By Keith Brown, DTN Contributing Cotton Analyst 

After experiencing a sharp early morning decline in sympathy with the Dow Jones, the cotton market finished slightly lower Friday. The initial bearish move for the stock market was based on the news that President Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. At that point, most markets were selling off, including gold. However, by the early afternoon, the Dow had actually turned positive, alleviating some of the outside stress for cotton.

Cumulative cotton sales for the 2020-21 season have reached 7.95 million bales, the third strongest on record. A year ago, sales were 8.56 million, while two years ago they were 9.30 million. The five-year average is 6.58 million. In terms of percentages, sales have reached 59% of USDA forecast versus the five year-average of 49%. The next exports-sales data will come next Thursday morning.

The National Hurricane Center’s website indicates two tropical events that bear watching. First is Tropical Depression 25. As it stands, it may hit the Yucatan Peninsula and possibly re-enter the Gulf of Mexico. The other swirl is Disturbance #2, located way down in the lower Atlantic Basin. Typically, the hurricane season runs from June to November, so there remains plenty of time for additional named storms to emerge.

December cotton ended this week down 0.13 cent and 0.03-cent higher monthly. For the year, the market remains 4.54 cents lower.

For Friday, December cotton closed at 65.82 cents, down 0.09 cent, March closed at 66.63 cents, down 0.07 cent and December 2021 cotton finished at 65.96 cents, down 0.12 cent higher. Estimated volume was 24,728 contracts.