U.S. export commitments widened the lead over year-ago bookings to 3.436 million RB and reached 73% of the USDA estimate. Unpriced mill on-call position jumped 28,941 lots across the board.
Cotton futures took something of a wild ride on the final trading day of the year Friday, surging from a modestly higher opening overnight to a triple-digit morning gain, plunging to just below unchanged in the late going and bouncing to finish slightly ahead.
March closed up 15 points to 70.65 cents, in the lower quarter of its 153-point range from up 146 points at 71.96 cents to down seven points at 70.43 cents. It gained 78 points for the week but lost 93 points or 1.3% for the month. For the year, spot cotton futures gained 737 points or 11.7%.
The May contract edged up 12 points to close at 71.02 cents heading into a three-day weekend, while December 2017 eked out a three-point gain to settle at 69.54 cents. For the week, May gained 75 points and December added 57 points.
Volume rose to an estimated 23,203 lots from 19,339 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 4,909 lots or 25%, EFP 230 lots and EFS 33 lots. Options volume totaled 2,351 calls and 2,414 puts.
Net U.S. all-all export sales for shipment this season of 346,900 running bales during the week ended Dec. 22, up from 282,800 RB the previous week, brought 2016-17 commitments to 8.61 million RB.
Commitments — outstanding sales of 4.861 million RB plus shipments — widened the lead over year-ago bookings by 233,000 RB to 3.436 million RB or 66% and reached 73% of the USDA export projection. A year ago, commitments were 58% of final 2015-16 shipments.
All-cotton shipments of 288,000 RB, up from 230,300 the previous week, included a marketing year high of 267,900 RB of upland and raised exports for the season to 3.749 million RB.
Combined upland-Pima shipments widened the lead over year-ago exports by 122,000 RB to 1.482 million RB or 65%. Shipments were 32% of the USDA forecast, compared with 26% of final 2015-16 exports at the corresponding point last season.
To achieve the USDA forecast, shipments need to average roughly 252,900 RB over the remaining 32 weeks of the marketing year, while weekly sales averaging approximately 101,000 RB would match the export estimate.
Net sales for shipment next season of 4,200 RB nudged 2017-18 commitments to 564,900 RB, compared with 741,300 RB in forward bookings a year ago.
Meanwhile, mills raised their unpriced on-call position by a hefty 28,941 lots across the board last week and producers priced 1,120 lots, according to data reported by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after the close Thursday.
Unfixed positions jumped to 137,250 lots for mills and fell to 20,800 lots for producers, kicking the net call difference up 30,061 lots to 116,450. Of that difference, the 2016-17 contract months accounted for 106,185 lots or 91%.
Futures open interest dipped 493 lots Thursday to 241,775 lots, with MarchΆs up 19 lots to 161,915 and MayΆs down 391 lots to 40,380. Certified stocks declined 92 bales to 40,470.
