Cotton Posts Quiet Session

Cotton posted a quiet session Wednesday highlighted by tight trading ranges.

General Comments:

March cotton closed 0.06 lower at 63.25 with May 0.03 lower at 64.05. March corn closed 7 1/2 cents lower, January soybeans finished 4 3/4 cents lower, and March Chicago wheat closed 10 3/4 cents lower.

The U.S. dollar index was 0.117 higher at 98.334. February gold was $10.70 higher at $1,072.30 while March silver was $0.395 higher and March copper was $0.0170 higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 250 points higher at 17,775. January crude oil was $1.70 lower at $35.76.

Comments:

Cotton did little over the course of WednesdayΆs session as traders seemed content to sit on the sidelines ahead of the Federal ReserveΆs announcement of a rate hike, the first since 2006. Light commercial selling — as indicated by the slightly stronger carry in the March-to-May futures spread — kept the market on the defensive as the day progressed. The direction of the market the balance of the week could be determined by the reaction of the U.S. dollar index to the interest rate hike, with early results mixed.