By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

The cotton market was very strong Tuesday as it punched out Monday’s high, but failed to break above an obvious resistance line. That resistance slope may be pulled from the February high over to the April high, and then the May monthly highs. The breakout point was 86.20 cents. At any rate, the current trend still points smartly higher.

This Thursday, USDA will issue its weekly export sales and its monthly WASDE. Also, the general marketplace will see a CPI (inflation) measurement as well.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor has an expansion of moderate to severe drought in the Carolinas and some dry areas flashing up in Georgia. The one- to five-day forecast calls for little to light rain less than half-inch in West Texas, with much more ample amounts in the U.S. Delta. The six- to 10-day and the eight- to 14-day forecasts calls for normal to above normal rainfall across the Southeast and below normal for West Texas

Tuesday, July cotton closed at 85.14 cents, up 0.78 cent, December settled 85.99 cents, up 0.73 cent and March 2022 ended 85.96 cents, 0.72 cent higher; estimated volume was 41,854 contracts.