NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Cotton futures ended down and near a
9-month low Monday on investor liquidation on a stronger dollar and jitters
over the effects the euro zone debt crisis will have on economic growth and
fiber demand, brokers said.
The key December cotton futures on ICE Futures U.S. fell its
5.00-cent daily limit to end at $1.0888 per lb, with the session top at
$1.138. It was the lowest close for the second position cotton contract
since mid-October 2010, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Volume traded stood almost 9,000 lots at 2:44 p.m. EDT (1844 GMT), over
50 percent below the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed.
'We're overpriced and there's no business,' said Jobe Moss, an analyst
for brokers and merchants MCM Inc.
He added that cotton stumbled along with most of the commodity complex
due to the stronger dollar and the 'concerns about what is going on in
Europe.'
Global stocks dropped and the euro sank Monday as worries that Italy
could become the latest country caught up in the euro zone debt crisis
caused investors to snap up safe-haven U.S. Treasury debt.
Analysts said market players were looking toward a pair of government
reports.
The fist would be the U.S. Agriculture Department's weekly crop
progress report due out later on Monday and then the USDA's monthly
supply/demand data on Tuesday.
Traders said there may be some adjustments in the USDA's supply data
but many market players would turn their attention to the August report
when the first detailed survey-based projections become available for the
cotton market.
Traders said the market is still monitoring conditions in Texas and the
debate in the trade will now turn to how much of the U.S. cotton crop would
be harvested in the fall.
Heavy rains brought some relief to drought-stricken Texas over the last
week, but more is needed to help the region escape the historic that has
gripped the area for months.
Open interest in the ICE futures cotton market stood at 139,310 lots as
of July 8, ICE Futures U.S. data showed. Volume traded on Friday stood at
10,095 lots, it added.
