NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. cotton futures ended up
for the first time in five trading sessions on Monday,
influenced by strength in the grains markets and ongoing
concerns about drier weather in the Southern part of the
country.
Cotton's gains bucked the trend in the broader softs
complex, which came under pressure from Standard & Poor's
negative outlook on the United States' top-notch credit rating.
As fears about the U.S.'s long-term debt escalated,
investment money flows began to funnel back into some commodity
markets as a hedge against inflation, dealers said.
'The commodities ownership theme is still alive and well,'
said Keith Brown, president of commodity firm Keith Brown and
Co in Moultrie, Georgia.
The front-month May cotton contract on ICE Futures
U.S. firmed 0.93 cent to end at $1.9645 per lb.
Most-active July closed up 0.76 cent at $1.7816 per
lb, after dealing between $1.7316 and $1.7980. New-crop
December cotton rose 1.45 cents to $1.3063.
Trading volumes picked up from last week. More than 31,800
lots were traded by the close, more than 20 percent above the
30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed.
Cotton received a boost from the firmer grains markets,
where U.S. wheat futures jumped more than 4 percent as dry
weather threatened crop prospects in top producing nations,
including the United States.
These weather-related concerns have been very apparent in
Texas, the biggest cotton producing state in the U.S.
Forecaster DTN Telvent sees mostly dry conditions through
Wednesday, with temperatures near to above normal.
'Dryland cotton through south Texas is stressed due to lack
of moisture. Field preparation is active through West Texas
where more rain is needed,' DTN said in a daily report.
Looking at supplies, domestic cotton arrivals in Indian
spot markets till April 17 in the 2010/11 season edged up 2.2
percent on year, state-run Cotton Corp of India said on Monday.
India is the world's second-biggest cotton producer.
Open interest in the cotton market stood at 191,919 lots as
of April 15, down from a previous 194,708 lots, data from ICE
Futures U.S. showed.
