchΆs up 535 lots to 111,739 and MayΆs up 200 lots to 31,823. Certificated stocks declined 1,440 bales to 40,274.
World values as measured by the Cotlook A Index gained 20 points Friday morning to 88.35 cents. The premium to ThursdayΆs March futures settlement narrowed 13 points to 5.02 cents. For the week, the index dropped 45 points.
