NEW YORK, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Cotton futures finished mixed
Tuesday in spread trade, with the weak macroeconomic outlook
seen keeping fiber contracts on the defensive, analysts said.
Global stocks fell Tuesday after data showed the U.S.
economy grew more slowly than expected in the third quarter of
2011, while the euro slipped versus the dollar as investors
shunned risk.
The spot December cotton contract on ICE Futures
U.S. fell 0.86 cent to finish at 89.95 cents per lb, dealing
from 87.50 to 90.75 cents.
The most-active March cotton futures rose 0.71 cent
to end at 91.12 cents, moving from 89.33 to 92.10 cents.
Total volume traded Tuesday hit over 22,000 lots, less than
3 percent below the 30-day norm, preliminary Thomson Reuters
data showed.
'That late rally for March cotton back above the key 91.25
(cents) technical area just might be telling us that March is
ready to consolidate and correct some of the break from last
week's high to today's low,' a report by independent analyst
Mike Stevens said.
He added open interest in the December contract had fallen
to such an extent the first notice day for deliveries 'might be
a non-event.'
Open interest in the spot December contract stood at 2,999
lots as of Monday. By the close of trade Tuesday, cotton
brokers believe open interest in cotton is likely down to 500
to 1,500 lots.
Market participants looked to see whether consumer demand
will pick up or whether potential buyers like China, the
world's No. 1 consumer of cotton, will hold back and wait for
prices to weaken further before booking orders at market lows,
analysts said.
Last week, the Chinese were the big buyers in the U.S.
Agriculture Department's weekly export sales report on
Thursday. The next report is due for release on Friday.
Open interest in cotton, usually taken as an indicator of
investor exposure in the market, stood at 137,209 lots as of
Nov 21, from the prior session's tally of 138,160 lots,
exchange data showed.
Total volume traded Monday in the market reached 32,919
lots as of Nov 21, ICE futures U.S. data said.
